POLITICAL HISTORY

For those of you who -- like me -- wonder (quoting a candidate) "what the hell is going on" this political season should read a book called "The Loudest Voice in the Room" by Gabe Sherman.

This is a link to a review of the book by the Washington Post. Before you jump to conclusions, the book is heavily annotated & researched.

I think it puts in perspective some of what's going on this political season and provides some directly relatable history.

Lest you think I am one sided. I also read an 'authorized' bio on Donald Trump called "TrumpNation" & Carl Bernstein's exhaustive bio on Hillary Clinton titled "A Woman in Charge".

None of these books were complimentary.

Then there is an excellent book written just after the Nixon election called "The Selling of the President" by Joe McGinnis.

All of these books accurately reflect this election season & are worth your time if you are a serious voter although I'm sure some will argue that one could be a serious voter w/o reading them.

WEALTH CAN BE BAD FOR YOUR SOUL. [EXCERPTS]

Privilege, Pathology and Power
www.nytimes.com

By PAUL KRUGMAN 
January 1, 2016

Wealth can be bad for your soul. That’s not just a hoary piece of folk wisdom; it’s a conclusion from serious social science, confirmed by statistical analysis and experiment. The affluent are, on average, less likely to exhibit empathy, less likely to respect norms and even laws, more likely to cheat, than those occupying lower rungs on the economic ladder. [...]

Just to be clear, the biggest reason to oppose the power of money in politics is the way it lets the wealthy rig the system and distort policy priorities. [...]

[...] it’s not trivial. Oligarchy, rule by the few, also tends to become rule by the monstrously self-centered. Narcisstocracy? Jerkigarchy? Anyway, it’s an ugly spectacle [...]

ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE

ORWELL's 1984? NOPE. REAGAN'S 1986 [A Politico.com Magazine article]

[...] The INS’ multi-pronged proposals left little to the imagination, offering two options: a “general registry” and “limited targeting.” In its general registry scenario, the State Department would “invalidate the visas of all nonimmigrants” of the targeted nationalities, “using that as the first step to initiate a wholesale registry and processing procedure.” In its limited targeting scenario, the Investigations Division imagined a series of eight steps to expedite the deportation of the targeted nationalities. One was an executive order, requiring the FBI and CIA to share data with INS to locate alien undesirables and suspected terrorists. Another expanded the legal definition of international terrorism as a deportable offense; to speed the process, the measure would circumvent “proposed rule-making procedures, as a matter of national security.” The INS recommended holding aliens without bond, excluding the public from the deportation proceedings and convincing immigration judges to agree to those terms by referencing classified evidence. [...]

READ MORE HERE

PIVOTING

TRUMP TRANSITION TEAM LEADER

DOGWOOD [from Facebook] Photo by Anthony Photography in Boise

SERIOUSLY, FOLKS......

Seriously, folks:

Can you imagine Mr. Trump sitting through meeting after meeting in the oval office or situation room, listening to all the principals offer their opinions on some issue?

Do you really think he wants to work 12-14 hours a day, 7 days a week except for a few days of golf while under constant scrutiny?

Do you think he's going to read reams of position papers on various issues around the world day after day; even after his 14 hour day in the Oval ends?

How do you think he's going to react when the SS says, sorry Mr. President, it'll take a week to organize your security for your trip to Atlantic City to speak to the Chamber of Commerce about jobs.

Whether you agree with his random thoughts on governing or not -- just as a personality -- do you think this is a guy who is emotionally / constitutionally suited for the constant meetings & discussions as the chief executive of the united States?

What happens the day he gets bored and just wants to have fun? Will Donald be able to be Donald? I don't think he will be able to be true to himself in the Oval Office. It's a gilded cage.

Not being in total control will frustrate him. Although he might enjoy the perceived power, he will not enjoy the job.

Even if Hillary was the only un-trustworthy alternative, one could at least imagine her wonkishness fitting in better.

And there are alternatives.

THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE

For all the people who chant USA! USA! USA! (a sentiment I share), I wish they would put the USA! before political affiliation. That doesn't mean voting for Hillary. There are other choices.

When the SCOTUS took on the state's rights case and decided the election in Bush v Gore, that exalted institution became a political football with feet of clay. Sadly, we see how well that has worked out. 

When a presidential candidate suggests that the elections are rigged, it could set in motion a national loss of confidence in another pillar of our democracy. This is not good for the USA! 

Win or lose, this guy -- Trump -- will do just fine.

If he loses, he has managed to further his brand, build a bigger customer base for his products and has set in motion a multi-million dollar opportunity in communications, i.e. television and cable. Think Trump TV. Good for him. Could that have been the backup plan all along? Who knows.

If he wins, well.....I don't believe it will be good for the USA!

Maybe it's time to rethink "The Manchurian Candidate".

Light Play

In Response to Ruth Bader Ginsberg's Comments on Donald Trump's Candidacy

I think SCOTUS let the cat out of the bag when they took on the state's right issue of Bush v Gore. I don't say this as a Gore or Bush supporter. I do say it as a citizen who was once relieved that ONE government institution never got into politics publically. Now it's NOTHING BUT politics from judicial hearings to this situation. It's a shame & IMO a danger to a country that prides itself on believing in the RULE OF LAW.

Here's a Summary of the Justice's Comments

Special, Special, Special

July 1st, 2016 -- Happy Birthday Mom

Puerto Rico, 1944

SAD IRONY IN TODAY'S AMERICA

Excerpted from the NYT 6/17/2016

"When Dr. Joseph Ibrahim heard that the attack at the Pulse nightclub may have been linked to terrorism, he caught himself fearing any kind of link to his own Muslim, Middle-Eastern roots.

Ibrahim, who heads the trauma unit at Orlando Regional Medical Center, spent hours repairing gunshot wounds in the bodies of Latino men and women, many of whom were the sons and daughters of immigrants, too. 

Yanked from bed at 2:15 a.m., he was doing what he had trained for. But it was hard to escape the pairing: the son of one Muslim immigrant from the Middle East trying to save the lives of mostly gay Latinos whom another son of Muslim immigrants tried to kill, all in a chunk of verdant Florida built on Disney joy."

Swiped from Facebook Post. I Hope the Ladies don't Mind.

Sometimes a Picture IS worth 1,000 Words. This is One of Those Times

POLITICS 2016 STYLE

Why did presidential candidate Donald Trump point to 'my african american' in the CA crowd gathered on a tarmac to hear him speak on June 3rd, 2016? I thought the 'my' african american days were over. Disgusted.

CIRCLE OF LIFE - REMARKABLE, SAD, BEAUTIFUL

Return of the Cicadas from motionkicker on Vimeo.

TWO OF MY FAVORITE PEOPLE & THE END OF AN ERA

ATTENTION WORDMEISTERS, butchering the English language

News reporter: Donald Trump has completely precluded having a debate with Bernie Sanders. (A PLEONASM, not an OXYMORON)

The Ultimate Companion -- WAIT FOR IT!

Get you a dog that could do it all. pic.twitter.com/is7kkzRfov— SoaR Thief (@SoaRThief) The Dog That Can Do It Alll

Tiny Ted Talks

Video Briefs (Tiny Ted Talks)

No Comment

Quirky Humor -- I love it!

A 240 Year Old Doll That Can Write

The Writer Automaton, Switzerland

A 240 year old doll that can write, a clockwork creation by Pierre Jaquet-Droz, a Swiss watchmaker. The doll is able to write any custom text up to 40 letters long, and it uses a goose feather to write, which he inks from time to time, including a shake of the wrist to prevent ink from spilling. His eyes follow the text being written, and the head moves when he takes some ink. You can view this doll in person at the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire of Neuchâtel, in Switzerland.

Video by BBC and lesterfontayne

First Row, Second from the Left, to my Left: Claudia Robbins Circa 1956. Claudia, Where are You? :-)

Also Hjalmar F, Diane F, Idalia O, Ricardo dlT, Frances S, Paul B, Paul B, Lynn S, Alma R, Diane B, Sonia A

I AM A CONCERNED CITIZEN

From the very beginning of this national political season I have focused on two campaigns: Trump & Sanders.

Both campaigns represent large swaths of Americans -- of all stripes -- who are fed up with their representatives because they don't feel they are being represented.

It harkens back to our history when we had a revolution centered on taxation without representation.

Between gerrymandered districts, a lack of congressional term limits, big money & special interest lobbyists, the feeling is that our political representatives are now out of touch with their electorates and, instead, representing their own interests.

These 'representatives' set their own schedule, salaries and benefits. In short, their own jobs as permanent members of an unforeseen political class, have taken priority over their representative duties. As a result, the structure appears stacked against the vast majority of our fellow citizens.

Of course, Sanders & Trump followers take different tracts and generally have different styles but their message, not their would-be policies, are the same.

I find it fascinating how these two political extremes could have the same message. To me it's a tell tale sign of general unrest.

On April 4th I heard Bernie Sanders take a page out Donald Trump's play book on the NBC Today Show. When asked about his statement that he didn't believe Hillary Clinton was qualified to be president, Bernie answered: "she started it". I was disappointed with the infantilism but, clearly, 'the Donald' doesn't have exclusivity in that department.

Add to the aforementioned frustrations, we now see a situation unfolding on the Republican side (and no doubt on the Democratic side with super delegates and other elements of the party apparatus) whereby 112 individuals, selected by the GOP political apparatchiks, set the rules of the convention. And they can do whatever they want.

In 2012, the convention operated under the 'Romney rules'. What are they going to be called this year? More important, I always thought that rules were rules and something that didn't change on political winds. So, do our primary votes REALLY count? I think that's in doubt.

When I hear reports that candidates on both sides have hired "operatives" to corral delegates, I think of a Tom Cruise movie or a Tom Clancy novel, rather than an exercise in true democracy.

So do we have a true representative democracy? Again, I think it may be in doubt and I believe we need some serious consideration about how we govern ourselves going forward. To me, it sometimes feels like a country with a politburo electing a presidential candidate rather than an idealized America where one wo/man, one vote supposedly 'trumps' ;) everything.

Of course, one major difference is that we normally have a choice between two candidates, instead of rubber stamping the politburo's choice. And I'm grateful for that choice but I think the dream of the founding fathers, who created our style of democracy, with so many checks and balances, is slowly slipping away from the people, and is sliding, permanently, to special interests.

What we are witnessing in this political season is that realization. It has activated 'revolutionaries' in both political parties who want to change the national course and discourse. However, it will require many more citizens to become involved in the political process to spur those changes.

I am a concerned citizen.

Hauntingly Beautiful Tribute to "Ishi", the last survivor (1916) of the "Yahi" tribe

Follow up article in the New York Times

UPDATING YOUR WARDROBE

Letter to the Editor - Selectmen Cave...... Again

Ridgefield Press, March 24, 2016

At their March 8th meeting, the Selectmen dodged their Charter responsibility by not making a recommendation on the requested 5.72% education budget increase. The Selectmen folded to political pressure from a special interest group representing 20% of our Ridgefield community. 

What ruffles my feathers is that we elect these people to make balanced decisions that affect the entire community. So did they?

Sort-of. By recommending that the mill rate not exceed 3.5%, they were saying that the BoE request was too high.

The question has now moved to the Board of Finance and they should have lots of pointed questions.

I re-read a letter-to-the-editor from 2004. The BoE and it's supporters made the same arguments then: state mandates, special ed, DRG, falling behind and real estate values. 

To begin: real estate values have fallen precipitously since 2004 despite steady increases to the BoE budget year after year -- mostly to support a larger school bureaucracy, more hires, a larger head count. Does this have a familiar ring to it?

About $800,000 of this year's school budget goes to training teachers. Are we hiring the right teachers? I don't understand why the teachers don't contribute to this training.

Nevertheless, over the years, nothing much has changed scholastically in special ed or standard ed. Yet this year the town has cut almost $1,000,000 in the highway department budget and will most likely be expected to cut planned fire fighters. These cuts will affect all of us in order to satisfy an insatiable 20% of the community. Is that a balanced approach?

The town's books are audited annually. Connecticut has an education auditing department. How about using it, Board of Ed? Let's make sure the kids are getting the benefits, not the bureaucracy.

From a strong proponent of great education.

Jan Rifkinson
New Road

A part of the answer: WE NEED TERM LIMITS!!!

The Zigster

Entitled Parking, Ridgefield CT

Enough Said

Gravitas -- What's That?

Whatever happened to the word "gravitas"? I haven't heard it used once this political season. Is there any wonder?

Born Feb 25th, 1999 -- Stella Bella, My Littlest Bouvier

Sunday afternoon, Sun Feb/21/2016. Dr. Dale Krier is gone. Stella is gone. Ziggy is Prince of the hill. I'm still King.

Meet Dr. Gail Krier, an ironic name given her specialty: mobile geriatric and end-of-life veterinary care. Ziggy liked her when she came to visit Sunday, five days before Stella Bella's 17th birthday.  

---

Around noon, Saturday, February 20th, Stella came trudging into the kitchen which meant she wanted to go out so I opened the door, watched her stretch, look around somewhat casually, then carefully amble down the 2 shallow steps onto the grass. She liked to make this trip by herself so I usually followed her progress through the windows. For some reason, I didn't this time. 

Stella's walk was a short one: after bathroom activities, taking a left, walking along the side of the house, another left, up the terrace steps, back into the house. This does not take long. Sometimes, along the way, she would stop to bark at the neighbor's black, midget dog. Otherwise it was an uneventful little stroll. 

But when I sensed this day's trip was taking a little too long, I went out to find her standing unsteadily, dazed, facing the wrong direction, lost, swaying from front to back. Clearly she had had some kind of catastrophic episode. Heart attack? Stroke? Brain tumor? A week ago, her blood values had been perfect. 

Not wanting to startle her, I approached her sideways until I was able to reach out & touch her. Somewhere in her depths, despite her condition, she seemed to recognize me. I could swear I saw a sigh of relief. 

I attached Stella's black and white polka dot lead, and ever so gently, led her onto the right path. She followed me into house, to her safe spot where I sat on the sofa right next to it. This usually comforted her enough so she would lie down.... which she did, in slow motion, onto her side, falling into a deep sleep. 

Hours later, her body clock announced it was feeding time & Stella came to the kitchen, very weak & limping badly. But she refused food & water. She refused a pain pill wrapped in smelly, delicious, Boar's Head genoa salami -- sliced thin. So I reversed her path where I sat on the sofa again & Stella lay down again. There I remained. There she remained. 

Through tears, I grew to accept that this was to be the end so I left a message for Dr. Krier, notifying her of Stella's situation and, via text messaging, we decided that, since Stella was resting comfortably and apparently not suffering, we would wait for the morning unless there was an emergency. 

I spent the night with Stella, checking on her condition many times during the night. Her breathing was so shallow. 

5:45am, Sunday, February 21st: Ziggy wanted to go out so I took him for a quick walk while Stella snoozed. But on my return, I found Stella standing blank & lost just a few feet from her safe space. Again her internal clock told her it was time to go out. But she couldn't make it so I coaxed her back to her padded area where we both remained until Dr. Krier arrived later in the morning. 

When Dale (Dr. Krier) arrived, after hugs, we sat around and talked; everyone knowing what was before us. She pointed out what a blessing it was when our canine friends let us know it was their time, making it easier for us to do what we had to do. I suppose but it is still tough. 

I remember the first time Truman & I met Stella with Kathy Dawson in Baltimore MD. Stella was terribly shy. Constantly anxious, it seemed we could never make her feel totally safe even over the ten years she was with us.

At first, she buried her biscuits for a later snack when no one was looking. She hollowed out spaces behind bushes around the house where she could hide. All her life with us (starting at age 7) and continuing for the next 10 years, she always required a safe space; a crate, a corner, a sofa. When, finally, she couldn't jump any more, we spread towels & pads & blankets on the floor between the sofas where she would feel safe and that's where she lived for the last two years. 

Stella never played, never wagged her tail, never kissed, never walked toward me but I could always count on her being behind me. 

She never took treats from strangers & towards the end, even required that I put treats on the floor for her to pick up at her leisure. From the start, Sophie always respected Stella but Ziggy got his 'what for' when he got too frisky with her. Sometimes she barked at a stranger approaching the house -- usually me. I'd like to think it was a happy, welcoming bark but I doubt it.  

Stella never got over the traumas from the first six years of life -- whatever they were. I'm told she was used as a brood bitch in a Missouri puppy mill. Supposedly, she birthed 6 litters and the only time I saw her really excited was when a vet tech friend stopped by with her rescued Chihuahua and Stella thought it was a puppy. 

But she traveled with me to Bouvstock & other Bouvier events where she never let me out of her sight. She hiked with me & Sophie in Ridgefield's parks -- Sophie leading, Stella following.  

She joined us at restaurants with outdoor venues for lunches or dinners. She hung out with me when I dipped my toe into local politics and ran for selectman. She helped me hand out pamphlets in front of Stop 'n Shop. She got used to riding in the car after a rough start of peeing & drooling on the back seat. She loved the snow. 

In the ten years she was with us, I never heard her whine or cry out in pain. She never demanded anything of us. But we tried our best to give her everything we could. I hope now, finally, she's at peace. I know her official kennel name but I prefer to think of her simply as 

Stella Bella  

Feb 25, 1999 - Feb 21, 2016

Lower Back Pain -- Most of Us Have It.

More From Dr. Mike Evans

From My Memory Bank - How 60 Minutes Come to Be

During the early years of my time in TV news, I was fortunate enough to know and work with Mike Wallace, Harry Reasoner, Don Hewitt and others in later years.

 

But how did 60 Minutes come into being?

 

Fred Friendly was CBS News president at the time. Don Hewitt, respected news gadfly, had finished a documentary on Frank Sinatra (I think the first on Sinatra). Included were never-before-seen footage of Sinatra cutting an album in real time, his back stage entrance onto the MSG stage, his performance, Sinatra's bio and more. It was a great doc but Fred Friendly wouldn't put it on the air because it wasn't "news".

 

I was in the main newsroom to hear the Hewitt side of his conversation with Fred Friendly on the subject. To say the least, it was a loud conversation.

 

As a result of that conversation, Don was banished to the rear of the production center -- a former dairy between 10-11th ave on 57th St. That's where all the film projectors & telop machines were housed. Believe me, it was a remote part of the building. His secretary was one Suzanne Davis, a brilliant girl, who -- in a 6 degrees of separation moment -- turned out to be my college girlfriend's roommate.

 

Months, probably more than a year, it was rumored that Don was working on a new project. One day, in the hallway outside the Evening News studio-newsroom, Hewitt asked to borrow my stop watch, a new split second Heur.

 

By the time '60 Minutes' debuted, Fred Friendly had resigned over principle and Dick Salant (also a wonderful but very different executive) had replaced him. Don Hewitt and '60 Minutes' had found an ally on executive row.

 

Lo & behold, Don had filmed my stop watch running for a full 60 minutes and, of course used it (in actual time) as a logo & bumpers between segments on his new show. The original anchors were Wallace & Reasoner.

 

That's how '60 Minutes' came to be.

2015 Reading List

The List: A Novel  
Martin Fletcher
December 24, 2015

Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend  
Susan Orlean
December 13, 2015

Rogue Lawyer  
John Grisham
December 6, 2015

The Girl in the Spider's Web: A Lisbeth Salander novel 
David Lagercrantz
September 18, 2015

The Girl on the Train: A Novel  
Paula Hawkins
September 13, 2015

The Brothers: The Road to an American Tragedy  
Masha Gessen
September 12, 2015

Private Screening (Tony Lord Book 1)  
Richard North Patterson
September 12, 2015

The Fujifilm X-T1: 111 X-Pert Tips 
Rico Pfirstinger
September 6, 2015

The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True  
Richard Dawkins
August 31, 2015

How We Got Here: A History of Technology and Markets  
Andy Kessler
August 31, 2015

The Patriarch: A Bruno, Chief of Police novel  
Martin Walker
August 26, 2015

The Crowded Grave: A Mystery of the French Countryside
Martin Walker
August 15, 2015

Black Diamond (Bruno Chief Of Police Book 3)  
Martin Walker
August 9, 2015

The Dark Vineyard: A Novel of the French Countryside
Martin Walker
August 2, 2015

Bruno, Chief of Police: A Novel of the French Countryside
Martin Walker
July 25, 2015

The Wright Brothers  
David McCullough
July 16, 2015

Palace of Treason: A Novel  
Jason Matthews
June 9, 2015

Red Sparrow: A Novel  
Jason Matthews
June 9, 2015

Young Money: Inside the Hidden World of Wall Street's Millennials
Kevin Roose
June 9, 2015

The Burning Room (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 21)  
Michael Connelly
May 3, 2015

The Black Box (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 19)  
Michael Connelly
May 3, 2015

The Drop (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 18)  
Michael Connelly
May 3, 2015

The Overlook (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 13)  
Michael Connelly
April 29, 2015

Echo Park (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 12)  
Michael Connelly
April 28, 2015

The Closers (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 11)  
Michael Connelly
April 22, 2015

Lost Light (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 9)  
Michael Connelly
April 17, 2015

City of Bones (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 8)  
Michael Connelly
April 12, 2015

A Darkness More Than Night (Terry McCaleb Book 2)  
Michael Connelly
April 3, 2015

Angels Flight (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 6)  
Michael Connelly
March 26, 2015

Trunk Music (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 5)  
Michael Connelly
March 17, 2015

The Last Coyote (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 4)  
Michael Connelly
March 5, 2015

The Black Ice (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 2)  
Michael Connelly
February 23, 2015

The Black Echo  
Michael Connelly
February 12, 2015

Hitler's Peace  
Philip Kerr
January 26, 2015

Station Eleven: A novel  
Emily St. John Mandel
January 24, 2015

Man Who Was Thursday, The  
G. K. Chesterton
January 21, 2015

Sophie & The 2015 Holiday Season

Dear Friends,



This picture of Stella Bella, now 16, was meant to be our Holiday Greeting card for 2015 but, as some of you know, we recently put Sophie to sleep.  That took a lot out of us.

Add to that, December is the anniversary of the passing of two of Carol's family members & we currently have two dear friends who are in dire health circumstances. The joyful mood left us.

But, be that as it may, I wanted to take this opportunity to sincerely thank you all for the outpouring of concern and condolences when Sophie died.  We've all had the experience, sometimes multiple times. It never gets easier but somehow some seem more tragic than others.


Sophie, rescued by the wonderful Deborah Dickerson, had a terrible life. She was with us from age 7 to age 12. Like many rescues, It took her about 3 years to bloom into the Bouvier she truly was and could have been had she had a loving & patient home. Three times we almost lost her to various illnesses but she pulled through and everyone marveled at her inner strength and desire to live.

Even on the very day her life ended, she reacted with a warning bark at a young man who inadvertently stuck his hand in front of her face. I never figured out what that behavior was about but she always reacted this way when someone put their hand out for her to smell. Surely something traumatic must have triggered it because, though protective, Sophie was, first, a lady; then a Bouvier with a properly balanced temperament.



She was my shadow, moving from room to room, from guard position to guard position when I worked outside. She was a great companion as we hiked through the many open spaces in and around Ridgefield. When we would get to a fork in a trail, she would look to me for direction. She enjoyed these little adventures and I took her everywhere. She loved riding in the convertible, top down.



We had lunches & dinners together at dog friendly restaurants, sat on park benches while I sipped a cup of coffee, obligated to share my croissant with her. She was always the perfect companion but always calmly on guard.

Sophie loved to run and she did for the first four years that she was with us. She enjoyed her freedom and patrolled her two and a half acre territory with great care. She respected Stella and spent hours Bouv playing with Ziggy -- the 20# mutt we added to our home several years ago, thanks to Dagi Henry. They became a true odd couple.



But in her fifth year with us, Sophie had one of her periodic grand mal seizures. It was in the middle of the night & Ziggy raced to her aid. I found Sophie writhing on the floor, repeatedly slamming her spine against the corner of a square leg of a nearby table, her flank soaked in urine.

After I slid her away from the table and puddle of urine, I stroked her and eventually she re-emerged into the conscious world. But it was clear her hind quarters had been injured. She couldn't stand at first and, from then on, had difficulty getting up, walking, keeping her balance.

Although over weeks and months, she improved, still you could have knocked her over with a feather. She stopped running. And although she never cried out in pain, it was obvious she was in constant stress. Periodically I heard a low moan. We tried various medications to help her live more comfortably to little effect. Throughout it all, she still insisted on following me from room to room, exerting valiantly to stand up and plopping down in the next room, tired from the strain.

As winter drew closer, I had visions of Sophie trying to balance herself in the snow and on ice, slipping, falling, flopping around like a fish out of water. I couldn't get it out of my head and I knew I couldn't let it happen. I watched her weaken day after day.

Finally, one Sunday, while Carol was home with me, I burst into tears and told her it was time. The sun was shining. It was an unseasonably beautiful day, a day when I was to plant fall bulbs.

Instead I called  Dr. Dale Krier, a mobile vet who specializes in veterinary hospice care and euthanasia. I broke down on the phone, as did she, because at the time of my call, she had been sitting on the side of the road mourning one of her own dogs..... named Sophie.

She arrived a few hours later, in her private car, with her son and medical bag. I introduced her to Sophie and we talked quietly for a while. She described what would happen and we decided to go outside, on the grass, in the sun on this otherwise beautiful day.

I got Sophie to lie down and lay next to her as she got her first shot that relaxed her. That took a few minutes to take effect. Carol and I were in tears. I talked to Sophie, stroked, hugged and kissed her and told her how much I loved her. I know I was the last voice she heard as she sank into drugged oblivion. After asking if we were ready Dr. Krier injected Sophie with the drug that put her into a permanent sleep. In a few minutes, she pronounced her passing. I stayed with Sophie for more minutes, sobbing and hugging her.

Dale made an imprint of her paw in clay and left us to grieve privately.

Finally it was time and we rolled Sophie onto a canvas stretcher and gently placed her in the back of Dale's car. Dr. Krier then spent another half hour with us. She lit one of those little mourning candles. She provided us with comfort, hugs, grieving resources & explained the next steps.

I wanted to know how Sophie's body would be treated and that the ashes I received would actually be hers. Dr. Krier assured us that Sophie's remains would handled with respect as she was taking her to a crematorium where the entire process was video taped. She would review the tape. Her fees were handled gently, with sensitivity.

Later in the day she called to see how we were doing. She checked in the next day and she called both of Sophie's vets with the news.

Several days later, she returned with Sophie's remains. So Sophie is home with us again, sharing space with Sabrina and others.

We did our best for her and she did her best for us, right up to the very end. She was a big, wonderful, beautiful girl and, like all the Bouviers before her, I miss her terribly.

Gun Control

From a thread started by my Facebook friend, Duke Struck, on gun control, the question on the table was "What's the answer?" given the...
Posted by Jan Rifkinson on Saturday, October 3, 2015

Travel Photos - Chateau Marsau Harvest, FR - 2015

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO MONTAGE

Travel Photos - Cap Ferret, FR - 2015

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Travel Photos - Montpeyroux, FR - 2015

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Travel Photos - Bordeaux, FR - 2015

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Travel Photos - London, UK - 2015

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This is a social experiment

Does anyone recognize this beautiful young woman, circa 1968, Location NYC, Central Park, Bethesda Fountain? 

This photo was taken w a 300mm lens. She knew I was shooting her & smiled that little smile. 

I fell in love, returning to the fountain many times but never saw her again. I placed ads in the local paper. I had the photo enlarged to life-size & glued to the back of my rent controlled apt door so I could see it every day as I left for work (a bit creepy, I know). 

Recently I found the original black & white photo (Tri-X film) & decided to share this unrequited social experience with all of you.

Maybe you'll recognize her or she will recognize herself. 

Hopefully you will share this with all your friends. 

What a story if it comes full circle. 

Thanks. 

Kent CT Day Trip

Vantage Point

Happy Hour

A Little of This & That

July Blooms, Ridgefield CT, 2015