Tomorrow's the day

I'm really nervous about Harley's surgery, he's 15 years old.  I keep flashing back to when I had to put my Siamese cat, Brandy, down.  That was over 15 years ago but I still do a hard cry over that.  As I was standing in the vet's exam room Saturday, and they took Harley in the "back" to do blood-work, the flashback really smacked me in the face.  I haven't been able to shake that since.  I know Harley's surgery is minor, compared to others but the thought of somebody inducing unconsciousness to my little guy is getting to me.  

He's been with me since I rescued him at 3 weeks old.  I fed him with an eye dropper - he used to sleep inside my shoe (he likes danger).  We have moved across state lines six times together, traveled over 23,000 miles together, I've held him in my arms endless times, and he has lifted me out of the dumps all the same. I've protected him his whole life and the thought of me not being in there with him during this surgery is also driving me nuts - on the other hand, I couldn't stand the sight of him laying their helpless on a table, "chemically asleep".

I have to keep telling myself that he NEEDS this surgery to keep him comfortable and HAPPY!

 

This is DaCanon blasting off!

Holiday gain before your pain. Part One

Last night, my oldest kitty, Harley D. came down stairs.  That alone is rare, since I also have 3 large dogs, and one of those dogs, Bailey, is so new to the pack that she has not figured out that cats are our "friends".  Harley won't go near the stairs suspecting Bailey in the house.  I didn't notice Harley right away - as a matter of fact, I wouldn't have noticed him on the stairs at all if he hadn't cried out to me.  Which brings me to the other rare thing... Harley is a whispering cat.  When he meows, he rarely makes a sound, his mouth moves as if he is meowing loudly but no sound.  There is nothing wrong with him, meaning, he's not mute, he's just cute.
I was sitting at my computer downstairs and I heard a faint kitten-like cry.  It was so faint that I thought perhaps a neighbor kitten was sitting on the window ledge of my porch, outside.  I looked out the window, saw no kitten and started to walk back to my computer when I heard it again, but this time, it wasn't a faint kitten meow, it was loud and nerving.  I looked in the direction of where it came from, and Harley was making his way down the stairs toward me and when our eyes met, he let out a cry so saddening that my heart melted. 

Now on the stairs with Harley, he seemed fine, he seemed lovable, he seemed to be overjoyed that I was stroking his fur.  I always know when Harley is so overcome with joy, he slobbers a bit.  When most cats are overcome with intense happiness they forget to swallow... "can't fool the droll!", I always say.  Well, he was there, on the stairs with me, rubbing his head on my hands, loving every second of it (and drooling like mad) and then I felt it.  A swelling of his ear so big that it startled me.  He wouldn't let me look at first, I imagine it to be quite sensitive.  Finally, after some coaxing, he allowed me to examine his ears.  He has a massive hematoma on his ear flap.  I tried to determine how much pain he might be in and see what I could do to help alleviate his discomfort. 

I don't like messing with animals ears so much.  I am a practical and resourceful person but I do know my limits.  Animals ears have so much sensitivity to them, so many nerves that could be damaged,  and... well... frankly speaking, I am not a vet so I do not want to chance Harley's ears just to save a few bucks.  I called the vet's office - naturally they were closing in 10 minutes.  They told me I could bring him in tomorrow morning (that would be today).

Today, upon arriving at the vet's office, I told them I wanted to put Harley on my Wellness Plan.  After I jumped through the usual hoops filling out paperwork, (not for the wellness plan, btw) and waiting forever for the vet to come in the exam room, the vet finally made his grand appearance. (Can you smell the disdain yet??  You will in a moment.)

This is a new vet, meaning, I had never seen him before.  I have been bringing my pack to this particular office for three years and not once had I seen this bumpkin.  I first told him I am putting Harley on my plan and he said,
"Whoa!!  Who told you you could do that?"
 "The girl I called last night as well as the girl at your front counter this morning", I replied.

That bumpkin then proceeded to lecture ME on administrative procedures.  The whole time this hillbilly slim-jim is flapping his gums, I'm thinking to myself, I don't work for you, ya jackass.  I finally stopped him and told him that I don't care what the procedures are, I don't do your paperwork - "I am a CLIENT!!!"  He quickly stopped his lecture and saw the error in his ways... preaching to the choir is pointless.

Keep in mind that I did not express my full "anger" with this vet, (yet).  I knew that  Harley needed treatment and it would, more than likely, be surgery.  I didn't want to put Harley in a helpless position and be at the mercy of Dr. Huckleberry Knobjockey because I chose to spout off at the vet and tell him what I think of his bedside manner.

They say that first impressions are the most important.  At this point, my first impression of this vet is already in an undertow and things only went further south from there.  After the lecture was finished, he looked at every inch of the cat, except his injured ear.  WTF?!?  I was growing impatient with this guy but bit my tongue.  The vet tech could tell I was "questioning" this vet's abilities.  Perhaps it was when I told the tech, "that's fucked up" right after the vet left the room, that he clued into my dissatisfaction, I dunno, just guessing.

Anyway, the vet came back in, then said Harley needed surgery on his ear and since he's going on a wellness plan, you might as well get his teeth cleaned and bla, bla, bla.  I understand the logic of the teeth cleaning, most animals have to be put under anesthesia for a thorough cleaning, and since Harley was going under for his ear anyway, might as well get it all done.  Its the way the vet said it that yanked my chain just a bit too hard.  He gave me the impression (#2) that he is all about the money.  He was "up-selling" my cat's prognosis in dollars and cents - almost like pointing out the upgrades of a car purchase.
I already knew what I wanted so I stopped his spiel and asked for the "basic plus" plan - all my dogs are on the "dog version" of that package. 

I was there to treat Harley's ear, to take care of the immediate pain he was enduring, to get him treated.  That's when things go really interesting.

I was ready for Harley to have surgery, for him to be fixed up, brought back to an acceptable comfort level.   The vet however didn't see it that way.  What he saw was that he was "tired today", "golfing on Sunday, and Monday is a holiday".  Then he said he doesn't like to do these surgeries until the hematoma is at least 4-5 days old.  THAT IS PREPOSTEROUS!!  He said all of this as he was walking out the exam room.  I wanted to say, "How dare you try to justify your holiday time by hiding it in vet-talk BS - I'm not a fool!" 
Instead, I said, "What about Monday?" wanting clarification.  The vet tech had to answer me because the door had already closed with the vet no longer in sight.
The tech told me that Monday is Memorial Day and the vet will be in only until 2:00pm.  I asked him if the they are closing early and he said, "No, but the doctor is going to a BBQ that day because its a holiday".  I was livid and that poor tech knew it right off the bat.  It was now my turn to lecture. 

I explained to the vet tech that I realize he is not to blame but I had something to say and he was going to listen. And so I gave him the "how dare this vet put his personal agenda above the sufferings of animals" speech. 

It was then that I remembered Harley STILL needed the surgery, so I apologized for my outburst toward him.  The tech said he understood, and that a lot of other people were complaining about this particular vet too - interesting!


The tech felt bad because he could see Harley was uncomfortable, so I asked him if anybody can be bumped on Monday to get Harley's surgery.  He checked but no deal.  I took a Tuesday appointment instead.

I hate like hell that Harley has to live with this until then but I felt my hands were tired.  Going to another vet was not an option in my area, I am sure I would have gotten the same "holiday" routine anyway. 

Yeah know, its funny (strange) that if Harley were a human child, the doctor would have treated it right on the spot.  What makes animals any less in pain over the same injury - is it that the cat isn't milking every ounce of sympathy from the parents, vying for guilt-points? 

My animals are my kids and I am the voice of my kids - even the whispering ones.

 I'll keep y'all updated on Harley's condition, thanks for reading.   

This is DaCanon blasting off!!

The Border... One man's dream is another man's nightmare!

President Obama was here last week - he declared our border officially "safe and secure".  I would feel safe and secure too, if I had a security detail that swept the area I was about to visit 10 hours prior to arrival and then surround myself with 20+ trained marksmen just waiting for the chance to throw themselves in front of a bullet.   Add another 100 marksmen "in the area" surveying everybody's every move and yeah - I guess you could say I'd feel pretty "safe and secure", too.

In the meantime... we who LIVE here, who are not privy to such security measures, must fend for ourselves.

And what about our law enforcement??

Our crooked county sheriff followed the President's remarks... like a good little lamb...  ALSO declaring our borders' "safe and secure", mimicking the president's words all while mocking the citizens, local law enforcement and border patrol officers who know better.

While these two fools spew forth their words of (not so much) wisdom amongst a crowd of sheep eating it up, I will remind you that  both of these two "Officials" are up for RE-ELECTION and will stop at nothing to keep their offices - and apparently say anything as well.

The President just wants the Latino vote and I am sure he has been advised that he won't win any re-election without it. The Sheriff has to back up the President's words or he will look like he isn't doing anything but refuting the President - it makes me wonder if a political "deal"  was struck here or not.  Either way, they both are saying all this non-sense just for VOTES...  for the Latino votes.

President Obama had to "DECLARE" the border safe and secure just before the election year, whether it was true or not, because in his last campaign he PROMISED to make border security a top priority... among other promises left forgotten and broken!  He doesn't want you to notice he IGNORED his campaign promises he made to get elected nearly three years ago.   He doesn't want you to notice he IGNORED our borders until it became a war zone that he apparently is actively choosing to STILL ignore with his false declarations.   He doesn't want you to notice that he ignored YOU, the citizen, the voter that lives in harms way due in part by his broken campaign promises and his NEGLECT!

Don't be fooled!  WAKE UP!  We know what "safe and secure" is... and more importantly, we know what it ISN'T... and it ISN'T HERE just because some over-baring, pompous political wind-bag who knows he fucked up, and  is desperate for your vote, says the words without PROPER attestation, he instead used false and half counted statistics!

The President chose to make jokes and mocked those requesting more border security funding...
“Maybe they’ll say we need a moat,” Obama said of Republicans pushing for more border security funding amid the lower crime statistics. “Or alligators in the moat. They’ll never be satisfied. And I understand that. That’s politics.”

 Read whole news article here

A moat, seriously??  OMG!  FYI, Mr. President, the Rio Grande River is a mighty deep river that rages on, stealing lives everyday.   Your pitiful "moat" would be nothing to add.  If you choose to insult people with idiocies, such as that remark, at least know what the fuck you are talking about!  I would have expected something a little more "witty" from a self-important, egotistical man like yourself, however, I forgot... you are not at your best without your teleprompter!

Is THAT the kind of man we want leading our country??   The kind of man who laughs at those in danger,  slapping the faces of those families who have had loved ones already killed on our "safe and secure" border streets, blaming others and making jokes about moats to justify his neglected campaign promises??  

The news headlines are filled with proof of this violence EVERY DAY!!  How it can be down-played is beyond me... here are more news articles.  If you don't read them all, that's fine, but at least pay attention to the dates of when they were written... all of the articles were written within days before, during and after the President's visit on May 10th, 2011, announcing the "safe and secure" border BS and making jokes about moats and alligators.    So how can a "safe and secure declaration be made if the events in these articles are happening??  Read and decide for yourself just how "safe and secure" you would feel?
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How can our streets suddenly be "safe and secure" when it was just last week that we found yet more LIVE hand grenades laying in our public streets from the "SPILL -OVER" that IS happening right now (or not happening, depending on which elected fool with whom you are speaking)!   How many grenades is that now... I lost count.  Boy, I sure am thankful for that "safe and secure" feeling in my gut (and no shrapnel either)!

I live less than 15 minutes (driving) from the border of Mexico, it is a war zone in a lot of these areas.  I used to enjoy sitting on the docks of the Rio Grande River, watching the boaters, enjoying the scenery.  Now, all you see on the other side of the river are men, some Mexican Military, others... well... are not "official" military... but ALL are carrying very large guns and standing under trees, staring back at YOU!  Oh yeah - they see you LONG before you see them, I promise!  Here's something fun... I challenge anyone to drive a pick up truck or an SUV along the border wall area at dusk.  Think of it as a game I will call, "flee for your life". Here's how to play:  Assuming you survive the Mexican cartels, the corrupt mexican military and the hundreds of illegals that line our border walls, river banks and our streets... assuming none of these people run you down and kill you, or kidnap you for ransom, or try to jump into your car and take over... when you get back to your "safe and secure" home count the bullet holes in your vehicle, the shrapnel pieces sticking out of your vehicle and jot down your escalated heart rate.  Divide the total by how many seconds it took you to lock your door in a panic and enter the number in the "comments" section of this blog... 
if you live to post - you win!!

I imagine that after the President made his "safe ad secure" speech, he quickly high-tailed it out of the area, back on his "safe and secure" Air Force One, so he wouldn't be hit with a stray grenade.  Mr. President - you don't live here and you have never even been here until last week!!  If you want to declare something that is an absolute non-truth then declare yourself President for another four years!   If you want to help clean up our streets then please take our crooked, sheep-like, political ass-kissing sheriff with you to help build your moat to surround your land of make believe -  But remember that the lips you feel on your ass then, just may be those alligators!

This is DaCanon Blasting off!

All linked articles published in "The Monitor" online at  http://www.themonitor.com/

Old Farts Driving Carts

Ya know what gets my goat?  Old goats driving around in those little get-'em-around scooters. Most of the old people driving those things are a danger on wheels. Half of them can't see where they are going, the other half just plainly refuse to look and ALL of them expect to be excused for their lack of manners when in motion.


Now, don’t misunderstand me, I am not saying they don’t have a right to be mobile at their age, but I am saying that age does not mean they have the right to ignore courtesies and responsibilities.


Case in point:

There was a convention held at the San Antonio Convention Center not too long ago, with approximately 12,000 people attending this event, that's a lot of people in one place at the same time. As a friend of mine, KJ, who attended this event was walking through the double entrance door, she feels something literally clip and dig right into her heels and Achilles tendon. As she was trying to figure out what was happening, she looked behind her to see an old fart on one of those "Rascal" carts still inching forward upon her feet. Her foot was literally UNDER this idiot's front scooter wheel and continuing to move forward. Yes, it sounds funny when you think about a young woman being run down by a geezer mobile but it caused some serious pain that she felt for days and seriously interrupted her training for a Triathlon she planned on attending, for weeks.   The aluminum foot rest of this "senior mobile devise" was digging into her Achilles tendon. KJ was trying to get out of this road hazard’s way before someone (mainly her) gets killed by this 4-wheeled goat herding machine.  Here's the kicker:

Do you think the old geezer stopped to see if she was injured?  NO!

Do you think he even acknowledged the fact that he slammed into her?  NO!

Do you think he even stopped AT ALL??  NO!!  

He just kept on moving forward, slamming into her (and others around him once she cleared his path) with no apologies offered, nor uttering one simple "pardon me" to warn others of his charging approaches into a sea of patrons.

I see this kind of crap all the time, I myself have had a few close calls with people driving those things in superstores, and I have never seen or heard any person ever apologize for their lack of disrespect and responsibility for not properly operating a motorized, albeit battery powered, but still motorized, machine. I seriously believe we need to apply the same kind of laws with these machines that we do our other modes of wheeled transportation.


All people should have to attend a class to learn how to operate the machine safely, not only for themselves, but also for the safety of others whom they are near when in go-mode, and upon completion of said course, allow them to obtaining a (here it is.. wait for it... wait for it... ) LICENSE TO OPERATE THE MACHINE.

Oh, I almost forgot. They should also have to pass an EYE TEST. Remember what I said earlier? Half of them CAN'T see where they are going and the other half plainly refuse to look! 

I think this is a very reasonable thing to do, after all, we all have to earn a driver's license to operate a car, and pass that all important eye test. We have to obtain special (separate) endorsements on our driver's licenses to operate a motorcycle, a school bus, semi tractor-trailers, farming vehicles (if on public roads), and limousines. One even needs a license to operate mopeds and pocket rockets, where the engines are a half step up from a chainsaw. The fact is this: If the "vehicle" is not manually powered, as in a peddle-powered bicycle, and it has wheels, and it is to be operating within or around public facilities and/or near public populations (pedestrians), then the operators should have to OBTAIN (as in EARN it, not expect it!!) a license to use the machine in public.

Oh and PLEASE do not even get me started on how many of them dang things I see on the road - yes I said ON the road - MIXED WITH TRAFFIC!  I'm sorry, but if you are that STUPID  then you deserve to be a STREET PIZZA!  It's that kind of ignorance that plainly displays the lack of responsibilities these unlicensed "operators" take for themselves and for those around them - THEY are not only a danger to themselves but also a danger to the public!

But for now, we will have to tolerate the moto- grandmas and grandpas of the world ramming into people without caution or care for others as they would expect us to care about them.  Furthermore, I have to wonder just how many car pile-ups it will actually take before Congress (speaking of old farts) takes notice that Grandma isn’t just getting run over by the reindeer.

This is Da Canon - blasting off!

Ding, dong... the witch is dead!

Well it has finally come to pass - Osama Bin Laden is dead at the hands of American soldiers.  

There are a lot of mixed feelings about this event.  

I am going to call it an "event" because I can't find a better word for it, without prejudice - see I can be fair!

Before I get started though, understand this:  I am an American and I am proud.  I was watching the local  television newscast around 8:00am while sipping my coffee, like every other morning.  It was a typical morning.  Then as I watched, I saw the local programming break into a news story out of New York.  It took a minute for me to realize what I was seeing - a burning building and a sea of confusion.  I was watching the news break in to the local channel's programming right after the first plane hit the first tower.  I watched in horror and listened, and as I did so, like many other Americans, I saw the second plane come around in the background and strike the second tower, LIVE.   I was in shock!  My heart raced and I immediately thought of these families in harms way.  I was angry!  And you can bet your ass that I was PROUD of my country's president (President Bush) when he declared WAR on those cowardly bastards!

On a side note about the death of Osama Bin Ladin, I want to clarify that President Obama did NOT kill Osama Bin Laden -  

an American soldier did! 

Ok -on to it...  Lets weigh this out - octopus style.

 Eight points to ponder in light of this "event".

1)  We have groups that are over-joyed, celebrating this major triumph in the war against terror.

2)  We have groups that are angry over killing their monarch.

3)  We have a world that can breathe a little easier.

4)  We have a world that is waiting for possible retaliation from OBL loyalists.

5)   Terrorism is not a man - it is an act of terror. 

6)   Osama Bin Laden is a human terrorist, not terrorism itself.

7)   Osama Bin Laden, the terrorist,  is dead, because he is a human, and humans die.

8)   Terrorism is not dead, just Bin Laden.

With that said, ponder this while you're in the pondering mood: 

I'm not a religious person (although I do say my prayers, brush my teeth and I look both ways before crossing the street, just like I was taught when I was a kid). 

I certainly can't pull a verse out of a bible and apply it to any given topic, nor do I care to try but I have a friend that can, and this is what her Facebook Status was:  

Proverbs 24:17-18: Do not rejoice when your enemies fall, and do not let your heart be glad when they stumble, or else the Lord will see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from them.  Osama bin laden is dead.  Let us pray for peace.

Even I, a raging skeptic by nature and an agnostic of theology  crediting science, can see the logic in that one!   

Thanks my friend - you know who you are!

Osama bin Laden is dead.  

Let us pray for peace!

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This is DaCanon - Blasting off!!