Again

This past week, my oldest living brother got the news people dread. With his congestive heart failure, a clot in his left ventricle, pleurisy, diabetes and on and on, this time next year, say the drs, he won't be here.

He's okay with it. He's spent the last few days talking about it with his wife and in-laws and me. His son knows, but hasn't said anything yet. He only moved to the other coast a couple of months ago, just starting out at 21, and now this.

It sucks. It hurts. I've had enough death in my life and I'm getting really tired of both.

For My Framily

At this point in my life, so many people have stayed in my life for a long time, and they're beyond friends, they're framily.

And vice versa, kinda.

This past week has been grayhair-making. But my framily has "put the wagons in a circle", as one said. Some with all they could give, in humor. Or a heartfelt email. Some by putting all their shit to the side to listen to me. But every spoke on every wheel counts. The quasi-black humor helps a lot. The sincere affection and care that poured out from those I finally learned to trust and turn to blew me away. We've all grown up enough together to know what not to do or say to each other. I'm proud of us. I'm proud to have framily like this.

I'm humbled, I'm happy, I'm touched (yeah, yeah). Thanks, and I love you all.

See Ya, T-Bone

Just got the news that Tommy T-Bone Wolk died. We were working on an interview for a friends' website and I only just heard from him and now he's gone. Just like that. His survivors are devastasted. What a shock, and a horrible loss to all that knew him.

I can't really believe it.

RIP, Bone. We'll all miss you.

"Spoiling" Can Be Murder

I've had a dog for most of my life. Since the first family dog, Mooch, dogs have been important to me. These days I don't own one, since the care and feeding are out of my money range and I won't subject an animal to poverty. But there are still dogs in my life, and I hope there always will be.

Until the day she died my mother had dogs, but they weren't disciplined or well cared for. They were also spoiled with human food on an hourly basis. In any event they weren't given things that could poison them. But I know some folks who do give their dogs foods that could really harm them. Here is a list I gleaned from the ASPCA and vets' websites:

Alcoholic beverages
Avocadoes
Chocolate (all forms)
Coffee (all forms)
Tea (all forms)
Fatty foods
Macadamia nuts
Hops (as in beer)
Moldy or spoiled foods
Onions, onion powder
Raisins and grapes
Salt
Yeast
raw dough
Garlic
Sugar (all but honey and maple syrup)
Products sweetened with xylitol

All are potentially deadly foods for dogs. This is not a comprehensive list, as many purebreds and others have allergies as well. By posting these, I'm hoping people will be more informed and not think it's funny to give their dog a sip of vodka or beer for their own amusement. Dogs aren't people, they have a different system of digesting and different chemistry to us. What some people think of as treats and entertainment can very well be deadly. Please pass this information on to dog lovers you know. What's done in innocent ignorance can lead to dire consequences.

Fat Tuesday

How did we get to Lent already? I'm just getting the year correct on my checks, and here we are sliding toward Easter.

Too much has been going on to tell, so I can't do it justice so I'll wait til I can.

There's this really annoying headcold that won't leave. I've tried everything- even the fresh air, even fasting, even Nyquil-like substance -and you get to feel ok for 1 day, then slam you go again. So until this is gone I will be found in various states of hibernation.

By then, the snow may be gone. Sometime in May, I'd guess.
Stay well! Don't get it!
Later...