A Rescue Story

Today, I was able to help transport a 13 year old Ridgeback out of a shelter in Miami and on toward her new home in Texas.

I picked Hester up in Vero Beach and transported her here to Charli Ritz in Orlando, FL. It was my first time helping and I felt extremely happy I was able to participate.

Hester's is a story that is all too common to the elderly owners. They pass and they did not make arrangements for their dogs. Hester was to be euthanized, but the owner did not leave specific instructions, so there was a hold on her... and Rescue got involved. After a little red tape, she is out and on her way to Susan Shepard in Houston, Texas. She will live out the rest of her life on a soft bed, with other seniors and someone that loves her.

A good day indeed.

Tempered only by the news that Diane Jacobson's puppy girl, Jesse, was found dead on the highway out in California. Diane was in an accident yesterday and Jesse bolted from the crash. They spent all day and all night looking for her - even spotted her - but then the sad news about an hour ago.

Rest in Peace sweet Jesse.

The most missed Season

Fall does not come to Florida. Not in the way I love and remember. No season comes to Florida except extreme heat and then a little cooling off. here is no snow. There is no color change. Nothing dies and then comes back to life. It just dies and rots and smells bad.

Really, I think fall is one of the parts of Michigan I miss the most.

The crisp morning air, the cool, yet warm breezes that brings the scent of fallen leaves and the smell of hay and other grasses. And in the right place, the smell of apples, cider, pies and caramel. Looking out your windows to see all the colors of fall - red, gold, purple, brown, orange, yellow. Going out in the cool air of the morning, but by noon, it was warm enough for short sleeves.

Every fall, usually in October, I made it a point to go travel to see the colors. Be it up in the

thumb area, along I-75 or around Higgins Lake, it was definitely something I did every fall. The leaves and trees never failed to deliver.

Another missed aspect are the cider mills. I remember arriving in Florida and asking if there were any here. Floridians had no idea what I was talking about. WHAT? A life of no cider and donuts ever? Ugghh. I can't imagine that. And let's talk about watching a football game in 90 degree weather. No thanks.

So on days like today, when the breezes come to Florida, I remember the fall up in Michigan and long to be up there if just for the season.

Never Forget

The Day that Changed everything. September 11, 2001

I think, like the generation before us, this is the day that we will remember exactly where we were when the planes flew in to the World Trade Center Towers.

I remember where I was.

I was in my office at Sommers, Schwartz on the 9th floor of the Southfield Town Center when Randy Blau came in to tell me that a plane had flown in to the North Tower. The internet was useless. CNN. MSNBC and FOXNews were all jammed and there was no way to get any information. In a time where information is just a click away, it was eerily unsettling that we could not get it.

After the second plane hit the South Tower, we were let out of work to go home and be with our family. By the time I got home, a plane had crashed in to the Pentagon and Flight 93 had crashed in Pennsylvania and the North Tower had collapsed, soon to be followed by the South Tower. Terrorism had just reached American soil.

The United States had basically shut down. Planes were re-directed to the nearest airport and air travel was locked down. I can remember later that day looking up and seeing a single plane flying overhead - military plane - and wondering where it was going.

Here we are nearly 10 years later. Some changes have remained. The airline industry has not been the same. Fewer flights and more crack downs on who gets searched and what goes on a plane. Immigration has become a hot topic. Americans are less tolerant of the illegals coming in to this country. We are also trying to be tolerant of Islam and its teachings, unfortunately, we are having a hard time separating the radicals from the religion that teaches peace.

Other changes have occurred, too. American love for Country has returned. We are less tolerant of those that speak out against us, including our own fellow Americans. We also know who our true allies are and know who did not come to our aide in the time of need or in our fight on terrorism. Always in the back of our minds we think of this day and remember.

Do you remember where you were?

Decisions

We have made the decision to pull Finn from the show ring for a little bit - probably until the end of the year. It was a hard decision, but I think a smart one.

In April/May, he got ill and lost an incredible amount of weight. He has yet to recover physically from that. His rear lost so much muscle mass and his drive has become non-existent. The tell tale sign was when he did so poorly in the Orlando shows and the Atlanta shows. He just did not compare, physically, to the other dogs.

Prior to his weight loss, Finn was doing fine in the ring. Like most show dogs here in Florida, we were putting the points on knowing that soon we would be searching only for those elusive majors. And then after the illness, his winning came to a halt.

Our plan is to show in Deland, show a day in Arcadia, exercise him and lure course him and let him gain back his physique. I know he can do it.

So, until he is back in the ring, we will concentrate on finishing Bindi and specialing her.

Bye Bye Brighthouse

For over 3 years we have suffered thru substandard internet connection, TV connections that sometimes go out for no reason and twice having our cable cut when Brighthouse could not figure out whose cable went where.

Enough is enough. Over the last 6months we have called repeatedly about out internet being intermittent. It would come and go as pleased for no apparent reason. We were given many, many excuses - like it was our router and we needed to hook up the computer to the modem. We were told that they did not have any issues in the area, so just re-set the modem. All of that was just a band-aid. The last straw was last week when once again, our cable was cleanly cut off at the pole and we went 2 days without cable or internet.

Today, AT&T gets installed. They have been here all week long setting up everything for the outside. Knocking on the door to let us know they are here. In just a few short hours, they will be broadcasting in to our home and helping our computers work faster and more efficiently.

Here is hoping for a smooth and productive relationship.