4279 - 9/11

It's hard to believe it's been 20 years since the towers fell. So much has changed and yet nothing has changed. I still sit at the same kitchen table where I watched the days events unfold that fateful morning. The kitchen TV is a modern flatscreen now, but it still sits on top of the same indestructible old Toshiba microwave. Spot had died in June of 2001 and I don't think we'd gotten Petey yet. We had just started getting involved with Dalmatian Rescue. I was still working and was very busy. I remember flying to Germany to work on an ad campaign for Siemens a few weeks after 9/11 and feeling that the world had changed forever.

We flew an American flag in front of our house for the rest of the year. Most of our neighbors did too. The country seemed united in a way that seems impossible today. There was a lot of fear in those early days.  I remember buying gas masks after the anthrax scare. They probably wouldn't have done any good, but they made us feel better for a week or so. Everybody was in favor of going to Afghanistan and kicking the Taliban's ass in those early days. It wasn't until we went to Iraq and completely ignored Saudi Arabia, which was always the elephant in the room, that people started having second thoughts about wars in the Middle East. Nobody would have ever believed that we would end up handing Afghanistan back to the very same Taliban twenty years later.

I wonder if we have learned anything during the past twenty years. The world is more of a mess than it ever was and our own country is hopelessly divided. Janet and I used to travel a lot and loved spending time in Paris and Barcelona. I can't think of a single major city where I'd feel safe anymore. I never could have predicted twenty years ago that my favorite place would now be a lonely mountaintop in West Texas. 

I used to go to New York frequently to edit television commercials. I had a lot of free time and visited the Wall Street area several times. Once I took the elevator to the observation deck on top of the South Tower. I took today's picture from the window of my room at the UN Plaza. I never ate at Windows of the World because I was young and couldn't afford it. Those times seem so long ago now. It's almost like I was living in a different universe.

Now I'm retired and would love to live in a world that made sense again. Lots of luck with that. I still think the primary problem is globalism. You can't just take hundreds of different cultures that have developed over thousands of years and just mix them all together. It doesn't work that way. I look for clues in the animal kingdom, but even ducks can be mean and nasty. Humans never were very nice and probably never will be. We have big brains but we'll never last as long as the dinosaurs. We'll probably do something stupid and be extinct in 300 years.

On days like today we always resolve to never forget. We do forget though. Often way too quickly. History is littered with momentous events we've totally forgotten about. I'm not looking for miracles here. I'd just like ten good years with no major problems. OK, let's be optimistic about my long walks. How about fifteen years?

Shadow is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4257

Dawn is fine. The vet was able to flush a large number of stones from her bladder and no surgery was needed. I was a little worried when the vet called while I was fixing breakfast and told me that Dawn's bladder was empty. He wondered if we had let her go pee before we brought her over. Nope. We did everything exactly as we were instructed. It turned out that Dawn had peed in her kennel run while they were getting ready to do the procedure. Plan B was to give her intravenous fluids and let her bladder fill again. This worked and a few hours later the stones were removed. Her teeth were cleaned as well while she was under anesthesia so she wouldn't have to be anesthetized again a few months later for her scheduled annual teeth cleaning. A sonogram after the procedure confirmed that all the stones are gone and Dawn was able to come home early this afternoon. The vet told us to expect blood in her urine for a day of two, but that the procedure had gone very well.

I'm sure today's events won't do much to alleviate Dawn's fear of riding in the car. Is she going for an ice cream cone at Andy's, or a trip to the vet? Both destinations are in the same general direction. Being anesthetized today certainly didn't ruin her appetite. Dawn was really hungry this evening and I had to feed her a little early.

I was planning to get my car safety inspected today, but the two places I tried both had long wait times and wanted me to leave the car. I used to be able to go to the Land Rover dealer and get an inspection done in fifteen minutes. Those days are gone. When I called Land Rover today they told me that a state inspection would take at least five hours. What this really means is that the dealership is short handed and there aren't enough mechanics. Apparently, nothing works smoothly in a post Covid world. So many things I used to take for granted just don't function the way they used to.

This morning was pleasant, but by the time Dawn was safely home again and sleeping on the bed it had become far too hot for a walk in the park. I went to the gym and discovered that even more treadmills had broken since my last visit. Another example of a dysfunctional world. Why is it proving so hard to fix these machines? There must be over a dozen broken treadmills now. Since we didn't take a sunrise walk with Dawn this morning, I had to work a little longer to get today's steps. Three miles inside always seems a lot longer than three miles outside.

Now that school is back in session, I've had to change my route to a number of locations. You definitely don't want to get stuck in a line of cars waiting to pick their kids up from school. If you are near a school zone, the right hand line is often completely blocked with cars and the other lanes become even more crowded. Drivers in Dallas are rude on a nice day. When school is in session they become even worse.

It would be hard to find someone less interested in politics than I am, but I'm horrified at what's happening in Afghanistan. Why won't Biden just admit that he screwed up royally? It was his decision alone to remove the military before protecting the civilians. He keeps doubling down, blaming everyone else, and looking befuddled and senile while he's doing it. If this is what 'having an adult in charge' looks like, we're all in big trouble.

It's time to make a grocery list again. Whenever I'm out and about, it's become increasingly apparent that merchants and their customers have grown sick of all the conflicting social distancing and mask mandates. It's a free for all now and everyone is just doing what they want. 

Blackjack is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4252

Yesterday's rain did cool things down a bit. It was pleasantly cool on our sunrise walk and we were able to take Dawn on her Sunday outing as well. We had a nice, traditional breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast and then I took my long walk right after breakfast. I've started wearing an elastic knee brace and it really helps. I didn't feel like my right knee was constantly popping out of joint today. My body felt surprisingly normal. I like days like this because clearly nothing else in the world is anywhere near normal.

Dawn did very well on her Sunday outing. She added another mile to her sunrise walk and didn't appear tired at all. Cooler temperatures make a huge difference. It may seem weird to call temperatures in the eighties cool, but that's the way it is in Texas. Eighty degrees is always a lot better than one hundred degrees. When we went for ice cream after our walk, there was a line of cars at the drive up window.  We haven't seen this for a while. Maybe we were just a little later today. We didn't get a free pup cone this time, but the ice cream was still good.

The Union Pacific Big Boy steam engine that we went to see last year in Palestine, Texas was in Fort Worth this weekend. Somewhat surprisingly, I had no interest in seeing it again. Maybe it was the difference between a pleasant drive in the country and a congested drive to another big city. Janet and I have actually ridden on the yellow passenger cars that were part of today's train, although they were pulled by a different engine. Quite a few years ago Union Pacific brought a special historic excursion train to Dallas and we managed to get tickets. Train travel is still appealing to me. In my younger years I've taken the Great Northern Empire Builder from Seattle to Chicago. I've also ridden the Sante Fe Super Chief and other historic trains. Amtrak doesn't even come close to these grand old passenger trains, but even the worst Amtrak train is better than most airlines.

It's sad to see what is happening in Afghanistan. What a colossal waste of money and American lives. We were there for twenty years and accomplished absolutely nothing. You'd think we would have learned after Vietnam that these types of 'nation building' wars are pointless. Biden could have done a much better job of getting out, but we shouldn't have been there in the first place.

I thought my Fitbit was broken this morning. It was completely dead and didn't appear to take a charge. Sadly, I've become addicted to this thing. Looking at stats and comparing one day to another brings a certain structure to my days. Lord knows there isn't much else in today's world that provides a reference point. At any rate, I was mad that I had no sleep data from last night. I thought I might have to go out and buy another Fitbit this afternoon, but I left the Fitbit on the charger while I took my long walk and eventually it must have remembered the battery was dead and started recharging. Crisis averted. I know it shouldn't matter how many steps I get in a day, but it does.

We've got to decide whether to keep Dawn on the allergy medicine or not. She's definitely not biting or licking her paws as much, but it might have nothing to do with allergies. It could have been that the MRSA infection was causing intense itching or even pain. I guess it makes sense to continue the medication until her paws heal and then discontinue it for a while to see if the licking returns. Maybe trial and error is the only solution. Dawn's bladder stones need to be removed as well. I hope the vet is able to flush them out. This would be much better than surgery.

It's time to visit the rescue Dalmatians again. I'm not sure if Bullet is still there. I think someone was looking at him last week. Janet got a new toy for Charlie. That's always interesting.

Freckles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1259 - Memorial Day

Most of my regular readers are grandmothers, but maybe there are one or two active military folks among you. If so, I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you how much I appreciate your service. I often worry that people don't value the importance of a strong military as much as my parents generation did. Strength matters. If you aren't strong and resolute, people take advantage of you. This is the essence of bullying. Individuals can be bullied, and so can entire countries. For many years, we have had the strongest, most capable military the world has ever known. It needs to stay that way.

We woke up again today to the sound of footsteps on the roof. I expected to hear a knock on the door, along an explanation of what's been going on, by whoever was tramping around on the roof. There was no knock on the door. Before I finished brewing my morning coffee, the footsteps ceased and the house was quiet again. I saw no need to go outside and confront the roofers at this point. I learned long ago that it's better to keep your powder dry.

The dogs didn't get to go to the dog park today, which was a disappointment for all. The weather wasn't bad, so we called the hotline several times to see if the park would open up again in the afternoon. It just wasn't in the cards today. I recognize the voice of the guy making the hotline messages. He's the same guy who cleans up the dog poop in the park. This guy takes his job seriously and is super conscientious. He updates the hotline message for the two parks he's in charge of at least three times a day. I admire this guy and wish everyone had his work ethic. It shouldn't matter what your job is. You should always do your duty to the best of your ability.

Since we weren't able to go to the dog park, Janet went to the gym to work out, and I took a camera up on the roof to document some of the problems I've been having. I also did a small rush writing job for one of my clients and vacuumed the house. It's simply amazing to me how quickly the vacuum cleaner bag fills up with dust around our house. If I'm sweeping up this much dust, why don't the carpets look any cleaner when I'm finished? You know "the rift" they are always talking about on Dr. Who and Torchwood shows? I think our house is sitting right on top of a mysterious rift that is sucking in dust from all over the planet. Of course, there's always a chance that Dot and Dash are responsible for all the dirt.

Our three day holiday went by far too quickly. Sometimes it didn't seem like a holiday at all. Footsteps on the roof usually woke us up too early. Rain curtailed most of our planned holiday activities. Then, there was still work to finish as well. It was still a holiday though, and a pretty important one at that. With all my complaining, I'll be the first to admit that my life is pretty soft. It's those guys who live day-to-day in a forward firebase somewhere in Afghanistan who are doing all the heavy lifting.

Libby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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