Day 3077 - Memorial Day

Both of my parents served in the Navy during World War II. Most of their neighbors, their congregation, and their co-workers were veterans as well. I think this was the last generation where military service was actually a common bond that tied people together. Only two of my high school friends joined the military. One became a Marine and the other became an Air Force fighter pilot. Most of the others had some sort of student deferment. It was pretty easy to get a deferment if you were actually going to school. We all hoped the Vietnam War would be over by the time we graduated.

I have tremendous respect for anyone who has served in the military. At the same time, I think our country has gotten involved in far too many senseless wars. The Vietnam War proved nothing. Twenty Five years of war in the Middle East have proved nothing. I've never understood why we are so quick to get involved in other people's business. Some of these people have been fighting for thousands of years. Our involvement is not going to stop them. In some cases, I think we are just fanning the flames.

It didn't really seem like a holiday today. I kept thinking it was Sunday. We should have gotten up earlier, because it was already hot by the time we walked Dash. Sleeping in is a tradition on holidays though. We always sleep in when we get a chance.

I saw a roach crawl under the bed just before we went to sleep last night. I got a flashlight and looked under the bed, but the bug had disappeared. I kept thinking that it was going to crawl over me as I slept. This morning, I pulled all the photo equipment and unused dog beds out from under the bed and cleaned all the dust away with the vacuum. The bedroom is cleaner than it's been in a long time, but I still can't find the bug. The critters are fast. It's probably in the kitchen by now.

Since I had the vacuum out, I cleaned the rest of the house as well. Then I did a load of laundry and took a nap with Dash. That's about as exciting as it got today. It was way too hot to mow the grass or go up on the roof. The only good thing about the Summer heat is that the standing water on the roof evaporates quickly.

Janet and I think the Movoflex we're giving Dash is working. The change has been gradual, but he seems to have more energy now and isn't stumbling as much when he walks. I'm not expecting miracles, but I hope he can keep walking on his own for a while longer. We've already purchased a Help 'Em Up Harness for Dash like Dot used to wear, but I'm not looking forward to the day when we have to start using it. Dash enjoys his independence.

Summer is here to stay. We're supposed to get our first triple digit temperatures later this week. I hope the air conditioner keeps working. I change the filters right on schedule, but I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Sam is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2879 - Veteran's Day

Every year at this time I see an enormous number of pictures of men and women in uniform on my Facebook feed. These are my friends parents and grandparents. I did a little looking and found my own picture as well. My Dad served in the Navy during World War II. So did my Mom. It doesn't take long to realize that something in this country has fundamentally changed. Although almost everybody I know has a picture of a parent in uniform, almost none of the people posting these pictures has served themselves. I wonder what it means when we all say "thank you for your service," but haven't spent any time in the military? Do we even know what service means?

I'm not being critical. I never served. I had a low draft number, but I fell rock climbing in college and was reclassified 4F. To this day, my injury seems like a lucky accident. I'm glad that I never got sent to Vietnam. I didn't understand why we were there at the time, and after watching the Ken Burns documentary recently, I still don't understand. What did this needless loss of life prove? Vietnam is a tourist destination now. We consider the country a trading partner. I have shirts and shoes in my closet that were made there.

Even though I think most wars are pointless and never seem to bring lasting peace, I still admire the generation before me that believed in service. There was a sense of honor and integrity about my parent's generation that we seem to have lost. My Dad was always proud of his service in the Navy. I'm proud of him as well.

Maybe there were parades and ceremonies somewhere in the city, but I didn't see any. There was a lot going on today. I saw people getting ready for a classic car show in the park this morning while I was walking Dash. This evening, I saw people attending an art fair in another section of the park. After doing my grocery shopping, I stopped by a big animal rescue event that I always try to attend. It seemed like there were fewer people than normal, but maybe this was just because I didn't recognize as many. There is a new generation rescuing dogs and cats now. They actually seem to be rescuing everything. I saw groups dedicated to rescuing pigs, rabbits, ferrets, and even fish. Maybe this is what service is all about today. We had a dog when I was a kid, but nobody I knew had even thought about the idea of rescuing them. Since I believe war is a bad thing and saving animals is a good thing, maybe our whole concept of service has evolved into something different.

I'm not sure about what this means for the future. Personally, I care about animals more than I do about people. For the most part, I think people are horrible. I don't think my Dad would have shared this sentiment.

It was still cold today. It didn't rain, but it looked like it could at any point. I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to finish my work on the roof. Since this time of year is often rainy, I'll probably be spending every clear, dry day between now and Christmas making repairs one square foot at a time.

We received our advance copies of the 2018 Dalmatian Rescue calendar. Dot looks wonderful on the cover. It really feels like an honor that she was selected. I'll have to show you guys the picture when I get a chance to scan the book.

Dolly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2828

I'm going to have to start writing earlier so I can watch the new Ken Burns documentary in the evening. Maybe The Vietnam War is more memorable for me than some of Burns other films because everyone my age grew up right in the middle of that moment in history. This film makes you realize that there is nothing new under the sun. All the turmoil that is going on in today's society was going on in the mid-60's too. Listening to the Lyndon Johnson tapes is amazing. Nobody really knew what they were doing. I guess it is not surprising that no president made tapes in the Oval Office after Richard Nixon. Ineptness sounds so much worse when you hear it on tape.

I'm going to have to go back and watch this entire series on Netflix sometime later. It is an eye opener. Jeez. If I ever get hooked on history and stop watching science fiction, it will be all the confirmation you need that I've become an old man. Children love Dr. Who. Old men read history. My Dad was a voracious reader and always had a tall stack of history books on his bedside table as he grew older. I'm sure you can learn a lot from history, but I'd like to think you can learn from fantasy too. I guess I can be a fan of Ken Burns and still be looking forward to Season Three of The Expanse.

I can't say that Dash loves his new soft cone, but he tolerates it. I think it is much more comfortable for him while he is sleeping. The one good thing about the old plastic cone was that it was transparent. This new one restricts his vision a bit more. He has a little trouble eating out of his bowl with it on, so I make sure to remove it whenever he is eating. The one thing I can't do is forget about him for any length of time while the cone is off. It doesn't take him long to rediscover the dewclaw injury.

The shoe repairman did a great job on my boots. They look as good as new. The only problem is that I know I'll be reluctant to wear them for a little while because they look too nice. I have plenty of clothes, but I tend to wear the same things over and over again. The things I actually wear are incredibly beat up. Maybe the worn clothing is more comfortable, or maybe I don't want to ruin the nice looking stuff. I don't know. I'll probably start wearing the boots again regardless of how I feel. They are the only comfortable off-pavement shoes I have. I'm sure it won't take long to return them to their beat up status.

I've figured out that it takes three days for water to start leaking out of the crack in the shower tiles. A little water must seep under the tiles every time I take a shower and on the third day, enough has accumulated to reach the level of the crack. I sucked the water away again with the wet/dry vacuum but am still unsure how to repair things. Is this a job for a plumber or a tile guy? I think the leak is in the drain itself, but I'm not sure. If I hire a tile guy, it will turn out that I needed a plumber. If I get a plumber, it will turn out that it was just bad grout in the tiles. That's just the way it goes.

I can't decide what I want for breakfast tomorrow. I make a lot of substitutions now. Some of the things I'm hungry for aren't on any menu. Maybe if I'm nice, someone will cook them for me anyway.

Rowe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2827

It says something that it's easier to put Dash in the car and take him to the vet than it is to try to remove a bandage ourselves. As bad as Dash is in the car, he's even worse when we try to mess with his feet. Dash was actually good at the vet tonight. He was probably grateful that we didn't try to take the bandage off ourselves. Now we have to be careful that Dash doesn't reopen the wound. This is easier said than done, because he loves to roll around on his back on the floor and scratch himself. It's real easy to rub his paw on the carpet and open a cut while he is doing this. There is really no way to stop him from rolling like this. It's become a habit.

I got a check today for my last outstanding invoice. Nobody owes me anything anymore. That's kind of a sobering thought. I've had a healthy accounts receivable balance for as long as I can remember. I'm sure I'll still get work from time to time, but the signs are all pointing in the wrong direction. My business is winding down. Whether I like it or not, I've had my turn and it's time for a new generation to take the reins.

I went to pick up my dog walking boots today and the shoe repairman said they weren't ready yet. "But the little ticket you gave me said to pick them up Wednesday," I said. The shoe repairman smiled and assured me that they will be ready tomorrow. Oh, well. I like the shoe repairman, but being late is endemic these days. Everybody is late.

I paid my September bills today. Being free of bills never lasts long. My storage warehouse rent is due at the end of the month. I always pay by the year because I get a free month if I pay in advance. The storage warehouse rent goes up every year. I guess they know it's going to be way too difficult to move to a different storage facility for most people. I grit my teeth and pay. I don't know what to do with this stuff. The storage warehouse costs more per month than my apartment did when I was working in Seattle. It was a nice apartment too. Everything costs too much now. I have a friend who has a horse and the stable costs more than my old apartment too.

Janet is watching The Vietnam War in another room. I hear bits and pieces of the show as I wander around the house. Someday Ken Burns will probably make a documentary about the Iraq War and it will be equally sad. All these wars we've had since World War II have been pointless. A lot of brave people died for nothing. North Vietnam won the war and now all my shoes seem to be made there. The country has become a big trading partner with the United States. It's even become a tourist destination.

I'll go pick up my boots after breakfast tomorrow. I eat breakfast so slowly that  it will give the shoe repairman plenty of time to finish his work. Dash has a new soft cone on its way via Amazon Prime. He probably won't like this cone any better, but at least he won't be knocking things over quite as often. Tomorrow doesn't look like a very exciting day, but as long as nothing bad happens, I'm good. My expectations are very low these days.

Rosie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2826

Dash is getting older. He doesn't always lift his leg when he pees anymore and often ends up peeing on the front leg with the injured dewclaw. After this happened again for the umpteenth time, I thought I'd try to clean the leg with a damp cloth to prevent him from licking it. This was a mistake. When I was cleaning the leg, he jerked away from me, causing the broken dewclaw to start bleeding again. He wouldn't stay still so I could bandage the area and immediately ran to the bedroom and started rolling on the white bed comforter. I managed to put the cone on his head so he wouldn't try to bite me and then gently dabbed the area with a gauze pad soaked in saline solution. Luckily, Dash's blood clots fairly quickly. I still can't manage to wrap an ace bandage around the area, but the bleeding has stopped and if I leave the cone on so he can't pick at things, maybe we'll be back to normal in the morning. This wound is having a tough time healing, but I don't know what to do. The vet specifically said not to leave the area bandaged too long. I just wish Dash would leave it alone.

It's two hours later now. I was wrong again. We just got back from the emergency vet. While I was writing the first paragraph, Dash started bleeding again. He had gone to sleep in the bedroom and when he woke up I noticed that there was a puddle of blood on the carpet. He hadn't been licking the wound because he was wearing the cone. Somehow he had spontaneously started bleeding again while he was sleeping. Janet and I tried without much success to create a makeshift bandage so he wouldn't bleed all over the car again and then it was off to the emergency vet. They're getting to know Dash pretty well at the emergency vet. This was the third time we've had to take him there this summer.

The vet said she didn't think Dash needed stitches. She was a little worried that the dewclaw wound hadn't healed properly after ten day and gave us more antibiotics and some pain pills. I wish we could just leave this new bandage on, but it has to come off after 24 hours just like the initial bandage. We're kind of back where we started. I don't look forward to keeping Dash calm and living with the cone for at least another week. Dash is a great dog, but he isn't a very good patient. Anything out of the ordinary freaks him out.

Before this evening's dog crisis, I had started watching the new Ken Burns series about the Vietnam War. The documentary was very good. I was surprised at how much I had already forgotten about this time in history. It's a shame that the show comes on right when I start writing the blog every night. I'll have to find some other way to watch the rest of it. I had a low draft number when I was in college during the late 60's and probably would have been drafted if I hadn't fallen while rock climbing in Colorado one summer and been declared 4F. My knees are still a mess after all these years, but that's one injury that I don't regret.

Dash is finally calm and is sleeping again. The emergency vet did a really good job of bandaging him up. I need to go buy some styptic powder and ace bandages in the morning. There's got to be a better way of dealing with emergencies like these. Ironically, we had tons of bandages left over from Janet's surgery, but none of them were the right size and we couldn't stop the bleeding anyway. No matter how prepared you think you are, you really can't plan for everything.

Rhett is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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