AHH! Retirement!

Some people are just the luckiest duckies ever…and the duckies I’m referring to are my Mom and Daddy-Bill.

Last week was their last week to have to “punch the time clock!” Although, they’re not “officially” retired until the end of the year – they don’t have to report to work – EVER.

I think that this is the ultimate accomplishment in life.

To be able to sleep to 7 am, or go to Eureka on a whim – what a life that would be. To stay home, maybe dig a garden, or give the dogs a bath on a Wednesday, or go to the early movie. There are so many new liberties that come with retirement.

So CONGRATULATIONS! Mom and Daddy-Bill – YOU’VE EARNED IT, SO ENJOY!

I love you both – SOO MUCH!

Let's ALL get ONE!

Have you registered for the Race?

Just a quick reminder that the deadline to register for the race and have your race for the cure t-shirt mailed to you is Friday, September 26th at midnight.

It is NOT the last chance to register. You can still register online until Wednesday, October 8th at midnight. But, you must pick up your shirt at Race Space (which is located in the Pleasant Ridge Town Center just west of the intersection of I430 and Cantrell Road with Fresh Market and Belk) or on race morning at the Race Registration Tent in its new location at 4th and Arch.

You may also register at Race Space which will be open beginning Friday, September 26th until Friday, October 10 at 2:00 p.m. And you may register on race day!!

This link will take you to our registration page.
http://race.komenarkansas.org/site/TR/Race/General?fr_id=1030&pg=entry&JServSessionIdr001=v99fj3r0d2.app8b

This 15th anniversary race is going to be our biggest and BEST ever. So please join us in downtown Little Rock on Saturday, October 11th. Remember, "This One's for the Girls".

What's in a name?

Tami

What Tamara Means

You are a seeker. You often find yourself restless - and you have a lot of questions about life. You tend to travel often, to fairly random locations. You're most comfortable when you're far away from home. You are quite passionate and easily tempted. Your impulses sometimes get you into trouble. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated. You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want. You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way! You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.

My "Ode To Billy Joe" Wordle.

Make your own at: http://wordle.net/

2008 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE COMPARISON TALKING POINTS

ISSUE		JOHN McCAIN	BARAK OBAMA
Favors new drilling offshore US		Yes	No
Will appoint judges who interpret the law not make it		Yes	No
Served in the US Armed Forces		Yes	No
Amount of time served in the US Senate		22 YEARS	173 DAYS
Will institute a socialized national health care plan		No	Yes
Supports abortion throughout the pregnancy		No	Yes
Would pull troops out of Iraq immediately		No	Yes
Supports gun ownership rights		Yes	No
Supports homosexual marriage		No	Yes
Proposed programs will mean a huge tax increase		No	Yes
Voted against making English the official language		No	Yes
Voted to give Social Security benefits to illegals		No	Yes
CAPITAL GAINS TAX
MCCAIN	0% on home sales up to $500,000 per home (couples). McCain does not propose any change in existing home sales income tax.
OBAMA	28% on profit from ALL home sales. (How does this affect you? If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay 28% of your gain on taxes. If you are heading toward retirement and would like to down-size your home or move into a retirement community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes. This proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the income from their homes as part of their retirement income.)
DIVIDEND TAX
MCCAIN	15% (no change)
OBAMA	39.6% - (How will this affect you? If you have any money invested in stock market, IRA, mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, retirement accounts, or anything that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be paying nearly 40% of the money earned on taxes if Obama becomes president. The experts predict that 'Higher tax rates on dividends and capital gains would crash the stock market, yet do absolutely nothing to cut the deficit.')
INCOME TAX
MCCAIN (no changes)	Single making 30K - tax $4,500 Single making 50K - tax $12,500 Single making 75K - tax $18,750 Married making 60K- tax $9,000 Married making 75K - tax $18,750 Married making 125K - tax $31,250
OBAMA (reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts)	Single making 30K - tax $8,400 Single making 50K - tax $14,000 Single making 75K - tax $23,250 Married making 60K - tax $16,800 Married making 75K - tax $21,000 Married making 125K - tax $38,750 Under Obama, your taxes could almost double!
INHERITANCE TAX
MCCAIN	- 0% (No change, Bush repealed this tax)
OBAMA	Restore the inheritance tax Many families have lost businesses, farms, ranches, and homes that have been in their families for generations because they could not afford the inheritance tax. Those willing their assets to loved ones will only lose them to these taxes.
NEW TAXES PROPOSED BY OBAMA
New government taxes proposed on homes that are more than 2400 square feet. New gasoline taxes (as if gas weren't high enough already) New taxes on natural resources consumption (heating gas, water, electricity) New taxes on retirement accounts, and last but not least....New taxes to pay for socialized medicine so we can receive the same level of medical care as other third-world countries!!!

You can verify the above at the following web sites:

° http://money.cnn.com/news/specials/election/2008/index.html
° http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/issues/issues.taxes.html
° http://elections.foxnews.com/?s=proposed+taxes
° http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/candidates/barack_obama/
° http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/candidates/john_mccain/
° http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourworld/politics/articles/mccain_obama_offer_different_visions_on_taxes.html

Awesome Speech!

Our last governor, Mike Huckbee, was a speaker at the Republican Convention last night. If you didn't get to hear it - check him out.



Gov. Huckabee was my pick for the nomination.
And, after this speech - I'd bet you'd wish you'd chosen him too.

Yes ma'am, I worked there.

I worked for the local ARC for over 16 years. (If you know me, you know what that stands for.)

I was laid off in 1996. I worked in just about every position at ARC.
From calling in blood donors; working in the mail room – printing a million + “learn to swim” applications;
to the safety office – signing up class participants and teaching or scheduling volunteer teachers for first aid/CPR and swimming courses;
then on to the public information office – working fund raisers and designing brochures and reports;
until finally I was the assistant to the chapter manager – which was really a great job, too.

I really loved working there. The volunteers were down to earth and real. I even got to work a disaster during my last year. It was very hard work, but very rewarding as well. The feeling you get when you help someone who has just lost everything they own is - impossible to describe. It’s a good feeling with a LOT of sadness surrounding the feeling.

The disaster I worked was the 1996 Ft. Smith Tornado. The twister leveled a couple of neighborhoods just outside of town. A child was killed, many were injured and many homes were destroyed.

I just cannot imagine going through something like that. Those poor people were left without anything. Everything they owned was strewn from Ft. Smith to Ozark. As a volunteer, I interviewed the displaced to try and determine their immediate needs. It was so sad. Some, who barely had anything to begin with, had nothing now. And they were just so grateful to get a mop, broom and a bucket.

I really miss my old friends from the ARC. They (the volunteers) really are a great group of people.

Hey! It's Not HOT!

Well, it's now August. And, unlike all our other Augusts this one is really great. It started out HOT, but last week through the weekend, (my weekend ended Monday,) it has really been very comfortable.

That's just one of the many reasons I so love my Arkansas. Just when you think you've got the weather figured out - Arkansas will make you love her all over again.

This morning is great. I almost needed a light jacket (IN ARKANSAS, IN AUGUST.) That is so unheard of. Usually, by this time of the year, we are always inside, in the AC, dreading to have to go outside, for any reason. The humidity alone is enough to keep the faint of heart from leaving their cool home.

We usually have those sultry summer nights. It's probably almost like a rain forest when the humidity rises on those days that are 100+. I know many people who cannot live in Arkansas because of it.

For instance, Tim's Aunt - who comes from West Texas. She and Uncle Mike moved here from Big Spring - many years ago. She was so miserable and voiced her dislike of Arkansas regularly. (This attitude was from someone who lived in a desert.) She constantly longed for her - flat, no trees, disgusting water, arid and hot - beloved West Texas. Finally, he had heard enough, he packed her up and took her home. He passed away several years later; she and their son are still in West Texas.

So we'll enjoy this cool August for a while. I'm sure the summer is not through with us yet. But, I'm hoping for an early - long fall season this year.

LOL

see more dog pictures

A friend sent me this website to view…
http://ihasahotdog.com/

It is so funny. People send in their doggie pics and others make up the captions for the photo. I found the one above and loved it. It is so funny, so cute and so Arkansas! Check out the site.

I have a memory...

I want to play too... Thanks Dr. Lynne... this should be a great game!

Here are the directions:
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.

It's actually pretty cool (and funny) to see the responses.

If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. :)

YAY!! It's perfect for the ride.....

Don't know when I'll have another moment to blog...the sun is up and the day's are becoming perfect for the ride, so I'll probably be on the back of the bike - A L O T! from now till Christmas..

We have a few rides planned already and I'm keeping our trailer packed for those "spur of the moment" trips that my husband is very well known for.

So, until my next blog - Look for those motorcycles! and Ride Safe.
M

May 3, 2008 Ride to Mount Magazine, AR

All in all, it turned out to be a pretty nice day for a ride. We met Andy, Rick, Deb, Arthur, Susie and Steve at the Shell on Hwy 10. Then rode to Williams Junction to meet Mary, Keith and Sherman. Then we rode in to Perryville and met Terry and Mike (and Mike's new baby)

BTW - Mike: Welcome to the "Old Geezer's Bike Club!" Got yourself a beaut-y-ful bike!

But now back to the ride. THE VERY COOL RIDE...I guess I'm rushing the summer to get here, because I really wanted it to be a LOT warmer than it was - sure wish I had my chaps. But, it did warm up a bit and wasn't to bad.

We made our way up to Mt. Magazine to a Bike Show at Shirley's Outback. It wasn't a very large show, but they did have a great band and some pretty good BBQ.

Then we rode up to the Lodge and hung out a bit, then over to Overton Lookout. The wind was kicking - too bad there weren't any hang-gliders.

We almost saw a wedding at the lookout. Poor people, one guy came by and said the couple was from Hawaii and so that was the theme of the wedding. They were all dressed in summery type dresses and short sleeved shirts - I'm sure they were all freezing in that wind on top of the mountain. We left before the bride and groom showed up - we didn't want to disturb the wedding with our bikes.

On the way back home, we saw a house on fire at Casa. Did you know that they will send firetrucks from Perryville to work a fire at Casa? I think that last truck we saw was probably just a waste of expensive gas money...by the time he got to the fire, it was probably a goner.

I've posted all the ride pictures on the link to the right: Mara on MySpace. Go check them out.

M

More Memory Questions...

So far, I received some very nice responses about my Memory Questions. Just please remember...the answers are from MY memory and I'm not declaring that I remembered the correct answers.... Just as I figured "someone" would surely let me know if I were wrong.



So, Mike has informed me that the Uncles Frank & Butch's gas station was a "Champlin" Not Champion.


Here's a few more... see how you do....


1. What was on the road between Aunt Dorothy's and Aunt Lillian's House?
2. What was the name of the lady who had big flower garden, and hand - made quilts? She lived next door to Aunt Lillian.
3.What kind of vehicle did Leonard drive?
4.We couldn't see Betty's house from the road...because?
5.What was the school bus driver's name that lived on Katillus Road?
6. Do you recall the names of our school bus drivers through the years?






1. A 4 - square and a 3 - circle games that we would play after school on the road.
2. Mrs. Lancaster, I use to mow her yard for her sometimes - she would pay me with a beautiful bouquet of fresh cut flowers. And, on stormy nights she would call Momma and ask if I could spend the night with her - she didn't like to be alone.
3. A Panel Wagon, he never drove anything else. When he got a different vehicle, he got another Panel Wagon.
4. The hedges grew so tall you couldn't see the house. Eventually they trimmed them down and, even later, removed them.
5. Mrs. Knowles.
6. I remember Mr. Jones and Mr. Carter as our bus drivers.

New Elementary School in our old neighborhood.

Well, I've told you all the family (with the exception of Uncle Frank's, and Aunt Margaret's) have left our old homesteads on Taylor Loop. Now they are going to build a new public elementary school on the site. Here is the details on a meeting coming up soon:

Meeting To Discuss Elementary School Project In West Little Rock

The Little Rock School District will conduct an informal neighborhood meeting to discuss the current status and strategic planning for the proposed new elementary school in west Little Rock. That school will be built on the southwest corner of Cantrell Road & West Taylor Loop Road.

The off-site roadway and utility adjustment plans are nearing completion, with construction of that portion of work soon to follow.

The Little Rock School District will make the area residents aware of the anticipated construction schedules, as well as, how traffic will be addressed during construction.

Representatives of the Little Rock School District and Mehlburger Brawley, the consulting engineers, will be on hand to make the presentation. In addition, representatives from the City of Little Rock will attend. A question and answer session will follow.

The meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m. tonight at the Thompson Library on Rahling Circle.

Wouldn't it be cool, and appropriate, to name the new school: Bisbee Elementary, or the Lessie L. Bisbee Elementary School.

Especially since so many Bisbee children were raised right there on that site - She actually watched everyone of us as we grew up. She gave just about all of us a pair of stripe-ped stockings on more than one occasion. I think it would be very fitting to have that happen.

Oh, and one more thing....their mascot should be a Chihuahua.

Maybe they should have negotiated that in the contracts when the property was sold.

Pearl Jean and Rose

Well, I've told you about my first baby and about my love for Rottweillers. But, I have two other girls that have stolen my heart - they are Pearl Jean, who is a "daddy's 'boy'" and My Rosie Posie.

After Bo died, and E & B moved away - taking Sheba, Buster and Pebbles with them, Maddy was all alone. We would go to work and Maddy had to stay home by herself. So, we decided, she needed some company. And, Maudie - who worked at Ferndale, said her daughter had some pups she was giving away.

PEARL
We stopped by her house and there on their patio, was our most precious Pearl-puppy. She came right up to us and played. So we brought her home. Her mom was a pit bull and her daddy was a boxer. She is a brindle color with white socks and white blaze on her face.

The reason I wrote 'boy' to describe Pearl is for a couple of reasons. If a dog could be a "tomboy" - Pearl would be a tomdog. She won't stay in her yard, she squeezes, finagles, pushes herself through any hole in the fence that she can find to get out. - Especially if her daddy walks over to the neighbors without her and closes the gate behind him. She has to be near him if he's anywhere in the vicinty.

She will sneak out of her yard and go visit the neighbors during the day when Mom & Dad are at work. Alice, our neighbor, loves her visits and gives her treats when she comes by. She brings home all kinds of junk, trash, and dead things she finds while roaming the woods and surrounding area. (Which really delights Maddy, since she can't get out of the yard.)

And, another reason is: Tim will say to her: "Good Boy Pearl" when she's done something he's proud of. I don't know why he says that, I've asked and he doesn't know either. He just does.

And, she loves him SO MUCH. She loves me too, when I take my evening walk - Pearl MUST go too - unless I lock her up in the house or shop - but, I let her go - sometime.

ROSE

I've mentioned in a previous post, how I came across my Rose. She is such a loving dog, but we finally found out why someone "dumped" her.

She began shaking her head and scratching her ears, I thought she was going to scratch herself silly. Not only that, she would race down our fence-line and drag her ears until they were bloody. I was beside myself trying to figure out why she would do that. And, then there was this odor - no matter how often she got bath, she, and especially - her ears, would stink something awful. We tried everything to get the problem under control - to no avail. So, we loaded her up and to the vet we went.

Now, we find out that she's part bloodhound. And, once you know that you can see it. And everyday, she seems to be more bloodhound than retreiver. She has the same face that Jed Clampet's dog, Duke, had. Long snout, droopy-eyes, she's real laid back, snoozing most of the day and her ears are longer than your everyday golden retriever - which is our problem.

The vet said, that bloodhounds have a tendency to get yeast infections in their ears. They have ears that hang over the entrance to the ear canal, preventing the canals from ever drying out. This is an ideal place for yeast to grow and boy, does it grow.

I did some internet surfing and learned more - that Bloodhounds shed more than you might think - yes. Their short, coarse hairs come off on your hands when you pet them, and stick tenaciously to your clothing, upholstery, and carpeting - yes. Also, Bloodhounds have a distinctive "doggy" odor to their skin and coat that some people find offensive ---YES. And, slobbering. (And YES!, Rosie does drool.)

So, I'm guessing, that when we were looking for her "lost owner" after we had found her - they didn't want the problems that she brought with her and they didn't want to be found.

But, now she's mine. And, unlike some sissy-fied city family, I will deal. I love her stinky-self and she loves me...and she will always be mine.

The vet wants to do major surgery on her ears - about $1,200 worth. Which, eventually I may opt to do. But until then, I will give her baths regularly and doctor her ears - by the way - I've found a great solution....I went and bought some Monistat cream - well, it is for yeast infections. I wash her ears everyday and apply the cream. And, it's working great! The odor's not so bad anymore and she doesn't try to scratch them off her head anymore.

So, now you know my babies. Who knows, I may adopt more someday (ssshhh! Don't tell Tim.)

Love.

M

No Plans, No Reservations, No Worries.....

Yesterday, in the mail, I received an invitation to attend my 30th High School Reunion. How freakin' weird is that? I really can't be that old, can I?

I guess that means that now...I'm...Middle..Aged?

It doesn't even sound right. I don't feel that way. I just can't believe time has gone away so quickly.... I should still be 18 or 25 or so (I wish, I wish, I wish!)

Being a teen to young adult in the 70's - 80's was so fun in Arkansas. We would all meet for lunch at a local Pizza Parlor; because we were in GED and got out of school around 11:30. I didn't have to be at work until 6:00 at the local Sears Store.

We had a couple of local swimming holes (creeks) that was the party spot on a certain day...the gravel pit, Lake Sylvia, Hollowells. We'd meet everyone down at the "T-Pot" (Trains, Planes and Other Things) on Friday/Saturday nights. Or, we head out to some really seculuded spot (which now is someones business or a Kroger) and build big bon fires. Someone would crank up their car stereo and we'd party until dawn.

A couple of summers, my husband (at the time - my boyfriend) and I would load up his GTO and take off to West Texas to visit his favorite Uncle, Mike and Christine in Big Spring. No plans, No reservations, No worries.

We'd take Tim's 4 wheel drive, and climb up mountains and drive through big mud ditches. Sometimes, I'm surprised we didn't roll the truck over or bury it so deep we got out in China.

When he got his Kawasaki motorcycle, we'd take off on it and ride around North Arkansas on any given weekend. Again, no plans, no reservations. Just strapped a coupled of sleeping bags on the bike and take an extra pair of jeans and underwear. We'd sleep on the ground - anywhere. And stop at a washateria in some small town to wash our jeans for the next day.

And, then, I was talking with my mom about how NOW, when my husband and I go on trips - that I MUST have a soft bed, and running - hot and cold water; everyday.

There is no way that I could ride a motorcycle for 8 hours, then throw a sleeping bag down for the night, get up - without a bath - and take off for another 8 hours.

Now, our trips MUST BE PLANNED, RESERVATIONS FOR THE HOTEL/MOTEL MUST BE MADE, AND YES - I WORRY IF I DON'T DO IT.

How is your memory?

I've got a few questions, and only if you grew up where I grew up will you know the answers....

I drove around the loop today. It's unbelievable how our surroundings have changed so much. It got me to thinking about the years while I was growing up. All the Bisbee's who lived on the west side are now gone. The houses have been excavated and the only thing left are some trees and the telphone pole that went to Uncle Pat and Aunt Leenie's mobile home. (And, the deep hidden secret - underground.)

As I was driving back to work and on my way home, I thought about all the many changes to the area that I have always called HOME. See if you can remember....

1. What was the name of the store that is now LaPalapa?
2. What was the name of the store that was on the East end of the Loop?
3. What was King's One Stop before it was King's?
4. What was the place where Leisure Arts is now?
5. What was the name of the store that was next to Uncle Butch's/Uncle Frank's Station on the west side? Then, what was on the east side?
6. What was located where McAlisters' and Izzy's are now?
7. What was the name of the Mountain behind the Loop?
8. Where did we all go to vacation bible school?
9. What kind of gas did Uncles' Butch and Frank sell?
10.What was the name of the cafe located just west of Joe T?
11. What was sitting between Aunt Dorothy's house and Grandma & Grandpa's house when we were very small?
12. Why was it taking your life into your own hands, if you wanted to walk down the lane to Lynne & Marnita's house?
13. What kind of tree was in Aunt Lillian's back yard?
14. What kind of fruit tree did grandma have in her front yard - before they cut it down?
15. Where did Mike, Cheryl and Pam go to elementary school?
16. Where was the other station that Uncle Butch opened up?


Scroll down to see the answers:






Answers:
1. Stone's Market
2. Rainey's
3. Nub's One Stop
4. Glen Johnson's Ranch
5. Moran's to the west, and Gilliam's Bros to the east.
6. The Optimist Club, where we all played softball.
7. Shinault - which is how my daddy said it and spelled it - NOT CHENAL.
8. Nalls Babtist Church.
9. Champion
10. Fletcher's Cafe.
11. There was an old rock - water well and PaPa's old jeep, which everytime I climb up on it, I got black stuff all over me.
12. Because, Leonard had two big black dogs that chased us when we walked by Aunt Stell's house.
13. A weeping willow, that hung so low that it was a secret haven in the area next to the trunk.
14. A peach tree.
15. Dupree Elem. in Jacksonville.
16. Across Highway 10 from Stones Market.

How many did you know?

Madelyn Marie and Bosephus.

As I said in my previous post, Ralph was our first "child," but he's not the only one. It was a while before we ever got another dog, and the ones we got before Maddie and Bo - well, some dogs are just dogs. And some dogs don't have that "personality" that makes them as special as Ralph was.

After Sis and Les moved away, we had new neighbors. E & B. They had a rottie, Sheba, who is my Maddy's momma. Sheba had a huge litter; under our shed in the back yard. E said they had to give the pick of the litter to the sire's family, but after that I could have my pick.

I begged Tim to let me have one and finally he relented. I told her I wanted the largest female. I named her Madelyn Marie (after my sis and Bon.) And, I was a momma again.

She was a fat little puppy, cute as could be. I have tile flooring in my dining room and she and her brother, Buster - who E & B kept; would lie on the cold tile floor spread eagle. They looked like frogs.

I noticed that Buster got up from the floor with no problem, but Maddy would struggle to get her backlegs up under herself when she tried to rise up. This troubled me, and I noticed later that it occurred even when she was on other types of floors.

I worried about it and had heard of Hip Displasia - I wondered if my puppy had it. So we took her to the vet. He determined that Maddy did not have HD, that her kidneys were malformed, probably because the litter was so large. That she would always have problems with her agility because of it. But she wasn't suffering so "unless we couldn't deal with it" he saw no reason to put her down because of it. (He was the same vet that worked on Ralphee, and I just don't understand how a person can be a vet and so easily expect dog owners to "just put them down.")

Anyway, Maddy did get spade and we brought her home. She walks a little funny, with a limp and if she needs to run - she looks like a rabbit hopping. And, she never jumps up on you.

Rottie's really have a bad rap. I've heard stories of how bad they can be but with the Rottie's I've known, I know it's just not true..I think all dogs can be bad if they're not cared for or they're abused.

If you allow your Rottie to socialize and offer love to her, she will be as loving a dog as a poodle. Which is how my Maddy is. She loves to cuddle and play. She is a beautiful dog.

After a couple of months passed, B brought home with another Rottie that some acquaintances of his had been abusing. It was a huge male Rottie. He had been tied up and left without food or water. B couldn't stand the sight of it - so he stole him from those people.

E & B decided they couldn't keep him and asked us if we wanted him. Tim had always wanted a "Big Black Dog" so we adopted him. I named him Bosephus.

Bo turned out to be as loving as Maddy, even though he'd gone through abuse. He loved me and we became best friends. When I was at home, he was always right by me. I loved and cuddled with him just as I did Maddy and he thought he was in heaven.

No one dared entered our gate without me or Tim present. Just the mere sight of my two HUGE rotties was intimidating. Bo was about 130 lbs and Maddy's at least 110 (now.) They would put on a big show everytime someone rang the bell at the gate. And, I would have to put them in the house or the back pen before anyone would come in.

We have two fenced in acres and it was their domain. My neighbor, Dick, said they really looked liked bears from a distance - they were so big.

And then one day, I came home and Bo was lying around. He didn't get up to greet me as usual. I checked on him and he was real lethargic, he wouldn't get up for me. He stayed that way for a day or two and I was real worried. I asked Tim to get him to the vet. But, moving 130 lbs of dead weight was impossible - especially since everytime we tried Bo would react like he was in extreme pain, let alone lifting him up to put him in the truck.

So, Tim called the new vet that had just set up shop on Ferndale Cut-off. He explained what our dilema was and the Vet (BLESS HIM) said, "No problem, I'll come see him."

He came over and took blood from Bo. The next day, he came back. Bo had contracted Lyme Disease. There was nothing to be done for it. So, this time we had to put him down - there was no choice - because he was suffering. The Vet gave him an injection and Bo went to sleep peacefully. And I cried like a baby.

I still have my Maddy, though she is getting older and you can tell her disabilty even more-so now. Some days she doesn't get around as well as others. I give her Ibuprofren on those days and it helps.

We still love and cuddle her. And, she has two "sisters" now, Pearl and Rosie, who keep her company.

Tim said I can't have another Rottie. But then again, someday he may not have a choice.

M

Ralph E. H***

As you probably have deduced, I don't have any children. However, I still have that maternal instinct - growing up I thought I wanted babies so I adopted - dogs.

When Tim and I moved into our first house together - before we married - he loved to hunt. Every year he would take off for 2 weeks to the deer woods. (I loved it - I was free to do what-ever for 2 whole weeks.) Anyway, one year when Tim returned home; I met him at the door (As much as I loved that freedom, I still missed him.) But this particular time he had something in his front shirt pocket.

When he opened his coat, there - with his front paws and head sticking out of the pocket - was the most adorable puppy I had ever seen. He was so tiny. He had beautiful brown eyes and velvety soft ears. He looked like a beagle, but after he grew up he was taller than a beagle and shorter than a walker. I researched and determined that he was a harrier hound.

Tim said he had been in the woods hunting and kept hearing a whining sound. He said it had been a rainy season and when he found him he was trapped in bog with water all around him. Tim rescued him and brought him home.

This was our first "child," Ralph. (or Ralphee, which is what I called him.)

Ralph adopted us, too. And, everywhere we went - Ralph went too. Tim took him to work with him. He went with us to visit relatives or friends. He went with us to the lake. There was no place that Ralph wasn't welcomed as part of "our family." My mother-in-law even included Ralph as a "grand-child" at Christmas. It became a fact of life that Ralph was a part of US.

Ralph was very smart. I truly believe he understood every word I ever said to him. All I had to do was say it and Ralph did as I asked.

When he went to work with Tim, he would have a morning routine. He'd take off down the road (and this was way before Kanis became so busy - it was, at the time, very rural.) But, he'd take off and explore the woods and surrounding area while Tim worked.

There was nothing that Ralphee couldn't do. We couldn't put him in a pen - he would just climb the fence and get out - no matter how tall the fence was. After we bought our new house we built a special door just for Ralph. He could come and go as he pleased and he had many antics through the 13 or so years that we had him.

When Tim raced at I-30, we had a friend, JD, that had a newspaper route. He came around the shop trying to get subcriptions one day. Well the shop and house already had one, so JD signed up Ralph for a subscription to the paper. Later, when the subscription was to expire a call came from the paper. She asked for Ralph E. H***. Everyone just cracked up. They told her that he couldn't come to the phone, took her number and told her he would call her back.

Once, we (Tim and I and Donna and Greg) had taken the bus (a 64 passenger school bus that Tim had renovated into a camper) and gone over on Hwy. 300 to a favorite fishing spot for the weekend. We had a great time fishing and partying. Of course, Ralph went too. And as usual, he had to explore the surroundings. Well, when he returned that evening - he stunk to high heaven. Someone had pitched a dead carp on the bank and Ralph, being a hound, loved it. For some reason, hounds will roll around on dead things. They actually rub themselves from head to tail on the carcass.

Tim took him to the creek and washed him as best he could, but Ralphee still REEKED. So, when time to go to sleep came, we didn't want stinky Ralphee in the bus with us and we didn't want him roaming through the night, we had a great idea...We put him in Donna and Gregs' little Toyota truck (which was really Donnas' dad's truck.) And we went to bed.

Well, apparently Ralph didn't like being cooped up with the smell either. He just about ate his way out of the truck. The seats, the headliner, the door panels, the dashboard, even the steering wheel was torn to smithereens. It was a disaster.

It was a very lucky thing that Tim does upholstery, because that little stunt would have been very expensive if we had to repair it by paying someone else to fix it.

Another memory of Ralph was how close he was to Tim. As I said Ralph went to work with Tim every day. If Ralphee wasn't roaming, he was right next to Tim. Except for one day:

When my sissy lived next door with Les and Bon. Les worked at his dad's school supply store downtown. One morning, Les went out and started his car but apparently forgot something, so leaving his car door open, he went into the house for a moment. He returned to the car and left for work. He said he made all the way to the interstate and heard something in the backseat. Ralph scared him to death. When he looked back, there was Ralph - wagging his tail and ready for a new adventure. Les took Ralphee to work with him that day.

The year that Grandma H. moved from Rogers to live with Father-in-law (F-I-L), they built an extension on his house for Grandma to live in. While they were putting shingles on the roof, Ralph watched as Tim climbed the ladder to the roof. Well, that put Tim too far away from Ralph, so Ralph climbed the ladder and made it to the roof with his "dad."

The same thing happened when they re-roofed the shop. This time there was no ladder though. F-I-L had some old cars parked under the back carport that the guys would get on to reach the rooftop. Again, Ralph watched them and, of course, he was up there with the guys working.

Then a day came when I was working at Red Cross. Tim called and said he was at the vet's office. He said that Ralph had tried to hurtle the chain link fence in his mom's yard. (Which is something Ralph had always done in the past with no problem. But Ralph was getting older, he was also "quite healthy" from all the leftovers he got. So he was little overweight.) But this time, he didn't clear the fence. When he jumped up, his little weewee got caught on the top of the chain-link fence. And when he dropped, his weewee didn't.

Tim said he heard Ralph whining at the door and when he opened it - there was Raphee sitting in a pool of blood. He immediately rushed him to the vet and called me. He said that the vet wanted to put Ralphee down, that without surgery and extreme care Ralph wouldn't be able to use the bathroom. I came UN-GLUED. I said, "you tell that vet to do WHATEVER IS NECESSARY but under no circumstances was he to give up on Ralph. I did not care what the cost was," and I was worried sick.

The vet did the surgery, he removed Ralph's manhood, and repaired the weewee as best he could. Tim and I had to doctor the the weewee twice a day to make sure it didn't grow closed, if it had more surgery would have been needed.

Ralphee recovered and got back to his old self. We had Ralph another 5 years or so after that.

I could go on and on about Ralphee. We have never had another dog that could replace him. We have adopted other dogs - but none have measured up to RALPH E. H***.

M.

Places I've Been

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Keith and Tim have a girlfriend at the Pig Trail Harley Dealership.

Just a quick update...

Well, as you can tell, I haven't blogged for a while. I have been so busy with work and by the time I get home I'm exhausted!


I'm really enjoying my "new" job. I work in the customer service department now and it's a totally different ball game than the warehouse. I have learned so much - especially about the computer program called Exel. It is an amazing tool. I love it.


Tim and I are still riding. I've rode more this year than ever. I've even gone on some pretty cool (and I mean - COLD) rides.


For Christmas, we bought a Bushtec trailer to pull behind the bike. Tim has been wanting to use it so badly - he's even pulled it when he's ridden with his buddies on day rides.

So, the weekend of March 2, for our 24th wedding anniversary, we rode up to Eureka. It was a good weekend for a ride - as long as you didn't have to ride after dark.

Tim got his first massage, and he really enjoyed it. We used their "couples room" and both got a deep tissue massage and a facial - he really enjoyed the facial. They put cold cucumbers over your eyes and cleanse your face then put on hot towels. It was sooo wonderful. The massage was intense. I like deep tissue sometime, but I really enjoy a relaxing rub down most (which is the kind I usually get.)

Well, I'm out of time today and must get to work. I'll keep blogging as I can.

M