The Last Walk

Ten years ago our third son Joel went away to college, leaving a distraught and lonely Megan stuck with two of the most boring humans on earth (Mom and Dad). As the days went by, and Megan was not coming out of the depression, Kevin and I then made a decision to find a friend for her. Around that same time, Megan and I became volunteers at the Humane Society, where we would go every week and help clean out the cat room. As we did this, we would check out the dogs. We looked at several different dogs, but none of them seemed like a good fit, until we saw the little tri-colored beagle. Undersized but enthusiastic, she won our hearts in an instant. Her name was Sara, and in a couple of days she had adopted us. An immediate change came over Megan. Every day when she came home from school I'd send the dog out to great her, and who can resist a happy, tail wagging dog? The first year of having Sara in our house Megan claimed that she still liked cats better then dogs, but after a time her allegiance shifted, and now I'd say she's a hard core dog lover. I'm writing as if this was all about Megan and Sara, but this is really about all of us and Sara.

I was the kid that dragged home every stray animal that I came across. All I ever wanted was a dog. With a sister having sever asthma this was not a good idea. That didn't stop me, I persisted until Dad and Mom broke down and gave me a dog for Christmas, and I have to say that I would rank that gift as the best Christmas gift I've ever received. He was a little brown mutt that I named Barney. I loved that dog and he followed me everywhere, sometimes that wasn't so good. If I wanted to go to my best friend, Karen's house, I would have to sneak out of my house and run fast to her house, to get away from Barney. About an hour after I had successfully dodged the dog, he would track me down and be crying at the Swenson's door. I loved the dog anyway, and was devastated when he disappeared. For weeks after he was gone I would search the neighborhood and countryside calling and whistling for him. He never came back.

Along came Megan's dog, Sara. She and I became fast friends and I loved how she was so happy to see me every single time I walked in the door. We spent many hours walking, reading and napping together. If I lay on the sofa she would lay on my feet to keep them warm. Soon after she arrived in our house we discovered that she had a marvelous singing voice, and I loved to hear her bay, (most of the time) at the bunnies, squirrels, and anybody who rang the doorbell. She was smart and easily learned a boat-load of cute tricks that she would perform for anybody that came to the house. She loved the next door neighbor Pauli, and spent time laying next to her on the bed when she was dying of cancer. Every night when Megan went to bed Sara slept next to her like a little sister. When we walked past the bus stop every morning all the girls would want to pet Sara. In other words she was a well loved dog.

You may be wondering why I'm writing this post. Well, today was Sara's last day with us. A couple of months ago we noticed a change in Sara. She was having some problems of which I will not detail here. We kept hoping that it was just a faze and would go away. After some time we realized that it wasn't a faze and we would have some difficult decisions to make. Yesterday I called the vet and made arrangements to have her euthanized. This was a heart wrenching choice to make, and even now I can't stop weeping. This morning we took her on her last walk, fed her, and that was it. When I look back on the ten years she spent with us and the pain at the end, I'd still do it all over again. When I walked in the door from work today, there was no Little Buddy to greet me, and it seems a bit lonely. Here are some of the things that I learned from Sara.

1. Always show friends how happy you are to see them again.

2. Every day is the best day of your life.

3. If you have a tail, wag it a lot.

4. Forgive people for angry, harsh words.

5. If you feel like singing, let loose with all your might.

6. Don't be afraid to show bullies that your not afraid of them.

7. Don't be afraid to back down from a fight if you think you might get hurt.

8. When you itch, scratch.

9. Getting dirty isn't a bad thing.

10. Snuggling is good.

11. If a friend is hurt, give them a kiss.

12. Take long walks as often as you can.

13. If you eat your dinner you'll get a treat.

14. Don't ever turn down a really great meal.

15. Most car rides are great.

16. If you love someone, let them know.

17. If someone pulls your tail, bite back.

18. Cats are a lot scarier then they look.

19. Take every opportunity to chase a bunny.

20. Love without expecting anything in return.


Farewell Little Buddy. I have no doubt that if we meet in heaven, you will greet me with tail wagging, happy face, and dragging Barney behind you.

Kirk

My parents have seven children, I am the middle child. I guess that would make me Four of Seven. For six years I enjoyed the honor of being the youngest child. Perhaps my parents couldn't stand the thought of having another little person after they had dealt with me, or maybe I was so adorable that they wanted time to enjoy every minute of me. This is one of those questions, never to be answered, because it doesn't really matter. The real story follows:

The great day came when I was six years old, my mother gave birth to a baby boy, his name was to be Kirk. When Dad went to the hospital to pick up my brand new baby brother, he asked me if I wanted to go along. Curiosity and excitement to see this new little stranger was voiced in a big "OK". When Mom came out into the car they placed this little bundle in my lap and my first response was "What's wrong with his face?" Years later after the birth of two other sisters, four children of my own, and twelve grandchildren,I now know that babies are toothless, wrinkled little people, and all of those things are perfectly normal. In other words nothing was wrong with his face.

From the very first I thought having a little brother was great. Not only was he a fun and very cute little boy, but he gave me something I had been wanting for a long time, someone to boss around. Kirk was a boy through and through. We have legends of Kirk and his friend Davy. My favorite story is about the time they started a fire in the basement so that they could dance around it. I also remember the day he found a jar of Vaseline and covered himself in it. Another time I was home sick, and I heard my Mom laughing, she carried Kirk into the room where I was. He had fallen into a drawer where we kept flour and was completely covered with it. He looked like Casper. Mom and I had such a great laugh together over that. All of us adored Kirk. His happy disposition, winning smile, and beautiful hair won everybody over.

Almost from the very beginning Kirk was an unbelievably driven worker. I can remember that one of Kirk's jobs as a boy was to weed the hill in front of our house. Dad would have him go out, and clear that hillside every so often. Kirk didn't like it, but his thinking was, "the sooner I do it, the sooner it will be over". This was a horrible, hard task and I was glad I didn't have to do it, but Kirk stuck with it until it was done. That's how he does everything.

This week Kirk found out that he has to tackle the biggest hill that he's ever faced. He has been diagnosed with Mantel Cell Lymphoma. Like that hill of weeds, he has decided to give it all he's got. Scores of us are rooting for him. He and his great wife Julie, their daughters Liz, and Amanda, are in all of our prayers. We are praying for a miracle. To my dear brother, Keep on weeding that hill! I love you.

A great laugh

This made me laugh so hard that I thought you should all see it.

Time for Some Campaignin' | Funny Jokes at JibJab

Sisters

The sisters had a great weekend. We threw in a few brothers for a fabulous time.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Scupper, Sink, and Burn Me.

Look you here now all ye land lubers. Now then, If I may make so bold, I'll be telling ya plain, the most auspicious, aye, and preposessen of days will soon be upon ye. I'd warrent a handsome wager that ye scurvy dogs all have a strong knowledge of the momentous nineteenth day of the month of September. Arrgh! International Talk Like a Pirate Day. This is not the time to keep your tongue behind your teeth. No standing off and on, set to work, and open your pretty maws. Man the braces and speak forth, or all the world will know that the blood in your veins is skim milk. What say you to this? Some might say one thing and some another, tis no matter, ere's luck and long life to all of us.

www.talklikeapirate.com

Not as good as it could have been

The dust has settled, and now I've had time to think about the book for a while. I'm disappointed. Since many of you have not yet read the book, I can't really state my reasons. However, as you finish the book, we can talk about it.

These are the voyages of the star ship Enterprise

"These are the voyages of the star ship Enterprise." When I was a young lassie about the age of fourteen, a new science fiction TV program began with those words. I was totally hooked from the first broadcast and quickly became a rabid Star Trek Fanatic (later called a Trekkie) I morned when the show was cancelled after the second season, and celebrated when because of the huge amount of fan protest, and fan mail they brought it back for a short time. Star Trek quickly became a rerun protege making it so all the fans out there could memorize the lines, the name of the ships, the numbers and titles of the shows, and every single detail. I have to admit I'm not quite that dedicated.

So why do I love it so much? I once read an article in the paper that said Star Trek fans and in fact science fiction geeks tend to have a higher IQ then the rest of the world. Do you think that the article could have been written by a fan? Anyway, I choose to believe that it's my high intelligence that makes me prone to love Sci-fi. The other reason is the total out of this world excitement that I get from Science Fiction. To me it is the ultimate escape, where literally anything is possible. Flying faster then the speed of light, universal translators, technology that can send a person to a different place without the use of a vehicle, not to mention the Vulcan Death Grip (which doesn't really exist). What is truly amazing is how much of it has become reality. Every time I answer my flip cell phone, I think of Star Trek. I think that's why I refuse to get a slider. Wow! I love it all.

My favorite character in the whole entire Star Trek saga and it's off-spring, is SPOCK. With a Vulcan father and a Human mother he was constantly trying to be like his father, all the while fighting the humanity of his mother. Woah! I really am a Trek Geek. Who is your favorite character and why?

Special thanks to Tobi the Great for making the music possible and also saving my sanity.

Megan's choice. Seven of Nine

Rachelle likes the name Riker but thinks Star Trek is not for her.

Tobi's choice. Data, the robot that wants to be a man.

I must admit that If it weren't for Spock I'd vote for Victoria's choice. "Q"

Elizabeth thinks it's a toss up with the before mentioned Seven of Nine, and the intellectual Captain Picard. Make it so.

If it hadn't been for the ever heroic, confident, and charismatic Captain Kirk, the Enterprise would never have left the ground, let alone earth. William Shatner's Portrayal of Kirk, was really the force behind the success of the show. He's one of the few actors from the entire franchise that has continued to act his entire life. I believe he won an Emmy last year for Boston Legal. Right on apis.