Good night, sweetheart, its time to go now.

It's 3:30 in the morning and I am having to make one of the hardest decisions of my life. I am searching blogs reading what others say (Slate and Whirlpool), but I know the decision rests with me.

It is not as if I hadn't been here before. The first time (Taco) really doesn't count as I believe I acted out of ignorance. If I had more information, I probably would have made a different decision. She is buried at our house in Ocean Springs.

The second time was easy, as May Lee was experiencing kidney failure. In that case, I probably hung on too long before making a decision. She died peacefully in my arms after getting a shot.  I do remember leaving her at the vet in Moron and walking down the street crying. I went to the NCO Club on base for medication.

It was several years later in Texas when we lost May Lee's daughter, Honey. She knew when it was time, and went in the night. I got up and found her, as I suspected I would, and I bawled like a baby. I buried her, crying all the time, and put a tree on top to mark her grave. I'll get back to Hereford one day and see if it is still there.

Bitsy was born in Hereford, and she went here in Florida. She must have been in a lot of pain, as she could hardly walk at the end. I definitely waited too long on her, and decided to relieve her pain and take her to the vet in the morning. She went on her own that very night, and I regret waiting so long.

Muffin is losing her sight. Pat said she couldn't even see her dinner last night. Her hearing is going, and she just lays in the kitchen or in a chair all day. There is no apparent "quality of life" remaining.

I have a friend who just spent several thousand dollars trying to save one of her cats. That is not an option for me, and the result would probably be the same. The cat didn't make it anyway, and how can you be sure that they are not in pain.

On the other hand, how do you know you are jumping the gun? Maybe I just don't like waking at 3:30 in the morning. Maybe I don't like the extra work it takes to get her to take care of business. Maybe I am being influenced by the fact that I have two very young dogs in addition to Muffin.

It's been 2 hours since she got me up and she is sleeping peacefully. Maybe it's not time after all.

Does Mother Nature do bailouts?

Tornado season is just about over, and it has certainly been exciting. I was on the phone with Mom during the last one as we watched to see if family was in the path - they were, but all are alright. Tornadoes can come any time, but the prime season is April - June. We still have some worrying to do, as most of my relatives live in Tornado Alley.

Yesterday was the start of hurricane season. For the next five months, we will be watch to see if the predicted storms occur. There are four major hurricanes expected, and there is a 50-50 chance that at least one will hit the East Coast (including us), and one will enter the Caribbean.

No one in the path of these storms can deny that we are getting many more that the historical norm, and that they are much more intense. Of course, there is an industry, funded by billionaires, that seeks to deny that climate change is occurring, much like the cigarette industry denied the dangers of tobacco. Climate Change deniers are just as ridiculous as Holocaust deniers. Sorry, but stupidity is stupidity, and there is no use being kind to idiots.

The are probably no get-rich-quick schemes that are legal, but there are ideas that have not been explored. You just have to find a niche and develop it. Case in point is the electric vehicle that is designed for people using wheelchairs. How this came to be is a fascinating story, and, hopefully, it will make some people wealthy as it helps those who use wheel chairs live a better life.

Also, you might want to check out the Disability Scoop on Facebook.


When you talk about the disabled, you cannot forget all the ex-military personnel who come home with

PTSD and other mental issues. Some of the problem is self-inflicted (It is estimated that 50% of the soldiers that were in Vietnam at the time I was there, used drugs.), but there is a real problem with those returning from war and ending up in prison when they need mental-heath  or substance-abuse services. Former service members make up and estimated 10% of the prison population. Medication and incarceration is a tool used by a justice system that is severely overworked. Buffalo, NY set up a program in 2008 that deals with this problem. They have a special veterans court that selects vets for treatment for substance-abuse or mental-health problems. Most of the cost is paid by the VA, and the recidivism rate is ZERO for those that complete the program. Now, isn't that a better way to treat veterans? It is also a better way to treat all who have substance-abuse and mental-health problems, but politicians have found that being "tough on crime" is better for them than solving problems.


"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in a the final sense a theft from all those who hunger and who are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."
--Dwight D. Eisenhower