Last Saturday was a day of a lot of big changes. J.D., our lovable cat and companion, passed on peacefully while surrounded by friends. He has been a big part of my life since I met my wife, but he had been with her since 1995. The cancer that took his life moved so fast. Even with several rounds of chemotherapy and a fighting spirit didn't stop the growth of his Lymphoma. Over the weekend I thought about all the good times and stories that center around that cat. He could be full of piss and vinegar sometimes, but was a sweet soul, sometimes waking me up in the middle of the night as he was grooming my scalp with his sandpaper tongue. I really miss his trilling meow and all of his tomfoolery that usually involved him dry humping pillows. What a character. I will never forget him.
The other big change is that Mr. F, who was with our family for exactly one year and one day, has moved to a new home. He had been struggling with the fact that he was not the only cat for several months. His new home will allow him to be his lovable over-stuffed self. I am going to miss him, but I am happy that he has a home that will give him more attention and love.
Rusty, my in-laws wonderful dog, unexpectedly passed away on May 9th. She was a sweet girl and a frequent visitor at our house. The house seems suddenly so much quieter.
Who would have thought that Michael Jackson's usage of surgical masks would have been some forward thinking fashion choice. If SARS and the Avian Influenza were not bad enough to scare you, the Swine Flu is here to stay. While many would shrug this off as crazy, if you look at the history of the 1918/1919 Spanish Flu outbreak, approximately 25 million people died in the first 25 weeks of the pandemic. That is in the age before same day transit between continents via commercial airliners. Scary.
(Photo Courtesy of sarihuella on Flickr)
A great resource on the subject is the CDC Swine Flu page. This is a clearinghouse of information and links about the current outbreak.
Link:
Sometimes when you look back on your experiences, you can clearly see that the world was preparing you for the future. Over the past two weeks, we've experienced sleepless nights and the need to change poop filled diapers on an inconsolable child. This is not the first time that Christie and I have experienced this. Those of you who know the details of our life, know that Duke the Dalmatian was taken from this world last December. What many people might not know is that the same day that Duke's bladder burst following his cancer surgeries, and we decided to not put him down and do everything we could to bring his life back to normal, is the same day that we found out that we were pregnant with Miles. We chose life that day.
In some ways Duke gave us Olympic level training. Changing the blood and feces soaked dressings on a 70 pound dog will always trumph a few ounces of yellow poop. Dealing with an inconsolable dog that is in pain and is depressed because he can't sleep in your bed anymore due to the mess and safety issues (falling off the bed) will always trumph a baby that can be satiated by a bottle or a diaper change. Duke gave us the lesson of undying affection and the need to pull out all the stops for a family member. Whatever the long term outcome, you know you tried your best and explored every possible route.
I don't know what Miles' life is going to be all about, but I'm glad the world has provided us with lessons whether they be blunt or subtle. Every life has a plan and purpose, but sometimes you just don't see it right away.
For those of you who know my family, you know that Duke the dalmatian was a big part of things in our household. I'm sorry to say that Duke has passed on yesterday after a difficult year. I won't go on about his medical problems, but it truly was his time. He was surrounded by people that love him and was at peace.
It is asked that in leiu of any sort of flowers or other condolences that you contribute to Pasado's Safe Haven and make sure to cherish the ones you love.
Okay, the whole economy is going down the toilet. Everyone now knows someone that is laid off or downsized. You know it is really bad when business evangelist Guy Kawasaki (and THE original Apple fanboy) starts giving tips on how to lay people off. Dust off your Y2K supplies and batten down the hatches, this is going to be a long recession.
(Photo Credit: Chris Campbell on Flickr)
Links:
After blogging for a few months, I have gotten used to the automatic content spamming robots that try to fill the comments section and individual postings with trackbacks. While most of these posts include links to sites that have drive-by malware or send you to sites that sell drugs, I encountered something completely new today. The trackback was sending a link for the "Real Situation" in the ware between Georgia and Russia. No malware. No v1agra. No Rep1ica. Just a link to Youtube with a video of some scared to death guy talking about his situation in Georgia with the sounds of bombs and machines guns going off in the background. Is this the new overt technonological front line for how war will be fought in the future?
This post is somewhat humorous and sad at the same time. We have a new visitor staying at Chateau de Anderer and his name is Mr. F.
As you can see, Mr. F is a really big boy. Here comes the sad part. Mr. F, or "Mr. Fatty" as she named him, came from the house of my wife's good friend that passed away last week. Although she only had him for about eight months, he was her beloved companion. We chose to truncate his name in honor of one of our favorite shows, Arrested Development, and the fact that calling this cat fat is sort of like throwing stones in glass houses. ;)
He's a temporary guest at the ranch right now. Unfortunately he can't fit through the cat doors (actually we installed medium sized dog doors). While he is spry, he makes our other 18 pound cat look like a dwarf. He's looking for a permanent home, but until then he'll be camping out on our couch.
You can see more pictures at:
Over the last few weeks I've been thinking about how short life is and the importance of how you treat people on a daily basis. Last October, one of my favorite undergrad professors, John Long, passed away of a heart attack. He was truly an intelligent, kind and insightful man.
When I am older and look back at my life, I hope I can have the impact of a man like John. While I was a student at Chico State he probably worked with a few hundred young people, if not more. Over the period of his life he touched thousands and positively affected the thinking and careers of all who were under his tutilidge. Whether you try or not, you do affect the world around you. You don't have to be a truly selfless person, just try to balance what is best for you with what is good for the world around you.
I scanned this in from the CSU, Chico Alumni Magazine:
One of our favorite family members, Duke the dalmatian, has had a pretty rough patch in the last few days. Due to some surgical wizardry and lots of love, he's on the road to recovery. We thought we were going to lose him on Sunday, but he pulled through and is now ambulatory! Duke has a will to live and is fighting back against the cancer that has caused him all this suffering.
Thanks to Christie for the wonderful phone cam pictures that made me smile! For those not initiated into the ways of vet medicine, the fashionable mesh garment Duke is wearing is not just for aesthetic purposes, it is to help keep swelling down and to protect the sutures on his stomach.
Thank you to all who have emailed or called with kind wishes for Duke's recovery, it was those good thoughts and prayers that kept him alive through everything.
Flickr Photoset: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aaron_anderer/sets/72157605311980987/
There are other wonderful reasons to smile today, but I'll save those for a later date.
Update 5/31/2008 - Duke is still doing well, but his rear end is still very tender. A bit wobbly, but his appetite is back.
Update 6/3/2008 - Duke's bottom isn't healing like it should. Most likely another surgery tomorrow. :(
Update 6/5/2008 - He had another surgery yesterday. Things look really decent and he's in great spirits. The doctor has us adding metamucil to his food so he'll have more solid stools and has a whole new scheme for using gauze pads to protect the suture sites but still keep it dry and free of fecal matter.
Update 7/12/2008 - He's out of the woods. After four surgeries and countless visits to the vet, Duke is on the mend! He's a bit wobbly, but back to his old self.