ODDS AND ENDS, JOURNAL FUN

There is a Jewish tradition to leave stones at grave sites. Just a pile of stones.

Witches bury stones and crystals as gifts for the fairy earth people.

In “Burning Man” by Alan Russell, the main character Michael Gideon interviews Dinah, a high school girl who has been bullied. He says to her,”You seem like a smart girl. Why did you let yourself be a victim?” Becoming a victim has nothing to do with being smart or dumb. It isn’t even about weakness, except for the bully’s weakness. I have been told that the German word for bully, translates to “half person.” Bullies are immature, and are usually themselves cowards. What could the girl in this book have done to make fellow students stop bullying her?

Social media sites that focus on books and authors: Goodreads, Shelfari and LibraryThing. There is also Writer’s cafe.

What was Perry Mason like as a student? Dr. Kildare? Think about a person whose smarts you admire. What was that person like as a student?

Arms up or out for a better attitude and mood. Here is a tip from my winter sojourn instructor. Feeling resistance? Spread your arms out. Let your body form a capital “T”.

Abe Lincoln was an unschooler. Where Lincoln did his best was in reading books. They were his teachers. I live in a wildlife refuge. There’s a frog in my throat; dust bunnies under my desk; a FOX on television; dear in my letters.

Bullycide: a term for bullying that is so bad it leads to suicide or a suicide attempt.

It is a kid thing to do. Bullies are immature. Adults try to bully each other too. Bosses try to bully; police and teachers. They try to say it is for their victim’s good.

Dog breeds: Toto in “Wizard of Oz was a cairn terrier.

Chauffeur: The word is French for stoker. Early cars ran on steam or battery power.

ADOPT A SENIOR PET MONTH

November is Adopt A Senior Pet Month.

I have always had senior pets.

When I was a child my mother had a pet chicken named Henny Penny. She had her own chicken coup and when she wasn’t eating bird seed, she pecked at bugs around the yard.

Troubles seemed like the oldest dog on record, but we couldn’t be sure of her age. Our neighbors Oscar and Eloise moved to Oregon when I was a preschooler. We took their dogs Troubles and Queenie, two sister mongrels. I could not identify the many different breeds that went into them. Queenie was killed on the highway right after the neighbors moved.

I remember that when my dad pulled Queenie’s body off the highway, Troubles followed him and watched as Queenie’s grave was dug.

I was a preschooler then., We still had the dog Troubles when I graduated from high school and she lived for a few years after that.

I adopted a four month old cat in March 1972. Both of his hind legs were broken; he had malnutrition and various other medical problems. The shelter manager said he was too badly injured to live. He was slated for euthanasia at the shelter, but I loved him from the moment I saw him. I named him Thaddeus and he lived until December 1992; He had just turned twenty.

A few years after Thaddeus died, I had a very rough year. My dad died of cancer in August of 1995. As I struggled with that, we knew a stray cat lived in the neighborhood. I told all our neighbors I would take the cat if anyone caught her.

On December 16 of that year, the day before my birthday, my husband noticed the stray, a pretty young calico in our back yard.

He went out and brought her in. We guessed she was seven to nine months old. I named her Felina, after a Mexican dancer in an old Marty Robbins song, “Music would play and Felina would whirl.” Felina is still living with us. She is now twenty years old and will soon celebrate 20 years of living with us.

We did adopt a senior pet when we adopted Lancelot from the Pet Adoption Alternative in Warren. The vet guessed Lancelot was eight years old then.

Tiki our dog adopted from Michigan Animal Rescue is 14 born in 2001 and Senior pets bring a lot of joy. They are easier to cope with than kittens and puppies. There is no potty training.

What is or was your oldest pet?