Paws Awhile

At Peace

I am very HAPPY to say that I am no longer associated with Dr. Matthew Whitehead. I have never been so relieved about anything in my entire life. I don’t have to go to bed every night dreading the next day. I don’t have to make myself get up every morning. I don’t have to be embarrassed to have my family, friends and neighbors know where I work or come to my office.

I no longer have to be ashamed of my job. It has been 5 long years of crude behavior, filthy language and disgusting jokes. That is coming from someone who doesn’t get offended easily. No more spending my days with a man that is too stupid to know that most people aren’t too stupid to know what is right in front of their face, a man who has no compassion whatsoever in his heart. The best part is, I will never have to lie to people like a mother of a child in pain or an elderly lady who buried her husband three days before. For the first time in a long while I am truly at peace.

Getting Back To Business

For the last few months I have been slacking on updating this blog. Then all at once I started getting a lot of hits and more people starting signing up so I guess it is time to buckle down and go to work.

As I said before, I never intended for this to be a NASCAR blog, but the three most active hits are the Philco portable TV, Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart. There is only so much I can say about that little TV, other than I really, really wish someone would buy it. Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart are a totally different story. I can always find something to write about involving NASCAR.

Most of the hits for Kyle are “The Most Hated Driver in Nascar”. I am sure all those people come in to read how horrible he is and what a dirty driver he can be. If that is the case there have been some very disappointed readers. You won’t find any “I Hate Kyle Busch” here. What you will find is about his passion for racing, his drive to win, that “I’m good and I know it” attitude and his generous compassionate heart. I don’t follow Kyle because he is a pretty boy or because he is popular. I follow Kyle because he is a true racecar driver.

Then there is Tony Stewart. Tony has the same attitude as Kyle. He wants to win. He says what he thinks. Even when he knows it will ruffle some feathers. But I like Tony and write about him because of his love for animals and his generosity.

Just for the record I will have to say these are not my only favorites. You can add Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick Joey Logano and David Ragan to the list. As one elderly patient who recently visited our office said, “You like all those bad boys don’t you?” Well, yes I do.

And then there is the other list. Carl Edwards is arrogant and a fake. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is the most overrated driver in NASCAR. However, I do believe most of his problems stem from all the pressure put on him by Jr. Nation. Then there is Juan Pablo Montoya. All I can say about that is he is Juan Pablo Montoya. Scott Speed is just weird.

All the others drivers are OK with me. Some I like better than others, but I don’t dislike any of them. It was fun to see Jimmie Johnson get the three peat. And who could have been upset about Matt Kenseth winning the first two races after not doing so good last year. If one of the drivers on the first list can’t win and one on the last list doesn’t win, I am happy with any of the others coming in first. Jr. ranks somewhere down the middle. I don’t want him to win because of his fans, but I had rather see him win than the other three on “that” list. I just enjoy a good race.

I have my opinions on that also. I want races to go down to the wire. I like to watch an all out dog fight with plenty of bumping and rubbing. Bouncing off the wall a few times is fun. Even better when a couple of them get all mad about it and start fighting. All that is what makes it NASCAR.

Who wants to sit there for several hours watching a bunch of polite wusses riding around in circles? Why should a driver pull over and let another one pass because he has a good run on him? I say turn and block him. After all, it is a race, not a Sunday afternoon drive.

Ok, so now you have seen my aggressive side. More to come later.

Central State Hospital Cemetery

Last Friday my mom and I attended a very special memorial service at Central State Hospital in Pineville, LA.  Central is a hospital for the mentally ill.  It no longer has the number of patients that it once did and most of the buildings are being used by other state agencies, but there are still people living there.

Back in the 80’s Mr. Ray Moreau was walking through an overgrown patch of land on the grounds looking for a place to put a vegetable garden when one of the patients said, “We’re walking in the cemetery”.  Mr. Moreau did some checking and found out, yes it was a cemetery.  There are over 2000 patients buried there.  Some didn’t have a family and some families didn’t have the money to have the patients brought back home.  Sadly, some were just thrown away because of their illness.  Back then there was a stigma about the mentally ill.  It was something to be ashamed of and not spoken of outside the family.  So these people were buried with no markers, only a concrete slab over their grave and under the surface bearing their patient number.  It is my understanding that a fire destroyed many of the records.

Since finding the cemetery, Mr. Moreau has worked to improve the situation.  The land has been cleared and a beautiful monument has been place at the site.  It is now a well kept peaceful place and considered sacred ground.  Mr. Moreau and his wife, “Lady” had been instrumental in bringing about the memorial service.  Not many people attend but each year the number grows.  They have also given the families the opportunity to place a marker at the site for their family member.  You are not able to place it on the actual grave yet but hopefully that will happen soon.  The goal is to have a marker on every grave in the cemetery.

The Moreau’s and many others, I am sorry I don’t know their names, have worked very hard to bring all this about.  They should be commended for their generous work.  I will continue to write about the cemetery and the progress that is being made.  I hope to get someone to write a short history about all that has taken place over the years.

Back From Branson

I haven’t posted for a while because I have been on VACATION.  It was the first vacation I have been on since 2oo1 and I had a great time.  My Uncle Wayne and Aunt Sue have a time share in Branson and invited my Mom and me to spend a week with them.  We got up early every morning and didn’t stop until late at night.

On the first day we went on a train ride through the mountains.  There wasn’t much to see but it was enjoyable.  We then walked the streets to check things out.  That night we went to Shepherd of The Hills.  I had seen the play several years ago but couldn’t remember much about it.   It was a great story and I enjoyed seeing it again.  It was cold sitting out there though, but worth it.  We took blankets to wrap up in so it wasn’t too bad.

We also drove up to see the Precious Moments Chapel.  That was the one thing I asked to do.  I have a collection of over 500 figurines.  I am also a charter member in the club.  The Chapel was beautiful and some of the stories about the painting and figurines were very touching.  To me it was well worth the trip just to see this.

While we were there we saw The Dutton’s and The Presley’s.  Both shows were very good, but I like the Dutton’s better.  We didn’t go to the show, but we did visit the rest room at Shoji Tabuchi and took pictures.   The rest of the time we took in the sites and done some serious shopping.

My mom and I took a detour on the way home and saw the Passion Play in Eureka Springs.  We had seen this one years ago also, but wanted to see it again.  It was great and like Shepherd of the Hills it was very cold.  We also stopped in Little Rock and visited the Bill Clinton Library.  This time I was very disappointed.  It was nothing like the George H.W. Bush Library.  I really enjoyed my visit there, but did not enjoy Clinton’s at all.

I wish I could say I am glad to be home, but can’t.  I think I would be very happy living up there.  To make matters worse I got a phone message at the beginning of the week that the girl filling in for me at work crashed the computer.  I don’t know what she did or what if anything was done to fix it, but I got a text message tonight that I will not be happy when I get there.  I wish I had enough money that I could not go back.

Oh well, I don’t have enough money to stay home so I will let you know tomorrow what happened.

Rest In Peace

January 26, 1925 – September 27, 2008

And Then Came The Rain

Central Louisiana was awaken in the wee hours of the morning to storms.  There was thunder, lightening and rain, lots of rain.  We got 10 inches in just a few hours.  Over 90% of the parish has been without electricity since Monday, now their houses and streets are full of water.  The pumps were damaged during the hurricane, so there is also a shortage of usable water.  The mayor has ordered that all non essential businesses close until further notice.  We have been under tornado warnings all day.

The news is on now showing video.  It is unbelievable.  The entire parish and several surrounding parishes are flooded.  The are showing livestock that have drowned trying to swim to land.  People are wading through the water trying to get out.  The shelters are full with evacuees from the southern part of the state.  Now all the churches are full.  The interstate is also full with people trying to return home, even though they were told not too.  There is a chance that they will get there and have to turn around and come back because of Ike.  To add insult to injury, Louisiana is also the mosquito capitol of the world.

They also just reported that there is nothing about it on the national news.  CNN just requested video from the local station.

On a personal note, we never lost electricity.  We lost cable for a few hours, but we got it back quickly.  Water did not get in our house.  It came close to my brother’s but did not come in.  He still does not have electricity.  My nephew has been without electricity also.  His girlfriend and her roommate stayed at his apartment because they were afraid to be alone during the hurricane.  He was able to move his and his girlfriends car to higher ground, but was unable to move her friends car. 

And it’s not over yet.  The sky is black and it’s starting to rain again.

HERE COMES THE HURRICANE

This is Louisiana and Gustav is coming to visit.  A very unwelcome guest I might add.  There is no gasoline to be found and the price has been raised at the out of the way places that do have a little left.  We are stocking up on bread, water, canned goods and things like that.  You can live a long time on peanut butter and crackers if you have to.  Everything is being secured and water stored.  Sand bags are being distributed.  Traffic is awful.

New Orleans and all the towns around them have been evacuated.  All those people are coming this way, but the hotels, motels and shelters are full.  They are being sent further north.  Chances are we won’t have to leave, but thankfully we do have family left in north Louisiana.  And in Dallas if we should have to go that far.  That would be highly unlikely.

At least this time we have a new Governor.  Governor Jindal went to work early last week getting things lined up.  He not asking people to evacuate, he is telling them to.  And he is not waiting for the federal government to take care of everything.  He is working with them but he is taking action on his own.  The Governor called out the National Guard early on.  He made plans and arrangements for transportation.  School bus drivers weren’t sent south.  They were told to drive their buses to the National Guard and the people who know what they are doing drove the buses.  Buses and trains have transported thousands of people and their pets out of south Louisiana.  Hundreds of large animals have been moved to safer places.  There was a plan for the pets and animals, which was important to me and a lot of other people.  During Katrina a lot of people would not evacuate because they would have to leave their pets behind.  Those that left with their pets found they could not get into a shelter.  We had people living in their cars on parking lots with their pets.  Not this time.  Governor Jindal did not let that happen this time.

The weather service is forecasting that Gustav will make landfall sometime tomorrow, Labor Day.  We should get high winds, 15 to 20 inches of rain, and flooding.  I will get an extra day off from work on Tuesday, but not one I will enjoy.

Hopefully all will go well, everyone will be safe and the levees will hold.  Please keep everyone in Louisiana, Mississippi and southeast Texas in your prayers.

And The Animals Cried

The following is a reprint from Cynthia Jardon’s blog, Cynla, on TheTownTalk.com

 And The Animals Cried

He wasn’t Dr. Dolittle, but for the animals at the Alexandria Zoo, Les Whitt, zoo director there for 35 years, was probably a combination of Dr. Dolittle, surrogate father, sometimes mom, protector and benevolent uncle all rolled into one. Les died Aug. 16. Many of us have lost a cherished friend. The city has lost one of its compass points.

I send out my prayers and deepest sympathy for his wife, LeeAnn, and daughters in this time of grief.

And I ache for the animals. They will look for Les in the days to come.

Kumar, the white tiger Les practically raised from a young cub, will watch at the gate. He will walk to and fro snuffling. He, along with the other animals, will be confused, anxious and a little angry when Les never again shows up to take them for a walk or ruffle their fur or just say hello.

Nothing will comfort them. But the continued presence of other zookeepers they recognize will ease their grief and fear some.

Eventually Kumar and the others will stop watching for him – eventually.

Time moves us on whether we like it or not. The absence will still be felt, but it will no longer be unexpected.

Had Les been able to make it so, he would never have left them. It was his time, however, to move on. Animals understand that whole circle of life thing better than most humans.

They will accept his absence and not rail at the fates that took him away. For we humans, that’s not such an easy lesson to learn.

Bon voyage, Les.

Another Ebenezer Sale

Debi is having Another Ebenezer Estate Sale next weekend.  Here is her announcement with the details.

Hey Folks!