Author: admin

Who besides me loves to see dogs enjoying their car rides?

Anytime when driving, if I see someone with a dog in their car I break out in a big smile.  In the years that we had dogs as pets they ALL lived for car rides and could not get enough of a ride-along.  Coach, a part German Shepard mixed breed and our first pooch used to stick his head out the passenger window and snap a playful bite at every car going past us in the opposite direction.  Molly, our first sweet Boston Terrier loved to jump on the top of the driver’s seat and perch herself on my shoulders like she was a parrot and I was a pirate.  What a character she was!

The dogs I see riding with their owners all seem to be so happy and having the time of their lives, so I’ve tried to figure out what’s so special about canines and cars. 

Here’s my theory.

When someone owns a dog, chances are that critter wants to spend as much time as possible with their humans.  Unlike cats, who are often aloof and happy to be on their own and alone, dogs are very social animals.

Since most dog owners can’t take their Fidos and Fi Fis everywhere, there’s lots of, “See you later sweetie, I gotta go” said to the dogs. The humans load up in their cars and drive off.  Every single day, dogs hear car engines start up and see their masters drive off to work, school, the grocery store, bank, dry cleaners, friends’ houses and all other locales. The car drives off and the poor pooches are left at home.  Home alone.

So, when the humans of the house invite those dogs to go for a ride with them, the furry family member is thinking, “Really?  I get to go WITH you?  I am so in, let’s go!”  This inclusion makes each dog’s day and they’re thrilled to be taken for a ride.  Maybe that cruise will include a stop at McDonald’s for a few bites of a burger, or better yet, a hit at Starbuck’s for a much beloved pup cup.  Seeing video clips of pup cups being savored by dogs is hilarious. Many drive-thru windows at banks keep dog biscuits on hand so when they see a furry face riding in a car, they can hand out a treat or two.

Grab a Pup Cup to go!

Even when I drove my dogs to the veterinarian, they were fine with that.  It was all about the old pop song “I only wanna be with you!”  Although bringing my Min Pin ‘Daisy’ to the groomer was one stop she did not like.  The reason being I’d leave her at that shop for a shampoo and nail clipping and go home without her.  An hour later I’d get the call to pick her up and Daisy was beyond grateful to see me and go for a ride home.

I think it was F. Scott Fitzgerald who once wrote that when you tell a dog you’ll be back, they don’t believe you.  That may be one of the reasons why most dog owners get such an enthusiastic greeting from their dogs when they come home from work or school.

Anyway, that’s my theory on dogs and cars.  They love their humans and hope to spend as much time as possible with them.  So, if you’re a dog owner, keep that in mind and load your furry family member up for a cruise anytime you can.

 Next blog: My Prom Memories.

While this memory goes back forty-six years, it was and remains one to never forget. It was Easter weekend, Easter Eve, actually if there is such a thing. Lots went on so here we go. 

That Saturday night, I had five of my high school varsity baseball teammates over to the house for a poker party at our dining room table.  Some guys brought snacks and we had the kitchen refrigerator filled with beer.  This wasn’t high stakes gambling, just quarter ante and nobody walked away losing or winning more than twenty bucks or so. There were lots of laughs, inappropriate jokes and fun which were as much a part of the night as the card game was.

As the beers were downed, one teammate went to our phone and decided to prank call our varsity coach, Mr. Ellingsen at ten at night. When Ellingsen answered, my ball playing teammate just yelled loud into the phone then hung up.  This was in the days before caller I.D. and other ways to detect anyone who prank called you. We all laughed and stopped with any more goofy calls.

Not me and my teammates, no this is Tom Cruise playing poker with pals in “Risky Business.”

Around 11:30 that night,  my mom and sister came home from their middle shift at the hospital where they worked so it was time to break up the poker game.  We decided to swing out to White Castle for some late night eats. The last of the beers were pulled from the fridge and off we went.

I got back home an hour later only to discover our gray tabby cat “Squeaks” caught a baby bunny rabbit outside and left it on the back porch for me to see, the bunny was decapitated.  I scolded Squeaks,  reported the murder to my parents then scooped up the remains and dumped it in the garbage outside.  

It was time for bed and I woke up Easter Sunday to a new surprise.  There was no Easter basket left for me in my bedroom!  No solid chocolate bunny, no small chocolate eggs, jelly beans or even a plastic egg with a twenty dollar bill stuffed in it.    

No Easter basket for me? WTH?!

Scrambling downstairs, I figured my basket might’ve been left in the living room or the dining room.  Nope.  No basket, anywhere.  My mom and dad woke up to the sound of me asking about not getting an Easter basket.  First time ever! I was more surprised than hurt. My parents were shocked that at age 18 I still expected a basket of sweets.  I told them there’s no age limit or shutdown on getting such a treat. My mom had the best answer to the ‘no basket’ issue. She said, “Sorry Mick, last night Squeaks ate the  Easter Bunny!”

We had another surprise coming for us.  My mother was set to prepare the Easter lunch/early dinner we’d be having that day.  Only one problem. The  large canned ham she stored in our kitchen refrigerator was gone!  She checked the freezer below it and even our spare fridge in the basement. No ham, nowhere!  What the heck?  How?  Who?  When?

Who stole my mom’s canned ham?

Apparently, one of my beer guzzling, poker playing baseball teammates stole our Easter ham the night before!  It no doubt happened as they  emptied the fridge of our remaining beers before we went to White Castle. I had no idea who it could’ve been and mom, dad and I just stared at each other trying to figure out what to do now.  Mom wasn’t even that mad, just puzzled that our main course was gone for good.

My sister Marianne was sleeping in but the three of us were hungry and decided to make the best of things and go out to eat.  We didn’t get to a local restaurant for one of those Easter buffet specials.  No, instead we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus by going to our favorite out of town eatery, Stein’s Jewish Deli in nearby Lyons.  

My parents favored pastrami sandwiches with sides of potato salad and such but I was a little more unconventional.  My favorite offering from Stein’s was their jumbo fried shrimp.  I swear each piece in the serving was almost the size of my fist.  I downed my meal with French fries and a couple of cokes.

Stein’s Deli is no more but that was a great place to eat!

So, to re-cap:   Beers, laughs, poker playing and a prank call to our coach. Followed by chowing down at White Castle, a dead bunny rabbit, getting shut out from a treats filled basket, a stolen ham and giant shrimp from a Jewish deli for my Easter feast.  Kind of an interesting twenty-four hours, for sure.

Oh, and later that afternoon, my parents delivered to me a full blown Easter basket loaded with all the treats. The squeaky wheel might get the grease but the whiny teenager gets the Easter basket. 

POSTSCRIPT: A few weeks later, I hosted my baseball buddies for a Sunday afternoon backyard barbecue.  One of my teammates worked at Mc Donald’s and he liberated a full box of frozen quarter pounder beef patties from his workplace. Others brought buns and chips and I had plenty of condiments for this outing. We cooked those burgers on a Weber grill and washed them down with cold brew.  And this time there was no thievery from our kitchen refrigerator.  

And no, I never did find out who stole our Easter ham!

NEXT BLOG- Doggie On Board!  

NOTICE- This blog is NOT a self-started “Pity Party.” There are millions of people who are facing much worse situations than what I’ve dealt with the past 4 months.  Those born starving in poor third world countries, those battling with lifelong afflictions like blindness, being crippled, having cerebral palsy or cognitive disabilities.  When I used to substitute teach, I worked many special education rooms with kids who had multi-needs.  Same went for working summer recreation programs.  There are also those of all ages fighting cancer, Parkinson’s disease, mental issues and many other maladies that most of us are blessed to not have.

This blog is just to review what’s been going on with me since December of 2024.  I also want to update how things are now.

Things started O.K. in early December when I underwent my second ever colonoscopy.  The results showed my pipes to be clean as a whistle and I’m not in need for another roto-rooter job for 10 years.   The only drawback is the colon cleaning you deal with the night before with the liquid prep stuff.  I joked that a mudslide was coming so take your loved ones and move to higher ground!

Two weeks later my detached retina adventure began.  I had my scleral buckle surgery two days before Christmas and spent the next four weeks recovering from this vision correction.

The update on my eye: My right eye’s vision is very good, very close to where it was before the surgery. Dr. Weinberg told me it will continue to improve over the next several months.

HOWEVER- My left eye was checked for possible retina issues and on April 2nd I had a laser procedure done to shore up the weakness in there.  It turns out I’m 10 times more likely to have a detached retina in my left lamp and this patch-up up will prevent this.  A final check-up on both lamps will take place in 6 weeks.

After getting back to school in late January I ended up catching my first ever COVID infection which knocked me out of commission for another five days. 

The Update on my COVID- No long-term problems and after being sick for 4 days, I bounced back with no lingering effects.

So then came late February and my first ever kidney stone.  I got plenty of great advice from friends and co—workers who’ve been through this same ordeal. I dare say this was the worst, most relentless pain I have ever endured.  It made a broken arm at age 12 and a severely burnt leg from a fire at age 15 seem like child’s play.

The update on my kidney stone- On March 14^th I had Sonic Lithotripsy done to my kidney stone.  No bad after effects and the chances are good to pass smaller bits of the stone through my urine. So far that has not happened BUT I’m also having no pain issues.  I will see my urologist again on April 16^th for further in case anything else needs to be planned. 

Throughout all of these medical issues, I have received incredible and expert care from my doctors, nurses, technicians, office visit schedulers and anyone else I encountered.  There was never a moment of doubt or worry that I was in the wrong hands during any of this.  Having very good health insurance has also been a major blessing!

 So many friends, co-workers and family members rallied around me with invaluable support. Needed car rides, errands done and those who kept my spirits up with emails, Facebook posts and phone calls.  Wow!  I hope I’m as good to all these folks as they’ve been to me.   I’m happily in their debt.

Where I am right now- At the age of 64 years and two months, I have come to see clearer than ever how vital good health is.  It’s something to never take for granted and it really is time to do everything on my part to improve my selfcare and in turn, my overall health.

A few years before he passed away, rocker Tom Petty was asked about turning sixty years old in a few months.  His reply was, “Well, if you’re not getting older, you’re dead.”   So, I’ll continue to get older with the hope that I’m close to being done with doctor appointments, cat-scans, X-rays and other medical probing for a good long while.

The Band singing their classic, “The Shape I’m In.”