Archives for October, 2005
Goodbyes are really hard
My new blog isn’t ready but I wanted a place to write this so I am hijacking Jordon’s weblog for a post.
It’s funny about how dogs steal your heart although tonight mine is breaking. Bill Millar posted in the comments about how a dog gives you the closest thing to unconditional love that you will ever experience.
Jordon told the story about how we got Elway which means that every memory we have in this house include the dog. I had walked out the vet with Elway as I was crying pretty hard ahead of Jordon with Elway. When Jordon got to the van he said, “In the history of dogs, few lived a more pampered life as Elway.” He was right. For me, my memories of Elway are the most vivid when I was in this dark abyss of depression. I would just sit on the couch, unable to move or think and Elway would crawl up beside me and put his head on my lap and curl up beside me.
I don’t know why Elway would do this but at times I would wake up and find Elway staring at me. I imagine my pre awakening stirrings probably woke him up but when I would ask Jordon why he thought Elway was staring at me, he would answer, “He was probably thinking of eating you.” That image and phrase always stuck with me. My never aggressive and always affectionate dog was plotting to kill me so he would have more of the bed to himself.
Elway was both abivilent towards Mark but always really gentle with him with the exception of two times. Mark was just learning to walk and had collided with Elway. Elway was about 60 pounds heavier than Mark so we know who won. Mark was mad and about 10 minutes later he walks by and kicks Elway which didn’t endear himself to Jordon. Elway didn’t react but a minute later, he walked right through Mark, paused a second over him, and kept going. Mark later ran through the room and Elway just walked in front of him. Mark was now down 3 collisions and wasn’t impressed.
Years later Jordon and Elway were wrestling the backyard and Mark desperately wanted to fight with Elway. Mark was running around the backyard and Elway all of a sudden ran towards him and grabbed him around the shoulders with his paws and wrestled him to the ground. Mark is laying on his back and for a split second my stomach churned as it looked like Elway would bite Mark on the face. All of sudden instead of his teeth coming out, his tongue did and he gave Mark the biggest, wettest lick from his neck to his forehead. Mark just laid there and said weekly, “Dad, I think Elway won that fight. I am not going to fight with Elway anymore.”
Elway’s sarcastic nickname for him is “Grace”. He got it one time jumping on the deck but jumped too soon and only got his front paws on the deck. He hung there for a minute and then slowly slid backwards onto his back. He was never the most graceful dog and he would often often hurt Jordon which would reply a “Thanks Grace, glad you’re here.”
Tonight I took Elway along with us as we went trick or treating. It’s funny, for a dog that walked so well off the leash, he hates the leash. By the end he was pretty tired and is sleeping peacefully at Jordon’s feet.
Elway
Just got back from the vet. Elway has cancer of the liver. We brought him home tonight to say goodbye and he will be euthanized in the morning.
Elway Update
I spent the night up with Elway. It wasn’t as if I needed some sleep anyways. We watched some late night movies and he threw up all over me. It wasn’t good. He would take a drink, whine and then go to the bathroom outside. I was tired I fell asleep on the kitchen linoleum with a bag of Iams as my pillow. I don’t remember making my bed of dog food but I woke up a short time later wondering, what I was thinking? Can you tell I have had 13 of 14 nights with no sleep? Late in the morning he started shaking so I took him upstairs and wrapped him in covers on our bed. He seemed to do a little better this morning but @ about 4:00 a.m. I didn’t think he was going to make it. We are taking him to the vet this afternoon.
I got about 3 hours of sleep last night but I just had a long walk and am hoping I can fake the pain out long enough to get a nap while Mark is at his Halloween party at the school. For all you fundamentalists out there, I do let Mark go trick or treating. This year he is going as Rocky from Rescue Heroes (which despite being really popular do not have a website). Condemn me in the comments below. The only bad thing is that I can’t have any left over candy.
Back to Elway, we had to put down a couple of dogs. My first dog was Tigger. I think we got him before I went to kindergarten. He was a black poodle that I wanted to name Brownie after a horse in one my story books. My mom later joked that it was her first clue that I wasn’t going to be a child prodigy. A couple of years later, Lloyd decided to teach him to ride in the back of the truck (we lived in Calgary, everyone in Calgary has a truck). Anyways, he fell out of the truck and suffered brain damage (that’s my dad, never has been able to foresee the consequences of his actions) and had to be put down.
I still remember the night I got Misty (actually Misty II as she was named after my grandfather and mom’s favorite dog). We had just moved from Calgary to Saskatoon and I was having a hard time adjusting to a new school, a new city, and new life. I was at hockey that night and the family down the block whose son was my team mate and friend often would take me to the game. After almost every game, he would phone my mom and tell her that he was taking “the boys” (there were a couple of us he would jam into his car) out for “drinks” which meant some sodas and pizza after our hard fought game. This time he came back to me and said, “Your mom isn’t home” but he had phoned his wife and Mom hadn’t left a phone message so he assured me that she would be able to figure out where I was. I got home that night and Mom said that she had a surprise for me. I didn’t have any high expectations because we were broke at the time. The next thing I know is that she pulled this little Lab/Cocker Spaniel pup out of a box and gave her to me.
That night we had set up a box for Misty to sleep in. Blankets, a ticking clock because we heard that comforts puppies, and a little stuff lamb. Every time I put the dog in the box, Misty cried. When I put her on the bed, she slept. Box cried, bed slept. Box cried, bed slept. Box cried, bed slept. Box cried, bed slept. Box cried, bed slept. Box cried, bed slept. Box cried, bed slept. Box cried, bed slept. Box cried, bed slept. Box cried, bed slept. I was in grade five. I just wanted to sleep. From that night on, that dog slept somewhere on the bed for 15 years. Misty wasn’t supposed to be allowed upstairs. That dog crept step by step, inch by inch over a decade so she would be able to be in the formal family room. Later she would lay in the middle of it when we weren’t there and if we would catch Misty off guard, we would come in and see a dog with it’s head under the sofa and her entire body in plain view with her tail slightly wagging as if to say, “I can’t see them, they can’t see me. All is good”.
Misty never seemed to age but one day she cried and couldn’t get off my bed. I was in college and took Misty to the vet. They said it wasn’t a problem but $900 later, she had to be put down.
Wendy and I lived in an apartment when we were first married. The day we moved into our house, December 15th, there were boxes everywhere and I said to her, “Let’s go to the SPCA and look at a dog”. We didn’t see any but on the way out, they said, “What about this dog?” It was Elway and he was too big for a small house. They mentioned that he had been there for a long time and was going to be put down. I don’t know if that was true but Wendy started to cry and $100 later, Elway was riding in the back of our car into the city. I was pretty cranky and really felt manipulated. I was thinking of taking him back in the morning but that night Elway placed his pay in Wendy’s hand as she slept and by morning, there was no way I could have taken Elway back. Since then he realized who the big dog was and has become my constant sidekick. I love driving to Spiritwood with him. He doesn’t sleep but manages to put himself in a position where I can pet him while I drive.
His greatest moment came just after Mark was born. A large drunk man barged into the house while Wendy was feeding Mark. She hadn’t locked the door (we live in Saskatchewan, no one ever locks their doors) but Elway barked and snarled and held is ground until the drunk guy decided he didn’t want to mess with him and Wendy could call 9-1-1).
Elway is only 8 and I hope has a lot of years left in him. If he just hang on for a couple more days.
Weis intended to stay at Notre Dame long-term
His reasoning makes sense. As a huge Notre Dame fan, I was worried that he would be back in the NFL but it looks like he will retire at Notre Dame.
What a horrible weekend
We’ve had an odd kind of weekend at our house. Mark was out playing when he found a skeleton in the attic of an old shed about a block away. They came home and we immediately called the police. As you can imagine it’s been pretty crazy with questions, interviews and trying to settle down Mark.
The police have no idea who this person might have been but they’re pretty sure the remains were there for some time as the skeleton had a medal around it’s neck with the following inscription:
Hide and Seek Champion - 1922
Elway
It seems a little trivial in light of other things posted here but Elway is critically ill. He has been sick all summer and just thought it was the flu as it came and went. It looks like parvo virus. Anyways, he is falling over all of the time and can barely walk. Losing ones best friend and partner in crime is not a wonderful thought. I was slow getting him to the vet and it’s not good.
Without getting into any details, this is probably the hardest two week stretch that we as a family have ever had. Not only that but it is getting worse tomorrow. My kingdom for a good nights sleep to face tomorrow with.
Tragic News
UBC Waco pastor Kyle Lake died this morning as a result of injuries suffered in an electrocution during a baptism at his church in Waco, Texas.
This is very tragic news for his wife Jen and his daughter and twin sons.
Please do whatever you can to pray and find ways to be supportive of Kyle’s family. Kyle had written Understanding God’s Will and the just released (Re)understanding Prayer: A Fresh Approach to Conversation With God. I am a litte shaken up by the news. Please pray for the church and his family.
Ugly template
Working on my template. Something should be back here nice sooner or later.
The streak is over
Well I finally got some sleep last night after 13 nights of less than 2 hours at a time and about 4 hours total a night. I think I slept for about 11 hours which felt good. No thanks to Elway though. Ever since we got him a nice dog bed from Jysk (Saskatchewan’s alternative to having no Ikea here - It’s cool but Finnish) he has been sleeping in his dog bed all summer. Last night it was chilly in the house and he decided to sleep back on the bed despite my repeated kicking him down. Somehow during the night he managed to grab the comforter and make himself a bed on our bed so I woke up freezing and with a dog on my legs. That prompted a short but loud yelling fit. The dog jumped down but as soon as I stopped tossing and turning to get comfortable he was back on the bed. This time I was cold so I got him to lay beside me which somehow pulled to covers off of Wendy so about 90 seconds later both Elway and I were being woken up by Wendy yelling. I am not sure what happened but when Wendy woke up, Elway was under the covers all sprawled out. I was up against the wall and Wendy was clinging on to the edge of the bed. Total exhaustion allows you to put up with a lot. I love Elway but nights like last night get a little old.
Speaking of Elway. He has been on a hunger strike for the summer. He has gone from fat dog to skinny dog. Nothing is wrong, he just refuses to eat dog food and will only eat human food. We have tried all sorts of dog food and have no moved to Iams with their special gravy even but he won’t eat it at all. If you offer him a hamburger, then he is all over it. He is on a no human food diet. I assume his hunger will overcome his stubborness before he dies.
I still feel horrible but there isn’t really anything to do but wait it out. This morning I felt a little better and managed to play some football with Mark. If I feel decent in the morning, I may take Mark and head down to St. John’s Anglican Church downtown and take in their 8 a.m. service.
Saskatchewan Roughrider charged with aggravated sexual assault
Just the distraction that the Roughriders need right now
Saskatchewan Roughrider Trevis Smith has been charged with aggravated sexual assault, and the RCMP is taking the unusual step of revealing that the suspect is HIV-positive.An allegation from 2004 sparked an investigation by police in Surrey, British Columbia.
“Several months ago we received a complaint of sexual assault. We investigated and it has resulted one count of aggravated sex assault against Trevis Smith,” said Surrey RCMP Constable Marc Searle.
The CFL linebacker, a six-year veteran of the team, was arrested Friday morning in Regina on a Canada wide warrant. He will be transferred to British Columbia to appear in court.
The RCMP revealed Smith’s HIV status in a media release Friday. The police said they are issuing a public warning and urging “anyone who may have had sexual contact with him and are concerned about exposure to HIV [to] immediately see their doctor or go to a clinic for testing.”
Why second term presidents get in trouble
From former White House staffer David Frum of the National Post
Second-term White Houses often run into trouble because of staff turnover. Aides leave. They are replaced by their deputies. Then the deputies leave — and are succeeded by their deputies. Six years on, the administration is being run by fourth-stringers. Presidents, meanwhile, become so consumed with their job that they cannot focus on personnel decisions — and so end up acquiescing as the quality of their staff slowly deteriorates.
KINSELLA: MULRONEY TORIES WROTE GOMERY REPORT
Screams a large headline over at Bourque. In the United States it is all about being mentioned by Drudge. Here in Canada, it is all about being mentioned by Bourque who has the countries ugliest website in the nation and yet somehow gets an insane amount of traffic, myself included. For those of you who think that a new design will help you get readers, look at Bourque’s website and then just go back to watching television. It doesn’t apparently matter. There isn’t even a RSS feed here.
Where’s The Ambition?
That popping you heard was Russel Beattie poking a hole in the next bubble and pointing out that most new tech startups aren’t looking that hopeful.
Dual Parenting the Emergent Church
Alan Jamieson writes about the balance that is needed for churches
Sadly many expressions of the ‘emerging church’ seem like children who have grown up in a single parent environment. In the New Zealand and Australian context ‘emerging church’ seems to have two groups of sponsors. On the one hand there are those who conclude that church as we know it is a waste of time and energy that can never connect with so called ‘post-modern’ people and needs to be left to die on the growing scrap heap of modernist institutions that have passed their use-by-date. People in this group tend to be highly culturally aware and sensitive to the discomforts of ‘post-modernists’. Being strongly influenced by their ‘father’ (the changing cultural milieu) they are quite dismissive of ‘mother’ (the historical church).
The Most Hated Man in Canada
The Canadian Tire Guy.
Our Cabin Weblog- Recently listened to music
- David Gray – Be Mine October 19, 2008
- David Gray – December October 19, 2008
- David Gray – Knowhere October 19, 2008
- David Gray – Real Love October 19, 2008
- David Gray – Last Boat To America October 19, 2008
- Recently additions to my library
- Messy Faith: Daring to Live by Grace by A. J. Gregory October 28, 2008
- Rediscovering Church: The Story and Vision of Willow Creek Community Church by Lynne Hybels October 26, 2008
- The Teeth of the Tiger, A Novel by Tom Clancy October 26, 2008
- The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You by John C. Maxwell October 26, 2008
- The Sum of All Fears by Tom Clancy October 26, 2008
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