I’m still figuring out the logistics of writing a blog on a daily or weekly basis to keep my one and only fan, Susan in Maryland, HAPPY. So...I’m going to try something new to keep me inspired. I’m calling it “Sharon’s Life” which goes into detail about how out of control my life is. I won't write everyday but then depending on what is going on with me, I might.
I’ve been told by many people that my life is very complicated. Thanks! I already knew that! Almost everything that I ever wanted has not come easily to me. Unfortunately, most of my life has been a struggle. Hey, I have three ex-husbands, do I have to say anymore?
December 16th, 2008:
3:00 p.m. – My cell phone rings, and it's our security company that protects our home from thieves and fire. The fire alarm has gone off and no one is responding to their call so they contacted the Northampton Fire Department to check it out. Now I’m sitting at my desk at Smith College and all I can think is “What do they expect me to do from here?” In the meanwhile, for all I know all of my loved ones are burning up! It seems that Mary was on the phone with Lisa’s real estate agent, while Lisa was cooking up another wonderful Italian meal, when the alarm went off. Because Mary was on the phone, the security's dispatch center call went directly to voice mail. Not good! Then Mary couldn’t find their number to call in the false alarm so she had to put on her shoes and run outside to look at the sign to get the 800 number. Do you get the idea why I believe my life has sitcom potential?
7:20 p.m. – Mary and Lisa (our wonderful house guest who is staying with us until the closing on her townhouse) are getting ready to head out to St. John’s Episcopal Church to help with the Midnight Breakfast Feast for Smith College students. It is held twice a year during finals. I would have liked to have gone, but my knee is all messed up, due to falling on wet leaves and pine needles at Smith in early December (That is another story in itself!). So off they went for their two-hour shift.
8:35 p.m. – The home phone rings and it is Lisa’s attorney calling from Hawaii with news about her impending divorce. The attorney won’t tell me anything but I did try. So I called Mary but no luck. She and Lisa were in the bowels of St. John’s and there isn’t any reception down where they are serving the breakfast. I figure no big deal because they would be back around 9:30 p.m.
9:45 p.m. – The attorney calls again and gives me his cell phone number and we chat some more. How much is this costing Lisa? It seems every time she has spoken to him he charges her another $500. I can’t image what he will charge her for talking to me instead.
10:15 p.m. – Where in the dickens are they? In the meanwhile, I’m starting the great hunt for my cell phone in case Mary had left a message on that instead of calling the house.
10:45 p.m. – Still nothing from the missing troops! Plus my cell phone has mysteriously vanished. What makes this rather awkward is that I’m responsible for a shuttle bus full of Smith students heading out to Bradley Airport for Winter Break at 4:00 a.m. and it is starting to snow, a lot. If the storm gets really bad, the bus company might call to tell me that can't make it due to the weather. And did I give them my home number? Of course, not!
11:05 p.m. – I finally gave in and called Public Safety at Smith College. Calling them means I would have to confess to another air-head moment, which unfortunately they have witnessed many times, but I had no choice. I needed that damn phone! By the way, I call Public Safety a lot due to my position as Van Coordinator for nine vans for the Student Government Association. They agreed go over to my office to search for the phone and if found, would give it to Mary, only if, she provides ID. That could be a problem, since I’m not sure if she was carrying any ID! In the meanwhile, Mary is still not answering her cell phone and I don’t want her to head home in the snow and have to circle back because I misplaced my cell phone for the 100th time!
11:35 p.m. – Mary finally calls and heads over to the Campus Center to get my phone, with proof of who she is! Awesome!
11:50 p.m. – They finally arrived home after their “two-hour shift” at St. John’s. It seems that Lisa ended up having more fun than she expected so she was willing to stay longer.
December 17th, 2008:
12:10 a.m. – Lisa reaches her attorney. Her divorce is final! Yea, now she can move on to the next part of her life.
12:20 a.m. – It is still snowing and I’m now worried that the bus company may not have my number after all. So...I decide to meet the bus at 3:30 a.m. Someone has to be there for the students if the bus doesn't show up, so I elected myself!
1:05 a.m. – The rest of the household settles down for the night. That consists of: Mary; Lisa; Chloe (our Diva dog); Fast Eddie (there are previous stories on him!); Chancey (our latest addition to our dog family) and Justice, Lisa’s African Gray parrot who is handicapped. My home life is a zoo!
2:05 a.m. – I finish up my latest novel by James Patterson that I had started earlier in the evening. Hey, I had to do something to keep me occupied in between all the drama! At this point, I decide to stay up.
2:45 a.m. – I go out to clear off the snow. Yikes, there is a lot and it is still coming down!
3:15 a.m. – I’m sitting in my car, reading another James Patterson book until the bus appears!
3:35 a.m. – Yea, it has arrived!
4:01 a.m. – The bus is fully loaded and heading off to Bradley Airport! And I head home to get a little shut eye before another crazy day begins!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
More Eddie Adventures!
Of Fast Eddie’s nine emergency visits so far, three have been related to cuts to his paws while running off leash at the Old Hospital Grounds here in Northampton. The first one was rather minor he cut himself running on an icy path. I had no idea that dogs can get injured on ice obviously I haven’t had any Iditarod experience with dogs in icy conditions. That incident resulted in a couple of stitches and no park visits for a week.
The next one was a little bit more serious. Eddie was running around at the park and went into the woods where he sliced open the toe pad of his paw. With several stitches and orders to keep him from jumping or running around for two weeks, we went home. The vet’s concern was if this didn’t heal properly, his toe pad might have to be removed. We knew we couldn’t keep him from not being a Mexican jumping bean, but we did try. With that said, several days later he leaped off of the three-foot high retaining wall in our backyard and split open the stitches. In spite of his dare devil leap, his toe pad finally healed but it is now a very odd shape. Well, there goes the idea of using Eddie as a paw model to pay off his vet expenses!
The most expensive incident so far, again at the park, and with seconds to go before getting Eddie back into the car, he ran off into the woods and came out bleeding. Poor Mary brought him home and wanted to wash all the blood off of him. I took one look and knew that he had cut tendons. We quickly headed up (on a Sunday morning, no less) to the Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Hospital in South Deerfield near Yankee Candle.
The vet on duty knew Fast Eddie from previous park experiences. She’s the one that called Mary’s ex-partner who works at the hospital to get Mary’s cell phone number when she found Eddie running around at the park with no adult supervision. At the time, Mary was madly searching for the elusive Eddie at the park. Dr. Losert also knew of some of Eddie’s previous exploits with the snake (last blog) and mouse (that will be explained in a future episode).
Well, the diagnosis was that his tendon had been cut, probably from a broken bottle of which many litter the woods. Thank you, you moonlight booze-hounds for throwing your bottles around and leaving dangerous broken glass that can injure animals! He had minor surgery with internal and external stitches needed to repair the damage. They wrapped him in a huge cast-like bandage with splints to protect his limb. Dr. Losert cleverly created a pumpkin “iron-on patch” for the bandage since it was so close to Halloween.
We were told he had to wear a cone (Elizabethan collar) for his entire recovery period of four weeks or more, and he would need to get the bandage changed on a weekly basis with our local vet. And thus began the tug of war with his bandage. Eddie and Chancey (our third dog) love to play tug of war, but this was the first time Eddie could do it all by himself.
So he just kept pulling and chewing on his bandage which resulted in a total of eight bandages! Oh, did I mention that at some point he broke the splints and had to get them replaced too. Isn’t he special!
The idea that one could keep Eddie from doing something he‘s not suppose to do is rather humorous. That boy lives to chew and destroy. It’s his mission in life…one he does quite well.
Eddie is still recovering even though the splints and bandages are now off. He still favors the leg and when outside hops around on three legs. Once he’s fully recovered he will return to his daily walks at the park but on a leash. His days of running off leash with wild abandonment are over and will just be a distant memory...for Eddie!
The next one was a little bit more serious. Eddie was running around at the park and went into the woods where he sliced open the toe pad of his paw. With several stitches and orders to keep him from jumping or running around for two weeks, we went home. The vet’s concern was if this didn’t heal properly, his toe pad might have to be removed. We knew we couldn’t keep him from not being a Mexican jumping bean, but we did try. With that said, several days later he leaped off of the three-foot high retaining wall in our backyard and split open the stitches. In spite of his dare devil leap, his toe pad finally healed but it is now a very odd shape. Well, there goes the idea of using Eddie as a paw model to pay off his vet expenses!
The most expensive incident so far, again at the park, and with seconds to go before getting Eddie back into the car, he ran off into the woods and came out bleeding. Poor Mary brought him home and wanted to wash all the blood off of him. I took one look and knew that he had cut tendons. We quickly headed up (on a Sunday morning, no less) to the Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Hospital in South Deerfield near Yankee Candle.
The vet on duty knew Fast Eddie from previous park experiences. She’s the one that called Mary’s ex-partner who works at the hospital to get Mary’s cell phone number when she found Eddie running around at the park with no adult supervision. At the time, Mary was madly searching for the elusive Eddie at the park. Dr. Losert also knew of some of Eddie’s previous exploits with the snake (last blog) and mouse (that will be explained in a future episode).
Well, the diagnosis was that his tendon had been cut, probably from a broken bottle of which many litter the woods. Thank you, you moonlight booze-hounds for throwing your bottles around and leaving dangerous broken glass that can injure animals! He had minor surgery with internal and external stitches needed to repair the damage. They wrapped him in a huge cast-like bandage with splints to protect his limb. Dr. Losert cleverly created a pumpkin “iron-on patch” for the bandage since it was so close to Halloween.
We were told he had to wear a cone (Elizabethan collar) for his entire recovery period of four weeks or more, and he would need to get the bandage changed on a weekly basis with our local vet. And thus began the tug of war with his bandage. Eddie and Chancey (our third dog) love to play tug of war, but this was the first time Eddie could do it all by himself.
So he just kept pulling and chewing on his bandage which resulted in a total of eight bandages! Oh, did I mention that at some point he broke the splints and had to get them replaced too. Isn’t he special!
The idea that one could keep Eddie from doing something he‘s not suppose to do is rather humorous. That boy lives to chew and destroy. It’s his mission in life…one he does quite well.
Eddie is still recovering even though the splints and bandages are now off. He still favors the leg and when outside hops around on three legs. Once he’s fully recovered he will return to his daily walks at the park but on a leash. His days of running off leash with wild abandonment are over and will just be a distant memory...for Eddie!
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