I'm sorry to say that we had to put Vooper to sleep yesterday. He'd been fighting cancer in his sinuses, coupled with terrible sinus infections. Over the past week he really took a turn for the worse, and we couldn't even get him to keep chicken broth down.
For whatever reason, this is harder than Tori or Jester, our other two cats who died. Perhaps it's just the fact that Vooper really was The Best Cat In The World. Maybe it was the way he'd fought through so many problems and kept coming back for more. Maybe it was the fact that just a week or so ago, he seemed pretty good. He'd lost weight, and his face was a mess, but he was happy and still strong. And on Sunday, he could hardly walk.
I know we did what was right for him. I know we did everything we could to make him better. But the wound is still raw, and we're going to miss him.
I guess maybe I don't have that much to say. Or, at least, I'm not that focused on saying it here. Good thing I'm not being paid for this, eh?
Anyway, the big news for me is that I'll be returning to school in August. Surprise, suprise, I decided to pursue my degree again after all this time. Hopefully, within three or four years, I'll have my Bachelor's of Computer Science from Georgia State. Then the only question will be what I decide to do with it.
I just got home from a funeral. Mary had been sick for a while, so it wasn't exactly a shock when she died last week, but you never really expect it.
Mary Smith had a lot to do with where I am now and the person I've become. I wouldn't exactly say she was like a mother to me, because that doesn't describe the relationship at all. Rather, she created a place where probably hundreds (maybe even more) teenagers were able to experience something they might otherwise never have done.
When I was in ninth grade, I shocked my parents - and probably myself - by saying that I wanted to try out for the musical at St. Thomas Aquinas this year. Considering that only a few years earlier I had been completely unable to even carry a tune, the idea that I would want to get up in front of a crowd of people and sing and dance was probably not at the front of their minds.
But the kids I'd seen doing exactly that the past few years really looked like they were having fun. So I tried out, and got the role of the Wizard in
Once Upon a Mattress. Obviously, I really enjoyed myself, as over the next three years, I was not only in
Francis ,
Annie Get Your Gun, and
Where's Charley at St. Thomas, but also
South Pacific at Crestwood. Suddenly, I wasn't just the quiet kid in school. I made a whole new set of friends, and really began to become who I am now.
When I went off to Georgia Tech and learning that there was a theatre there, I immediately went to tryouts. And there I met Dougal, and Mike, and Chris, and Beth, and Becky, and Glen, and on and on. It may not be out of the question that without Mary Smith, there would be no Gunters. At the very least, neither my brother nor I would be a part of them.
And without the Gunters, I probably don't know Lisanne, let alone marry her. So, Mary, thanks. I don't know what my life would have been like without you, and I really would rather not know.
There were a number of people posting on the Primer Lounge at
Baseball Primer yesterday with lists of what they were thankful for. That strikes me as a good idea on Thanksgiving; we should all remember what holidays are really about. (As opposed to what capitalism has turned them into - reasons to go spend money.)
So, with that in mind, here's some of what I'm thankful for on this Thanksgiving.
I'm glad that I have so many good friends, even though I don't see most of them anywhere near often enough. But we manage to pick right up where we left off when we do see each other.
I'm even more thankful that I ended up married to my best friend. You can't beat that.
I'm happy that I have a loving and supporting family. I know too many people who don't have that.
I'm glad I can get paid pretty decent money to do something that I like doing. I don't miss the days of retail.
And I'm thankful that I live in a country where all this is possible.
Now, time for some turkey!
You really have to wonder just who's giving advice to Maurice Clarett. How is failing a Phys Ed class going to help him make the NFL? This kid's got Todd Marinovich Mark II written all over him at this point....
He couldn't stay healthy the one season he played at Ohio State. Granted, he looked really good when he could play, but the NFL tends to shy away from players who can't play a 12 game schedule.
He got into all kinds of trouble over the summer. Randy Moss, who was a no-questions-about-it talent, almost dropped out of the first round due to similar circumstances.
And now, with no football to even distract him, he's on the verge of failing two classes at Ohio State. That's sure to put NFL personnel men's minds at ease as to his maturity. Right.
Even if he does manage to get himself declared eligible for the draft next year, he may not be picked where he thinks he will be. And he's certainly no lock to make the roster of whatever team picks him.
Well, I've decided to give this a try. For now, I've gone with the easy route and set up a Blogger account, although I have aspirations of writing my own Perl-based package. We'll see if that ever happens.
