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Brushes With Death And (Wild) Life

Wed, 09/09/2009 - 04:21 — Winter

If the planets line up properly, I may be able to write something worth reading, sometime in the unspecified future.

But for the moment, I can only give you what I've got.

You can read the rest here, and/or add a comment below.

Comments

Wed, 09/09/2009 - 06:50 — peasant (not verified)

hey

you rock. are you channeling frank mccourt?
hang in there.

Wed, 09/09/2009 - 08:07 — Grimblebee

Good Wishes To You!

WP, Very sorry to hear about your troubles, and I hope things take a turn for the better. We miss your voice!! But as a birder, I had to smile at your golden eagle story. I identify with those big raptors (and with bee-eaters!). --G--

Wed, 09/09/2009 - 11:03 — newjesustimes
newjesustimes's picture

Peaceful departures

Nice story WP - Sounds like your cat had a peaceful departure and for that I am thankful. I think that's much easier on your family than having to make the painful decision to euthanize, which happens so often with older pets who can't get around so well. It may be fortunate that we (usually) don't have to make such incredibly difficult decisions for our human loved ones. I hope your troubles sort themselves out soon well enough for you to get back to writing regularly. peace!

Wed, 09/09/2009 - 11:11 — Anonymous (not verified)

superb

sorry about the cat, and about the rough shape your father's in.

those were some well written thoughts, with nicely woven themes.

Wed, 09/09/2009 - 12:13 — Bob in Prague
Bob in Prague's picture

Soaring off...

Hey WP, just don't go soaring off any too soon. I'm so glad your kitty met a peaceful end (I had to have my brother-sister team euthanized recently after they found some slug poison a neighboor [sic] with lovely flowers to die for had scattered about). As a man who's more experienced with end-of-life issues than he would care to be, I can only say that for your Dad I have to trust in the wisdom of the "creator." A friend of mine had an uncle who was tying his bowtie for a fiftieth anniversary party with his wife when he exclaimed, "Helen, do you see that bright light?" "No, Henry, I don't," Helen replied. "I guess this must be it!" Henry exclaimed, and keeled over, dead.

Who knows whether Henry was lucky or not? Was my Anna lucky to have three years to ponder her upcoming demise? We should all just admit that it's the ultimate mystery, and, I would posit, it's meant to be - the "creator's" sole potential tool to rein in the thoughtless evil that seems to lie in the brain stem. Whether it ultimately works or not remains to be seen.

But I apologize for digressing. I wish you and your tribe comfort in these tough times, Winter. The vast, "virtual" we are rooting for you, itching for your return to promptly attending to matters such as the most recent conviction of three liquid bomb conspirators and the unblinking acceptance of that preposterous tale by pustule-bespattered CMSM. What a cistern for foul toads, to steal an appropriate Shakespearean epithet!

Love and Peace and Happy Trails Nevertheless!

Wed, 09/09/2009 - 13:27 — McJ
McJ's picture

Soaring with the eagles

I'm with you Winter; I'd like to be soaring with eagles right about now! There are lots of eagles in the territories where I live. It is always a treat to see one. We sometimes get to watch them fishing in the early mornings when we visit one of the mountain lakes around here. I've never been that up close and personal with one, however. I real gift, I imagine, to have such a 'bird's eye' view. smiling

Sorry to hear about your father's ailments and the demise of your cat. We lost our family dog some years ago when the kids were small. He died in the living room with everyone there. It was really sad for us all and my dad came with his truck and took the dog's body to the city yards were it was incinerated. He told the kids he was taking her to heaven. So, for a long time they thought that when you died you went to heaven in the back of a truck. One even asked him if Grandma died would he take her to heaven in his truck.

And speaking of the heavens, thank heaven your father has health insurance! Being Canadian it boggles my mind to think that a member of my family could have a major health crisis and not have medical coverage. Talk about unbearable stress! My aging father has had heart attacks, a hip replacement and severe infections that have required extensive hospitalization and at home care and we have never had to worry that he was not going to get good care or how we would pay the bills.

Good point about Kissinger. Is he ever going to leave the planet? He must have made some kind of deal with the devil. It's creepy just thinking about that voice of his.

Look forward to you further developing some of those thoughts. Take care.

"The most unpleasant truth in the long run is a far safer traveling companion than the most agreeable falsehood." Emerson

Thu, 09/10/2009 - 10:47 — Adam (not verified)

Perhaps the eagle had

Perhaps the eagle had nothing to fear as it flew low between the cars and came to rest on a nearby tree top. Or, perhaps it was simply tired. But, since eagles are known for their strength and boldness I'm leaning toward the former.

At any rate, after a long period of living my life with the proverbial blinders on, in 2006 I decided the time was right to begin to understand the political world around me. Since then, I have come to the realization that the human race and therefore by association life in general can be very ugly, but at the same time there is so much beauty out there that it takes my breath away sometimes. And while there is very little I can do to change the world for the better or ease the suffering of others, I can try to be a better person to my loved ones, a better brother, a better son and spend what short time we all have on this planet with the people I care about the most.

I am sorry about your father's deteriorating health. Sometimes when I think about life and health related matters, logic and emotions clash. But, in the end, I find solace in focusing on positive aspects, the happy memories, and the good deeds and memories that others left behind.

I wish you and yours good health. You'll be in my thoughts.

Thu, 09/10/2009 - 17:53 — Winter

thanks very much

for all the kind words on this thread. I appreciate them all very much.

For the record, I'd love to channel Frank McCourt for a while but so far it hasn't happened! Wink

I'll be back with something more topical as soon as possible.

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