Day Eleven: I Think It’s Day Ten
As Bob says, “I keep losing track of the days.” Also, he’s started a binder for Wild Ride. When Bob revs up his binder, we’re in serious writing territory. I spent the day running errands and thinking glossy thoughts about the Democratic party and came home to find out that McCain had picked a woman as a running mate who said, on tape, that she doesn’t know what a vice president does. I could say several pointed things here, but I think I’ll just wait and see what happens next. There has to be another shoe hanging fire here.
But while I was surfing the web trying to find out about this, I got zilch done. Met Bob in Campfire at five, but I was wiped out from not sleeping last night and he was still getting over whatever crud he had yesterday, so we talked about things and then went our separate ways, me to fix scene three and him to write scene four. The good news is, we’re getting into the groove again. If I could just find M. I.’s voice . . .
Every time, I forget how hard this is and how long it takes. Well, I’m old. Is it Day Ten? I think it’s Day Ten.
Okay, I just looked. It’s Day Eleven. I’d change the header here, but I think I must own my confusion. ARGH.
Don’t worry, we all lose track of days. It happens.
She was a Miss Alaska runner-up in 1984. It gives you hope for our future, doesn’t it?
The mind does boggle over McCain’s VP choice. And isn’t she under investigation for something or other? I’m with you…there must be another shoe.
But anyway, if it were only Day 10, we’d get two more posts, so, Jenny, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but it’s definitely Day 9. Heh-heh.
Well, when I saw McCain’s choice I said, “Hmmm. The Republicans really are in trouble.” I mean, what a frantic move that was.
Glad you guys are making progress and that Bob is feeling well again. Is the binder the manly man’s version of collage?
Not sure where McCain is going with this–having a woman running mate worked so well the last time it was attempted… But she is pretty.
I don’t know–I think it is all a crap shoot. They all say great stuff and promise to change the world, but then they win and they realize that the wheels of government turn very slowly and you have to grease them frequently if you want them to move at all. And four years really isn’t enough time to get anything of importance accomplished.
Hi Jenny,
Really fell in love with Agnes and the Hitman. I give most of my books away, but keep the few that I love…Agnes is one of them.
I have to comment on the Palin comments. I’m Independent but have always voted Dem’s until this year. Someone mentioned Palin’s under investigation but let’s not foget Biden’s plagiarism scandal/BO’s association with anti-Americans (Ayers and Wright) and the slum Lord Rezko.
Everyone wants “CHANGE”! Well, Palin only got into government at a local level because she wanted change and pulled a few Erin Brokovich’s. Having someone in the White House who got into politics for all the right reasons and isn’t a member of any “old boy network” or “new boy network” is quite the change.
I have read everything I can (about both candidates) to try to inform myself, and though I don’t like some issues McCain stands on, I feel most confident with him. BO makes a ton of promises, but where the heck is he going to get all the money for everything? But the nail in the vote coffin for BO was his defense of his associations with people who have harmed, or would like to see, Americans harmed.
Regardless, what I love about America is that we can agree to disagree as long as we all agree on the love of books and reading.
Write away.
Much Luck.
MM
Sheri, I think you’re right. A lot of people run for office - any office - and learn the hard way that they *can’t* keep their promises. Candidates shouldn’t be allowed to say they promise to do things the should have to say ‘These are my priorities and I will work as hard as I can to accomplish them’ . People resent politicians because they never keep their promises and that would circumvent that feeling of betrayal. It won’t happen but it should.
You know, I can’t understand why people fault Obama for associating with a college professor with a violent past (forty years ago) and give McCain a pass for the Keating Five which he was actively involved in as an adult. I don’t see why so many people who rightly condemn Clinton for the whole cigar fiasco give McCain a pass on cheating on and eventually dumping his injured wife for a rich woman half his age. (One of the best things I know about the Reagans is that they never forgave him for that.) I completely understand why people would fault Democrats for the things they don’t approve of, I just don’t understand why it doesn’t apply to the other side. But if you get into that, then it’s mudslinging.
The thing that worries me about Palin is that she’d literally be a heartbeat away from being the most powerful person in the world. And while I’m sure she has many fine qualities, that kind of experience isn’t one of them.
And I still don’t have scene 4 written. Because I am fascinated by this whole political drama. Which is what the McCain team undoubtedly had in mind. Sigh. Maniputlated again.
Sorry to thread hijack. But did you see the Columbus Dispatch’s 8/31 article about the dachshunds rescued from the puppymill? It made me think of you and your pack. Hope they find good homes.
Is the binder the manly man’s version of collage?
I’d love to see Bob’s answer to that one. He’d look down at the binder and realize he’s collaging in his own way.
And Jenny, I think book sales is the universe’s way of distracting me from writing.
OK - politics is such an explosive subject that I’m running with the puppymill thread. We wouldn’t have puppy mills if it wasn’t for the American Kennel Club (AKC). If a person has two registered dogs (same breed, obviously) - all the puppies can be registered at birth. Doesn’t matter if they are sick, have two heads, etc. - they can be registered. If the AKC were responsible, they wouldn’t allow dogs to be registered until say… six months or a year old… when the dog could be examined by a vet and deemed completely healthy. This way, there would be no profit in puppy mills. Just saying…
Or, as an alternative, responsible breeders could be licensed with oversight from the AKC. And the puppies could be examined by a vet to determine if they are healthy before they are registered. It would eliminate a lot of the needless suffering that animals go through.
And Jenny, i’m really looking forward to your new book. And if I remember correctly, you and Bob went through this same angst with your other two books, and look how well they turned out! Besides, the subject matter of this book is a new realm for the both of you which, IMO, makes it that much more difficult. But the two of you will prevail - I’m certain of it. Meanwhile, if you want to distract yourself by doing some writing on your other books in progress, who am I to complain!!
Oh, hell, puppy mills. Wolfie came from one. Poor baby is so inbred, he’s nuts. I’m praying he doesn’t get snarly in his old age and start to bite. He hasn’t so far and he’s eight, but with that kind of breeding . . .
Didn’t realize that about the AKC. Idiots.
Puppymill thread here too… Some of the Mills are like armed camps, with guards & rifles & everything. I used to volunteer for West Highland Terrier Rescue of Missouri (the #1 state for puppymills, we were so proud! Look out crack houses, here we come!) The woman that runs it (the rescue) is a judge for the state of MO. Big problem, puppy mills, and I think if the AKC allowed people to show their neutered/spayed dogs it would help solve some of the problems.
The first thing I thought when I heard McCain’s running mate choice was, Alaska and the possibility of oil drilling. The answer to all our woes. Sarcasm aside, McCain can’t continue with his complaint of Obama’s lack of experience. Palin has even less.
Of the whole convention, I thought Senator Kerry’s was the best. He let nothing slide. Brilliant speech.
Do you define a day as 24 hours? I ask cause I remember Bob indicating that the “Jenny time/space continuim” was different than his I guess. Could be a reason for the lost day.
Reading back over this thread, I feel guilty…I think we’ve given you an out from writing…your mind is made up which way you’re going to vote.
I totally understand what you’re trying to do…find a reason not to write.
Though, of course, politics are worthy,I think books that provide a great escape and laughs could be the answer to a better nation. Good books = Happy People. Happy people work together to get things done.
Stop surfing and get writing!
Slave Drive - I hear you, but people want to breed champions. Bless you for participating in a rescue program.
One more thing about the AKC. They don’t breed for intelligence, they don’t breed for health, they breed for body type. Their champions have to match the ideal body type for the breed. Doesn’t matter if the dog does not have a brain in its head. This is why the Jack Russell Terrier people did not want to be recognized by the AKC. They breed their dogs for intelligence, hunting ability, and health. They didn’t even register their dogs until they were a year old and had gone through an examination by a Jack Russell Terrier sanctioned vet. Now they have been recognized. It should be interesting to see what happens to the breed. The German Shephards IN GERMANY go through an even more rigourous trial before they are allowed to become breeders. They neuter the ones who don’t make the grade and sell them as pets.
Stepping down from the soap box now.
Jenny, if your beloved Wolfie has made it to 8 years of age without showing any of the symtoms you describe, he will be just fine. Please keep in mind that if a dog is in pain or feeling ill, it can manifest itself in agressive behaviour. Please don’t assume that it’s because of his puppymill past.
I’m just waiting for the Tigress–who has just written a book about dogs–to weigh in on the in/overbreeding issue–it’s one of her hot buttons. The same thing is true of cats, too, especially the Manx and Peke-Faced Persian.
Re: Investigation of Palin: NY Times piece here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/us/politics/30trooper.html?ref=politics
I was away for the weekend and I missed the puppy mill conversation but I’m still chiming in. I grew up in the dog world, my mom raised (over a 30 year span) three different breeds and many of her dogs are considered foundation bloodlines. She bred the first Australian Shepherd ever shown at a CKC event. I watched her bawl her eyes out when she got the test results back telling her the dog she was looking at as the best dog she had ever bred, the one Mom had rested all her hopes and dreams on, was carrying a hereditary eye disease (that was previously unknown in that line). Raisin was spayed the next day.
A few weeks ago she called an ad in the newspaper advertising Aussie pups for sale and inquired about the puppies. She does that some times. The lady asked Mom if she knew anything about the history of Aussies in Alberta over the last 15 years or so and Mom said a little. The lady then asked her if she had ever heard of a breeder and she named my mom. Mom said I am her and the lady was speechless. Mom was her dog hero, the breeder she wanted to be like.
So, that’s my background - honesty, integrity and many, many non-breeding agreements (which are legally binding).
1. The chief reason we have puppy mills is because a great many people are not willing to buy from a responsible breeder or adopt a dog from a rescue or the pound they prefer to go to a pet store and buy a dog without every caring what the circumstances of its birth are. Puppy mills are a supply and demand industry and if we could figure out how to keep people from buying from them they would go out of business. Puppy mills are not back yard breeders - the guy down the block who has two black Labs and thinks he can make a few bucks. He’s an idiot, puppy mills are evil.
2. Responsible breeders are not puppy mills. There is a vast and unbridgeable gap between the two. Responsible breeders breed for temperment and type. Responsible breeders breed for health. Responsible breeders don’t breed every female they have at every heat starting when she’s six months old. Responsible breeders make sure their dogs are healthy and sound. Responsible breeders are just that *responsible*.
Yes, there are breeders who shouldn’t be aloud to raise plants let alone animals, I’ve met plenty of them but in my lifetime of being in the dog world I’ve met far more people who throw their heart and soul into improving their breed. To lump those people in with puppy mills isn’t right.
I don’t think the people who buy puppy mill puppies care about registering, showing or championships so no matter what the AKC, CKC or any other registry organization does it’s not going to deter them. Stronger rules about what dogs can be used for breeding might put a few bad breeders out of business but not the puppy mills.
I get all of my pets either as strays who wander into the yard or from the humane society. My personal opinion is that:
1. Every pet you purchase should cost a substantial amount (I think the typical fee from my shelter is around $80 - that might make a good minimum. Or heck, round it up to an even $100).
2. Every pet purchased must be spayed/neutered. To have an unaltered pet, you must be a licensed breeder or a licensed show owner, and you must pay a steep price for that license.
3. Pet stores must be banned from selling pets. Period.
4. Puppy mill owners (unlicensed breeders) must face severe financial penalties as well as jail time.
Oh, I know that there will always be loopholes, and writing the regulations to back this would be a challenge, and nobody takes this seriously at the legislative or law enforcement level (otherwise severe penalties for animal abuse would already be in place and observed). I realize that my rather militant stand may well be excessively harsh. But … I think that people value things that cost them, and I don’t think anybody has a constitutional right to own any animal … it’s a privilege, and if you abuse it, you lose it. Sometimes you have to force people to be responsible.
Okay, I’ll get off my personal soap box, too.
Jenny, I can’t wait for the next book you have to come out, no matter which one comes out first!!!
Change the gender, and you’ve got Jenny’s life story:
http://www.ovff.org/pegasus/songs/stray-dog-man.html
The tiny mystery puppy we got from the pound in Montana turned out to be a Border Collie. She spoiled us for other breeds. When we got orders to England, we gave her to relatives rather than put her through the six-month quarantine. Our next BC, MacIntosh, came from a couple in CT who’d started fostering rescues, of which there are far too many.
The increased visibility of BC’s in movies, commercials, televised flyball and agility have enabled puppy mills to make a fortune off this breed. It’s sickening how many BC’s wind up in pounds and rescues because the owners had no clue what they were getting into, apparantly never having heard the expression “If you don’t give a Border Collie a job, he’ll find one, and you won’t like it”.
The people we adopted MacIntosh from were so appalled by what was happening, they sold their house in CT and bought a farm in upstate NY. They’re spending their retirement years running one of the best rescue facilities in the country, placing around 200 dogs a year. They also run Camp Border Collie for Kids, a summer camp for at-risk inner city kids. Combining abused and neglected kids with abused and neglected dogs works wonders for both. It’s truly amazing. I highly recommend checking out the website: glenhighlandfarm.com