Goodbye Pepper!

Since I began publishing this blog in 2010 I have had the sad duty of writing  a memorial for two of my dogs who crossed the rainbow bridge.  First was Libbi in January of 2013 and most recently was Darby in July of 2022.  It is now my sad duty to write about Pepper who passed away at 10:25 p.m.  on May   21, 2023.  His death was expected and was no surprise when it happened, but knowing the inevitable is about to happen somehow does not make it any easier.when it happens  I am no novice at this.  I did a mental inventory last night while trying to fall asleep and realized that Pepper is just the last in a list of 12 furry friends I have lost over the years.  One would think I should be used to it by now, but I am not.  

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Remembering Darby

Some years back, after I had acquired a new puppy, my mother, who was decidedly not a dog lover, asked me why I would want to learn to love something that was almost certainly going to predecease me.  I pointed out that I loved her, and she too most probably would predecease me, which she did.    I am telling you this as a preamble to the actual topic of this article.  I did not listen to my mother then, and I did not listen12.5 years ago when we became the proud owner of a female Golden Retriever named Darby.

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Cicada Reflections

I thought it would be interesting to look back in time and reflect on where I was and what I was doing during prior emergence of the Brood X Cicadas.  There have been other emergence of other broods during my life, but Brood X gets all the attention, so I will pay my  respect to the many fallen cicadas  by remembering the billions upon billions of the Auchenorrhyncha species.  I am sure my recall is not total, or perfect, but here is what I remember.

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Memorial Day

img_mouseover3On Memorial Day I feel compelled to tell the story of two of my cousins, both who tragically died in the service of their country. This is not a story of death in combat nor a story of bravery and heroism, not in the traditional sense. But it is a story that I feel needs to be told and retold before there is no one left to tell it. Here is the story, or at least what I remember, of the fate of two of my cousins, Ray and Marty Schrand.

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It is Finger Pointing Time!

 

It is the day after a group of thugs stormed the Capitol.  So, in typical fashion before anyone is identified, before any investigation has been completed, the finger pointing begins.  Most notable among the finger pointers are Chuck Schumer and Mitt Romney.  And, as ludicrous as it may sound, they are laying the blame squarely in the lap of President Donald Trump.  President Trump who has always called for law and order, President Trump who had tweeted out calling for peaceful assembly.  Not once did he say to storm the Capitol.  He spoke out against it, not for it.  Let me say that again, he spoke out against it, not for it.   But yet, somehow, he is to blame? Continue reading

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