Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Thrown

Spenser's passing was much more difficult than I imagined, but it hit Chance the hardest.

The first night without Spenser, Chance slept on Double D's bed. All night. As some of you know, Chance never, ever, gets on furniture. We've never scolded him for it, but for some odd reason, he's always seemed frightened of it.

The next night, Callie came over to play. This made Chance happy, and was a welcome distraction.

Last night, the third night, Chance became confused on where to sleep. He kind of stayed out in the hallway, in between the bedrooms, with a lost look on his face. I know he was asking "What happened to my buddy? Where is he?" I coaxed him into my room and he jumped on the bed, but I could tell he wasn't comfortable there, so he jumped down and went to Double D's room. He wouldn't get on the bed there either, but kept poking his head out the door as though hoping to see Spenser.

Chance always took his cues from Spenser. Wherever Spenser went, Chance followed. He would not even poop until Spenser pooped. Would not eat until Spenser ate. Would not lie down to sleep until Spenser did. You get the idea. They were like peas and carrots. Like Bert & Ernie. Like Cheech and Chong without the pot.

Chance has doe eyes like Bambi. If you look into them for very long, they will melt your soul. His eyes have the capacity to soften the hardest heart. Sometimes I feel he is soul searching me. Dogs can do that, I think. He's also the mildest mannered dog you'd ever want to meet. His sweet disposition coupled with the inability to communicate what's happened, make this a somewhat difficult ordeal.

It's hard to watch Chance these days without his sidekick. I'm sure he'll adjust, eventually. In the meantime, I'll just take a little stroll down memory lane.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Tripped Up by Xenu

Like many of you, I am fed up with our current political choices. As a result, I decided to research other candidates that are on the November 4th ballot. Ordinarily, I would go to the polls and vote a straight ticket. Stupid, I know, but I am now reformed and intend to be INformed for all future elections.

The Dallas Morning News has a candidate comparison mechanism on their web site which is extremely useful. I decided to give the Democrats a chance, comparing them to the Republicans. Guess what? They have similar polished crap as the Republicans, if crap can be polished. Out of sheer desperation, I clicked on Yvonne Schick (LIB) who is running for U.S. Senate, thinking, 'oh, what can it hurt'? As I read her answers to the questions, her views struck a chord in me. On a whim, I emailed her, basically saying what a breath of fresh air her views are. She wrote back almost immediately to thank me and said comments like mine "make the battle worthwhile". She also sent a youtube link that a supporter made for her, urging me to watch it and pass it along.

Unfortunately, in the "Related Videos" section, there was a glaring youtube about Mrs. Schick's Scientology beliefs. It is public knowledge that Scientology members have a history of infiltrating the U.S. government for the purpose of promoting the teachings and practices of Scientology. Schick is a ranking member of Scientology, Operating Thetan Level VI.

How can these people be taken seriously with titles like that? She might as well have stepped off an alien aircraft for all I know.

I debated whether to email her back or not. After all, I am a person of my word, so I felt I at least owed her an explanation. Her beliefs were not revealed on the web site and even though she may have no intention of "infiltrating" our government, she can't be trusted. Besides, if I'm now on some kind of list, I want to be crystal clear that I am not a Scientology sympathizer or supporter. So I replied back to her email thanking her for the youtube, but told her about the "other" video I uncovered. Scientology, I explained in no uncertain terms, is a deal breaker for me. Thankfully, I have not heard back.Googling unearthed this blog post entitled "No Money, No Xenu" which humorously explains how much of a money-sucking cult this organization really is. Two girls from Manhattan went undercover out of curiosity to see if there was some merit to Scientology. All they were told over and over by recruiters was how "life altering" Scientology is, but offering no other details to substantiate their claims. Books, dvds, and other paraphernalia were foisted on them time and again, even though they repeatedly stated they had no money. Excerpt: Without the means to purchase the endless LRH (L. Ron Hubbard) endorsed products, the secrets to living a “happier” and “better” life were not available.

Even though my first experience with Libertarianism was a bit of a shocker, I am still investigating their party. Libertarians seem dedicated to adhering to our Constitution, cutting government out of the private sector, and letting the free market take care of itself. This I like. It remains to be seen if I totally abandon the Republican party or not. Perhaps if I can just clear the engrams from my reactive mind. *ponders*

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Love of Dogs Explained

After being expelled from the garden, they missed God's constant company. So the Lord of compassion created an unconditionally loving companion for them. God said, 'because it mirrors my love for you, let's call it Dog'. ~ author unknown

More Butterflies

Despite a rocky start getting inside the Arboretum on Sunday (long story), I had an amazing time capturing all the beautiful Monarchs. I hadn't cranked out my 300mm lens in quite some time and from what I remember from previous attempts, the results were less than stellar. Not this time. I am so thrilled with the clarity and colors. I did end up touching up some of them, but tweaking was very minimal. The slide show is the best way to see all of them. Oops. How did he end up in here?