Conversations rising from a lifetime trekking the ever-changing world of veterinary medicine
It’s Christmas, Dad. In four days, it’ll be two years since you left us. Mom left two days shy of five months before you. You felt you had no business still being here. You were clear on that. It is most certain you willed yourself to leave. It is possible for a human to die …
“I have a good memory, it’s just a short”. Daddy wasn’t the first one I heard say that, but he was the funniest when he said it. I think he was right about memory, though. We can only hang on to so much data. Here she goes again I have some fleeting memories of Christmas …
Horse trainers today are kind of different than the ones I knew many years ago. It’s good that we know more now than we did back then about moving in harmony with a horse. As a new veterinary technician/nurse working in mixed animal practices, I got to know quite a few trainers – mostly men. …
My Nonny was an interesting woman. When I was younger, I couldn’t see how any of her DNA could have been in me. First of all, she was a beautiful seamstress. That says a lot right there. But what I think, is it might just take a while for those cells to start to percolate …
In those days we were a bit asymmetrical. And, we wore our no commitment, free love on the outside. A messy eclectic sense of identity, I loved to shop the thrift stores for lovely old rayon dresses, the kind that old ladies wore. But sometimes I couldn’t remember not to throw them in the washer …
These nights have been really warm. We’ve had long stretches of hot days and warm nights. The summer-like heat kicked in overnight. And, like the horses, it caught me off guard. I hadn’t quite shed my winter coat either. I was still in long underwear season. And, never mind our lilacs. Poor things, got froze …
We had a blustery storm the other night. The outside chairs blew all over hell and creation. I’m hoping it blew out the chaos that descended from the full moon and lunar eclipse that happened at the same time. From all appearances it was a humdinger and packed a wallop. The private club As a …
Chicago’s brownstone apartment buildings in the fifties and sixties were an explosion of sounds and smells. That’s where I grew up. The building we lived in had an inside front walk up three floors on tired old carpet. The smell of cigars and cigarettes blended with the various food smells in the air. And the …
By and by we’ll put this whole thing behind us. We’ve already started. Each week that passes we culminate another milestone. A precedent set, a first, a record broken. Our mettle has been tested. For some it may seem premature, but there are permanent changes solidly being put in place. And the questions are now …
Age. I swear it happens when you’re not looking. I mean, I just turned my back for one second and it moved in with all its crap in tow. Through the side door he came with a backpack full of one excuse after another. Like a cheating lover after a night of clubbing, he drags …