The Saga Continues

“Look at the sparrows; they do not know what they will do in the next moment. Let us literally live from moment to moment.”

 Mahatma Gandhi 

Last night at around 9,Dolly decided that she had had enough for one day.

Quietly she made her way to my makeshift mattress and proceeded to claim it as hers.

Not wanting to disturb her, when it came time for me to go to bed, I found myself relegated to our recliner.Not ideal but for one night no big thing.

Around midnight , I finally drifted off only to be awakened about an hour later.

The cats (yes.....another new blessing!) had honed in on a field mouse which had made its way into the baseboard near Luna's cage (Luna is our African Grey).

As they crashed into the wall,trying to catch the mouse,the bird started screaming ,causing Dolly to scramble to her feet as best as she could.

This was the beginning of about 4 hours of chaos. Dolly couldn't get comfortable and only wanted to be in the bedroom,the one room which is completely off limits to her for the next 6 weeks.

The cats, continued to be frustrated in their quest to capture the mouse. This did not however stop them from terrorizing Phillip,the canary or Moonshine and fig ,the guinea pigs.

Needless to say.last night could not be classified as a good night's sleep.

Susan came out at around 4 and tried to get Dolly to pee to no avail.

Eventually,everything calmed down and sometime after 5 I was able to once again fall asleep,until Phillip started clambering when one of the cats decided to perch himself on top of the birdcage. That was at about 6:20 which abruptly ended my sleep and marked the start of my Wednesday.

I have a funny feeling that this is going to be a very long 6 weeks!

A new saga begins

“If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought.” 

-Peace Pilgrim

Dolly had ACL surgery yesterday.

I had no idea when this was first presented to me, how much of a process this was going to be.

Besides the cost (Don't Ask!),the recovery is a very long road.

14 days of wearing the cone of shame.

Not the worst thing in the world but clumsy,cumbersome and bulky.

Her other limitations however are quite severe.

She has a harness ,reminiscent of the one Loki wore during his last months.

She has to be helped up,walked on a leash,no running and most of al no jumping up on the furniture.

The last part is the biggie. Dolly and I share a recliner.

Thankfully, most evenings she is kind enough to allow me to use it.

She has also commandeered a large section of the sofa,including the throw cover which she balls up every evening once she has moved from our chair.

At bedtime,she lays down next to me,waits for me to remove her collar (she sleeps naked!) and falls asleep next to me.

During the night she makes her way down to the bottom of the bed where she is content to sleep until after I get out of the shower each morning.

With the new "no furniture" rule,none of the above can happen.

We have one very unhappy dog.

Part of the solution is someone will sleep on the floor next to her for the next 6 weeks. And yes , you guessed just who that someone is.

I ordered an air mattress but it will not get here for a few days. In the meantime, I have taken the cushion from the chaise part of the sectional and it will serve as my bed for the time being.

Large men sleeping on the floor.

Never a good thing.

Old men sleeping on the floor.

Even worse!

Like I said.....a new saga begins!

Now if we could just get her to pee & poop!

Maybe I'm a jerk.....

“Doubt increases with inaction. Clarity reveals itself in momentum. Growth comes from progress. For all these reasons, BEGIN.”

 -Brendon Burchard

Maybe I'm just a jerk.

I caught a snippet on Facebook this weekend. It was Congresswoman Maxine Waters questioning HUD Secretary Ben Carson.

They were going back and forth regarding some budget cuts and rent hikes.

In her query, she brought up an example of a single mother with 3 children living on $200/month.

Why?

Why in the world in this day and age is that even a possibility.?

So how does this make me a jerk?

Because I really don't care about that mother of 3.

Sounds horrible I know.

I tossed and turned in bed last night pondering my dilemma .

I could care less about this woman.

Our paths will probably never pass and trust me, I'm not going out of my way to find her.

I certainly am not writing a check to her. I am not starting a Go Fund Me page for her. Yet at the same time, I am paying $5000 for my dog to have ACL surgery.

$5000!

That's over 2 years of income for this poor unfortunate woman.

And I really don't care.

Why would anyone ever be raising 3 children on $200 a month and more importantly why should this be my concern.

I care about what I have to do to pay for this surgery.

I care about what corners I will have to cut and what things I will have to do without to cover the vet bill.

But I don't seem to give a damn that there are people living on $200/month, trying to care for 3 children.

I must be a jerk!

I must be heartless.

Then again, the dog can't go get a job and pay for her own surgery.

She has no friends or community to help her out.

She has no choice as to her fate.

Right now, she needs me.

And I have a responsibility to her.

In for a dollar in for $5k!

All things come to an end

“The difficulties you meet will resolve themselves as you advance.

Proceed, and light will dawn and shine with increasing clearness on your path.”

 -Jim Rohn

All things,good and bad, eventually come to an end.

So it is with our yearly 4th of July barbecue at my synagogue.

I honestly can't recall how many years this event has been ongoing.

More than 10 and less than 20.

This year the 4th of July falls on a Saturday ,which as you know is the Sabbath and we would have to work around that,something we have done in the past.

However, given the challenges presented by the protocols around Covid 19, there really is no opportunity or reason, to even consider holding the event this year.

End result?

The annual 4th of July BBQ is another casualty of this quarantine.

At least for me. Who knows what the future will bring? Somebody else may decide to pick up where I left off.

For me,it's just time to let go and move on.

A little sad.

While numbers have declined over the last 3 or 4 years, this gala drew over 300 people from our community for many years.

What started out as a post parade celebration for the handful of people who participated in building and manning our float entry to the Paramus 4th of July Parade, quickly became a social landmark for our community.

I remember year 1,when we had anticipated the small group who worked on the float.

I bought a tiny grill and a bunch of hotdogs and hamburgers.

Before the first offerings came off of the fire, I realized that we were woefully under prepared and about to be overwhelmed.

I sent people out to the supermarket and the butcher to grab more of everything.

A lot more.

We had planned on 25-30.

I bought for 50.

We ended up feeding over 150

The following year, we bought a bigger grill.Planned for 150,bought for 200, and had to send out to buy more again.

The next year, we bought for 300,a number that stood strong for at least 10 more years.

We had a great run.

We had a lot of fun.

Now that fun is done.

And we move on.......

Shavua Tov!

Quick Trip

“You will never see the end if you give up in the middle.” 

-Joyce Meyer

I had to make a quick trip to Lowe's this morning to pick up some spackle.

This quick trip turned into a pivotal moment for me.

It's the whole mask thing.

As you may have heard e say more than once, I hate it!

I feel short of breath wearing them.

They interfere with my vision.

They are a cumbersome nuisance.

The pivotal decision I have made is ,should at some point I begin to transport people in my bus again, I will not wear a mask.

If I am required to, I will probably have to quit my job.

I have not heard 1 person even broach the subject of wearing masks while driving and the impact it has on visibility, oxygen levels ,etc.

Don't even try to use terms like minimal or non-factor with me.

It is a huge factor.

My seniors have trouble navigating steps and seat belts normally.

Ad a mask to those tasks and it will be a nightmare.

Turn your head quickly wearing a mask.

Is there a possibility that it rides up over your eyes?

Absolutely.

Now do that while driving a bus load of seniors.

Ain't gonna happen in my world.

I am not at all happy about any of this.

For the time being it's a non-issue.

That can change any day now. Schools are announcing their new protocols for opening in September. All of them in this region seem to be requiring face coverings.

Not for me.

I limit my mask wearing to about twice a week. If I didn't have to grocery shop, I would never wear one.

If things don't change, I understand that I will,by my choice, become very isolated and estranged from others.

So be it.

And all of this from a quick trp to buy an $8 bucket of spackle!

Shabbat Shalom!

$350/Hr?

“Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” 

–Jim Rohn

Why does my attorney.heck any attorney,need to charge $30/hr?

40 hours a week @ $350/hr comes out to $700k a year.

Okay, I get it. They have overhead.

It's part of owning a business.

But $300/hr?

And it's not just lawyers.

I have some spackle work to get done on the room I am trying to finish.

I have done this work in the past many times.

It's 1 wall and part of a ceiling.

On a bad day,when I could still do this work myself, I am looking at 10 hours of work if I take my time.

I have had 3 quotes on the job ranging from $2400- $3200. No freakin' way.

On saturday , I have someone coming in to do the work.

$320,if she can get it done in 1 day.

$600 if it takes a second day. That sounds reasonable to me. Not $2400!

My brother wants to replace an a/c unit.

He can buy a unit for under $1500.

It's a 1 day install.

Why is he getting quotes for $5000?

I'm in the wrong business!

If you are thinking about sending your kid to college you may want to consider buying him or her a tool box and tool belt instead.

We own a dog grooming shp.

We charge a reasonable rate for out services. We are not the cheapest nor are we anywhere near the most expensive.

Maybe we are just plain stupid.

A reasonable price for a good job.

What a concept!

Living Forward

“One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged.

Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.” 

-Lucille Ball

Yet another loss in my community.

I don't want to say that I have grown cold to these, but they are just a fact of life.

Often, they seem to hit close,but in retrospect,maybe not so much. I have had many losses over the years. I have had a bunch this year. Although I have dear memories of times spent with many of those who have departed,my day to day, even year to year contact with them was minimal.

In reality,what I have loss is a person who at some point in my life was I was connected to.

In my real life,in my now life,they are memories or stories from another time and place.

I have to ask myself,where is the loss?

The stories remain.

The memories remain.

And life goes on.

When I hear of someone passing,it reminds me of what once was or what I once had.

No one knows more than me, that the stories matter.Where we came from and how we got here are important.

Dwelling on the past is not.

The popular sentiment is to Live for Today!

All well and good I suppose.

But is it really?

Without a vision for tomorrow, I just don't see what today has to offer.

An endless string of one and dones?

Not for me.It's a conundrum.

Seize the day!

Nice idea.

In order to seize today, in order to move towards tomorrow,it's obvious that I can't get mired in the past, no matter how romantic those memories may be.