Saturday, March 11, 2017

A rant about cow pies...and God bless the Animals

I guess it's about time to make a blog although not much blog worthy is going on, the shed work continues...kinda of
Here she is up to now:
You can see I was able to use the siding I cut into 12" pieces on the front and the side, sort of patch work now...a paint job will even that out.

  

The window is not in the center because I decided to add  a window after the framing was up so its off center, but this is justa shed....

I think it's looks kinda like an old RR depot...If I added some Arts n Crafts roof supports, a couple of old wanted posters, and a water tower, and some track, who knows?... Anyways the hefty overhang will serve me well. Think I have room for a potting table under the front side.

Now the addition is under way that is where the lawn tractor and other yard machines will live. Once that part is framed and roofed, then we can put the wall across the entire back, and the left side, then it will be ready for painting and moving day!  

                                                                                                  My newest daffodils

I am a Libra...balance, and not just balance,  but perfect balance and harmony are the key to my happiness.  Trump, the GOP, and Google (not necessarily in that order) are trying to destroy my everyone's balance.  I finally got Verizon off that list.  

Figured I'd just toss that out and see your reaction...Why you ask?
  • Trump has disrupted my balance by creating all this stress in the world with his constant whining, spending, taking undue credit, nagging and lying, I would send him to solitary with no iPhone for eternity if I could.  
  • The GOP are like Foxes who sneak into the hen house suck the eggs and kill the chickens while you sleep, they must be trapped and dealt with...before they ruin freakin' everything.
  • Google won't update the Win XP that I have nursed and kept alive all these years. It was not on life support but Google put it there.  I have protected it like a fledgling for many years and now Google is trying to make me pull the plug...I refuse.  There is no balance or harmony in that! My computer is purring like a perfectly oiled machine, and when I say that you know it's the truth not like when DJT says that about the Executive Branch.

I can't do online banking without calling my bank, due to Google not updating my system! What harm would it do to allow my machine to update??  I went to their page labeled "How to Update Your Browser" I downloaded Chrome again, but it still will not update....I read all the comments posted by other souls left adrift in the virtual sea, all unhappy to say the least...it was akin to being on the front lines of a protest rally and you're the Trump supporter there in your Make America Great Again hat... I'm comparing Google here...the F word began each comment!  I did not add my thoughts it had something to do with cow pies and all that.

 I figured if I can't get my Senator to change his mind on a Bill that threatens our environment, then how the hell can I get Google to do diddly squat for me?? This is what I hate about corporate control...and the GOP controlled gov't keeps handing out favors to Corporate's whist the population sift through looking for crumbs.  Fascism as I have reported here before is nasty business and it affects us all. When Senator Chaffetz, (the one I desdain more than most) of Utah said, "people will have to decide if they want the new iPhone or healthcare," he was so out of line with reality I wanted to give him a cow pie...instead I left him with a comment containing the words scumbag. Cow Pies were not mentioned.  I can not afford a smart phone, or a new computer, or additional health care expense, because I have to help pay for his heath care, and pay for MY OWN too...and it still does not cover all my medical bills!!  So I may have to go back to writing checks and mailing my bills out, and probably get a part time job!  Does this seem like an angry post to you? It is not, it is a dust dance.  


I will not dwell on all that as soon as the shed is done and I'm cleared for take off I hope to do some travel it will not be my original version of this years adventure but it will be a bright spot on my horizon...while sis is here to watch the dogs and care for Mom....then I will have to buckle down and pay off these mechanical  & medical bills! Life sometimes tosses you cow pies, and you have no choice but to accept  pick them up and toss em' right back...and go on as best you can, patch up what you have and live with it, although the good news is you can rant about it all day long if it helps you restore balance! :o)


PEACE
Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you can not.


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Story Time:

The Blessing of the Animals.

A little background for this story, some info  you may or may not be aware of.  In the Catholic Religion the St Francis of Assisi is know as the Saint who spoke to the animals, he was the first recorded white environmentalist!  In early October the Catholics hold a Feast Day of St Francis, and they bless the animals such as St Francis did back when he called all animals his brothers and sisters in the 13th century.  

NYC has more Cathedrals than you can imagine.  I actually attended mass there many Saturday afternoons, because it was a beautiful experience. ( I am not baptized into any religion) My Saturday in the city would normally start with a subway ride downtown to 4th st and 7th Ave a mostly gay community! I always felt safe in those areas.  I moved to NYC for many reasons one was to embrace the differences of humanity.  

As I've mentioned before I worked in the EMS system in NYC May of 2001-Oct of 2006.  I have mannnny stories of that time. In that profession we would spend our entire work day out and about in the city, mixing with the multitudes in the communities of immigrants. The city is also deeply entrenched in traditions of all kinds, even the ones where animals are sold for sacrifice.  

On this particular day I was partnered up with Mark, an immigrant from Guiana. We spent many hours in the ambulance just watching the city alive around us.  We parked on street corners of all five boroughs waiting on our next call.  Our conversations didn't always revolve around what we observed, mostly he related life back in his village, while I relayed stories of the Southern US.  I kept telling him we had to find a way to get out of NYC, the farther away we got the better life was.  By this time I had seen all I wanted of the city and was ready to get out of the rat race.  On those rare occasions we were sent out of the city it was like going to another world.  He had been to Pennsylvania once, and other than that he had never been outside of NY state after moving to the USA when he was a teen with his mother.  

We worked a transport unit on this day...hopping from one facility to another. Dispatch sent us to a hospital to pick up a discharge to nursing home patient.  We rode up and down elevators on these calls as each hospital is many stories tall and the nursing homes are the same.  We always walked with me in the front and him pushing the stretcher from behind...as we waited for the elevator I had this weird feeling overcome me.  When the doors opened and we waited for passengers to exit then inside was just us two, the doors shut I suddenly had this vivid impression of rabbits! It was like this overwhelming mental rush. RABBITS!!!!

Mark asked, "what about rabbits?"
I replied, "what did you say?"
He said, "you just said RABBITS, so I'm asking what about rabbits?"
"Are you saying that I said the word rabbits?"
"Yeah, you just shouted rabbits, so what about it?"
I was shocked...
"I didn't know I had said anything out loud, but I just had the most vivid mental image of rabbits!  SO weird, I can't really explain it, like a flash that zapped into my mind."
His lips flatlined,
"You're getting weird," he replied.
"No this city is making me weird. Come on let's get this guy and get outta here," I said.

So I rolled my eyes and frowned, and we went for the patient.  Got him on the stretcher and loaded him into the "bus" as it is called in the city.  We were taking this man to a nursing home in Queens for an admission.  So off we went, me in back with the patient, and Mark driving.

He pulled the ambulance into the unloading area and we got out, unloaded the patient and headed for the entrance.  Then we noticed the cages, lots of cages....of birds and rabbits...we both stopped and stared at each other my mouth fell open, he said his skin crawled, and we were in shock.  We rolled the stretcher up to the cages and right off noticed the rabbits were panting and in great distress.  They were sitting in the blazing hot sun! Poor things!! I went back to the ambulance and got some sheets and spread over the tops of the cages to provide shade, once we got inside I told the woman at the front desk she must get  those animals some water and move them to the shade!! 

She immediately took care of the cages, and then on the way out we found out they were doing a blessing of the animals that day for the patrons at the home. She said, "thank you so much, imagine if we came out here with our patrons and a priest, to find these animals dead  of heat stroke?"

I don't profess to know what my impression was about all I can say is those animals reached out to me, in some way it was like the animals were talking to me.  Mark said his hair stood on end when he saw those rabbits...all the rest of that day we tired to figure out exactly what happened. 

Who knows, but I do believe we are part of this environment if we chose to be, and I always trust my own judgement.

5 comments:

  1. I noticed the over hang right away I thought that was a good thing as to keep some things out there and not get to wet. It's looking good. I'm glad you got all that off your chest. It wouldn't be good to hold all that in. I hope you get to take your little trip in spring.

    Love the story and yes it was a calling for the those rabbits to be saved by you.

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    1. A good rant on occasion is good for the soul, it is more of a purge I guess, Just needed to get some medical issues out of the way, then hopefully I will get the shed wrapped up and then Get out before the heat sets in too bad.

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  2. The shed is looking good, you've designed it well. It will be very useful and why not give it some form of decoration, I have a lucky horseshoe on the door of my shed. I notice you have already decided that its a female shed.

    Always good to get things off your chest, I dont fancy the next four years under Trump. although I think, and hope, that the enormity of his position will change him and I think also that the US establishment will influence him and modify his behavior. As I said I hope.
    Be careful with Windows XP when using the net as it's now very vulnerable to hackers as Microsoft no longer support it and provide new security patches. I wouldn't use it for any financial transactions. I had my old hard drive wiped and Windows 10 installed with no problems. Windows 10 needs less disk space than previous operating systems.
    I find it uncanny that people with the same birth signs have similar feelings and behaviors. I wonder why.
    Whilst I am not religious I always go into churches and cathedrals as it is an uplifting experience and they are beautiful buildings anyway.

    I have often found that people who have an affinity with animals are more than likely to be "better" people and the ones I get on better with.

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    Replies
    1. Yes it is a she...lol I have a small license plate collection that I hope to put up...along with some old rusty things I have around here. My XP still gets updates, just not Google Chrome. I thought of taking it down and do what you suggested have 10 put in if my laptop has all the right stuff.
      Yesterday while in a cemetery doing some photos my sis and I were cornered by a Baptist Minister. Word of advice if ever you get in this situation, and he asks, "Do you know the Lord", just answer yes, it will save you an hour long sermon. I have had this affinity all my life...animals and me I have been caretaker to them in many ways.

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  3. Wow I loved that story. Beautiful. I'm reading a novel by Louise Erdrich now set in present day Native American country of North Dakota -- lots of spiritual connection to the land and animals --- your story reminds me of that ... of being alive to the world around you.

    The shed looks great -- the off-center window just adds interest.... Don't be all too Libra about that ;>).

    You know I agree with you on what's happening politically.... I refuse to let it get me down completely though. We just have to hope to reverse things at the next Congressional Election. If the world doesn't blow up in the meantime.

    And so I want you to go on your trip and enjoy yourself.

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