I welcome 2014 with open arms and an open mind. When I write down the positives and the negatives for me in 2013, thank goodness the positives outweigh the negatives.
I have 2 healthy and beautiful grandchildren with another on the way. I have a job that has literally saved my life. Without it, I'm not sure I'd be here to write this. My physical health was fantastic this past year. Some wonderful new people came into my life and through getting to know them it has had a positive impact on my attitude and well being (mental well being, that is). Through the pulling away of many folks who I thought were friends I was shown the TRUE meaning of friendship and learned to appreciate and hold close those that I might have taken for granted in the past. My positive list goes on and on. I am truly blessed.
I've also learned to read people better....For instance, right now, most of you are eagerly awaiting my negative list. Some of you are more interested in my negatives than my positives. Well...I have the POWER! The power to keep my negative list private...hahahahahahahaha....Gotcha!
I'm learning to be thankful for the negatives as they have mostly turned me in another direction where positives abound! I think they call that the "silver lining"?
Gonna throw 'ol 2013 in the garbage pile and see what comes my way in 2014! I'm ready....I'm workin' on my giddyup....Hit me with your best shot!
Wishing you all a fabulous 2014...me, too! Hope you always find a dance partner willing and able when you're in a dancin' mood....Hope you learn the true meaning of friendship and don't get caught up in the "we're gonna allow you to play with us" groups....Hope you learn to value your real friends, even if they don't run in the circles you thought you wanted to be in.... Hope all of your children and grandchildren are as wonderful as mine....Hope you see the silver lining on every rainy day....And last, but certainly not least...May your health, both physical and mental, be FANTABULOUS!
Gonna keep searchin', cause all I really wanna do is dance!
Thanks for droppin' in! While you're here, won't you leave a comment?
Well....It's that time of year, again. The Winter Blues. I've been very proud of myself so far that I haven't allowed it to set in.....But it's here. As much as I love Christmas and the holiday season, why the heck does this happen every year? Try as I might...This ain't somethin' I can shake off!
I thank the stars above every day that I am not a heavy drinker. It's times like this that I kinda sorta understand why alcoholics drink. At least I'm smart enough to know that this, too, shall pass. But it's still tough! I have so many things to get done and folks that need me. And here I sit in my PJs with my butt sore from not moving. No one would ever understand unless they've been seriously depressed before. Yes, we get "depressed" when things don't go our way or a loved one passes. Yes, we get "depressed" when a relationship goes sour.....or our children need things that we can't do anything about. Yes, we get "depressed" when a fun vacation has to end or when things aren't going as planned for our future. But it's not the same. Believe me.... it's not the same.
This kind of depression makes me more depressed because I'm depressed. It goes deep. It hurts those around me and that is even MORE depressing. It's a downward spiral that for some reason only the end of winter can cause it to lift. I've researched this...since I seem to not want to do anything but sit here...and have decided that I have Seasonal Affective Disorder. S. A. D.
Seasonal Affective Disorder - Definition And Symptoms
In most cases, seasonal affective disorder symptoms appear during late fall or early winter and go away during the sunnier days of spring and summer. However, some people with the opposite pattern have symptoms that begin in spring or summer. In either case, symptoms may start out mild and become more severe as the season progresses.
Fall and winter seasonal affective disorder (winter depression)Winter-onset seasonal affective disorder symptoms include:
Depression
Hopelessness
Anxiety
Loss of energy
Heavy, "leaden" feeling in the arms or legs
Social withdrawal
Oversleeping
Loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed
Appetite changes, especially a craving for foods high in carbohydrates
Weight gain
Difficulty concentrating
Yep....That's me to a "T"! Don't you LOVE self-diagnosis? The good thing about this is come Spring I'll be back to my old codgety self. With a smile on my face. According to studies I need to get me a high dollar fancy lamp (that emulates sunshine) and all will be well. Hmmmmph. My mind tells me I just need to get offa my arse and be the person I want to be. It's not that simple...and dang, knowing I can't do THAT is depressing!
The truth is....Santa Claus is going to come to my house no matter how I'm feelin'. Guess that's why my inner self had me finish my Christmas shopping early. Hallelujah!
I look back when I'm sitting here doing nothing and wonder why it has only come upon me the past 5 or 6 years. Then I realize that up until that time I always took 2 or 3 short trips to a tropical island each winter. Hot fun in the hot sun....Scuba diving, snorkeling, bar hopping, laying on sandy beaches, meeting some fun and funny new folks. Poor financial decisions made by me in the past 10 years put the skids on those trips. No, I haven't been to a doctor about my problem....and no, I'm not taking any medication. Heck, it I could afford a doctor and medication I could save that headache and just take a trip! I KNOW what's good for me...I just can't do it.
Yassuh! This is JUST what Dr. Kristyemac orders! Since thats not possible....Look for me in the Spring!
Now....To end this dang "depressing blog"...My main purpose for putting these things in words is in the hopes that it will help someone else who is going through the same thing I'm going through. It DOES get better...Winter DOES go away...and NO, you are not ALONE...or CRAZY! We just can't all have the resources to hit the Keys or the Islands for the winter. Other folks will not understand our need to. That's OK. We will make it through another winter.
Just keep singin' this song:
"Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes"
I took off for a weekend last month
Just to try and recall the whole year.
All of the faces and all of the places,
wonderin' where they all disappeared.
I didn't ponder the question too long;
I was hungry and went out for a bite.
Ran into a chum with a bottle of rum,
and we wound up drinkin' all night.
It's those changes in latitudes,
changes in attitudes nothing remains quite the same.
With all of our running and all of our cunning,
If we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane.
These changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes,
Nothing remains quite the same.
Through all of the islands and all of the highlands,
If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane
Reading departure signs in some big airport
Reminds me of the places I've been.
Visions of good times that brought so much pleasure
Makes me want to go back again.
If it suddenly ended tomorrow,
I could somehow adjust to the fall.
Good times and riches and son of a bitches,
I've seen more than I can recall
I think about Paris when I'm high on red wine,
I wish I could jump on a plane.
And so many nights I just dream of the ocean.
God, I wish I was sailin' again.
Oh, yesterdays are over my shoulder,
So I can't look back for too long.
There's just too much to see waiting in front of me,
and I know that I just can't go wrong
with these...
I'll see y'all in the Spring!
Until then, keep on dancin' and PLEASE dance one for me!
I know I'm askin' for it...but while you're here won't you leave a comment?
All I ever wanted was for my children to have the wonderful experiences I had on Thanksgiving, growin' up. My Mama Mattie lived a couple of houses over and the whole family gathered at her house for Thanksgiving dinner at 12 noon sharp. Sometimes there would be over 40 of us! She would be cooking for days and stayed up all night the night before cooking that giant bird. We'd have children from birth to teens running around outside with some of the adults joining in to get us involved in fun family activities. Yessirree....My Mama Mattie would do it up right! More food than could possibly be eaten, always with a surprise dessert to go along with the many other pies and cakes. Card tables would be set up from the front of the house to the back...the whole house filled up with family and no room to move unless we went outside. No frills...the only decoration might be turkeys made out of pine cones made by the grandchildren. Just good food, family and lots of laughs. I can't bring up a single negative memory from those days...unless it was Uncle Percy always mashing a biscuit before he'd pass it to Uncle Bickett...but that's not negative...it's one of my favorite memories!
After Mama Mattie passed we all split up and had our own smaller Thanksgivings. My mother would do her best to fix the special dishes that Mama Mattie had always cooked...but now it was for less than 6 folks. We had to move the feast to 6:00 because my brother and my daddy were usually hunting on Thanksgiving Day. It wasn't the same, but I watched my parents work hard to set up new traditions for their family. Along came marriage for me and my brother...then came 3 grandchildren. Now there were 9 of us. My mother's deal was she cooked and me and my sister-in-law cleaned everything up. Not a bad deal.. It seemed like we all got there just in time to eat and left as soon as the kitchen was cleaned up. It was nice to be with the family for Turkey and Dressin', but just not quite the same.
Later on, my mother was unable to cook the big meal. I took over and tried several years to get the family together while I cooked. Sometimes they could come and sometimes they couldn't. Gosh, things had changed!
After Mother passed, there was just me and the boys. Thanksgiving had changed...again. Hard as I tried it seemed like a burden for everybody to get through the meal, most of the time they had been invited to celebrate the holiday with someone else. I would cook and cook....we'd eat like there was no tomorrow...then all the leftovers would be packed up and everybody left. Sheeesh...what happened? Try as I might, I could never seem to pull together the "spirit" of Thanksgiving and provide the positive memories for my children that I had experienced.
Then I gave up. We started going out! My boys don't really care for the usual Thanksgiving fare, they usually just ate the turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy.....So why cook all that other stuff just to make it look like Thanksgiving? Another fail.
Now, this year I can't get them to all come together and be satisfied with WHERE WE'RE GONNA EAT, WHAT THE RESTAURANT WILL BE SERVING, WHAT TIME...it seems to go on and on.
So I sit here with Thanksiving less than two weeks away. My oldest granddaughter is 4 1/2 hours away and it has fallen on me to be the one to pick her up on Wednesday before Thanksgiving and take her back on Sunday. Those two days will be completely gone...on the road. The rest of the family doesn't seem to care whether we have a meal together or not. The evil and selfish side of me is wanting to pick up my LouLou and keep on driving....in the other direction! Take her somewhere she's never been, get a hotel room and just enjoy her....eating out and doing something fun! But, the Mother in me knows that I'll drive straight up and straight back and once again have an unhappy family for Thanksgiving. The only one happy will be LouLou because she wants to see all of us SO bad. She is still innocent and without traditional expectations. This old gal wishes she could feel the same way!
Can't we just skip Thanksgiving this year? This is a holiday that has just gone downhill in my family, with no traditions that stuck, just another meal to get over with. I am not a Negative Nanny...but I sure am dreading the long Thanksgiving weekend coming up. I've spent two Thanksgivings with other families, without my family due to conflicts in their schedules. Instead of having an upbeat holiday, I found it depressing to sit with the happy families who were kind enough to include me. I've spent one Thanksgiving alone with LouLou...we cooked the whole meal.....and nobody came....but she didn't know the difference because she was too young to know what a tradition is supposed to be. We cooked, we ate, we met a new friend and went to the movies....we went to the Christmas Regatta and we checked out the early Christmas decorations some folks already had out.
MeeMaw is tired. Can we just skip Thanksgiving this year? Me and LouLou may just go skiing in the mountains!
Lordy....Why can't we all just dance?
Things will be better tomorrow! But until they do, won't you leave a comment?
Let's see, back in the late 60's and early 70's I guess I was considered a band groupie. You, know...not the sleeping with the band groupie....but the crazy girl that always had to be in front of the stage hoping to get called up to do something stupid! Williams Lake was in full swing and I had fallen madly in love with the sweet sounds of The Tams, The O'Jay's, The Platters, The Drifters, The Temptations....and the list goes on and on. The excitement of hitting the road when one of my favorites would be playing live kept me on the edge. Couldn't wait to figure out how to sneak away to see them without my parents finding out. I got married in high school and the first chance that came along we moved to Southern Pines so we could have that wonderful band palace, Da Flick, at our back door. Don't think we missed a single appearance while the club stayed alive.
Many years have passed and I occasionally got out to see a beach music band here and there, but the excitement was gone. It just wasn't the same. I've been handling the bookings for the OD Pavilion's segment of North Myrtle Beach's Summer Concert series and some of that old excitement has slowly crept back in. There is some serious talent out there and I've truly enjoyed renewing old friendships and making new ones with the band members. All in all, they're a great group of hard-working folks.
During all of this I kept hearing about the Carolina Soul Band. Never got to see them and finally decided to try and get them booked for OD Live In The Horseshoe.....Let me tell you...I was BLOWN AWAY!
This talented group of men put on the most energetic and from the heart Motown and Soul show that I have ever had the pleasure to experience. I watched the crowd and they were also in love! I knew what they had been paid, because I had booked 'em. How in the heck had they been able to get here, set up, put on a show, and return home on that kind of money? I had to find out. Seemed the heart of the group is a sweet, beautiful woman by the name of Katisha. She was everywhere that night, always with a smile on her face, working the crowd and taking photos and videos.
After the show I wanted to get to know these folks better. I talked with Katisha and Chris and found out that the members of this group have many years experience either in or on the stage with such groups as the Drifters, the Manhattans, the O'Jays...the list goes on and on. I also found out that these were good, God fearing, folks who love what they are doing and believe in right and wrong. The group has been trying to get on their feet for about 4 years now and faced many obstacles...but keep on keepin' on. They had been told time and time again that they needed more exposure with the Beach Music lovers. Therefore, they had been traveling the roads whenever they could get a booking in our area, usually spending money out of their own pockets to get back home.
Well, those that know me know that I don't hold back on my opinions. This group provides a show that would be welcomed from coast to coast. Who DOESN"T love Motown and Soul? The Beach Music venues do NOT pay much money....but a Motown Revue with great voices, Motown show-dance steps and energetic music should be in demand for corporate and private parties ALL OVER!
Anyhoo....here I am....60 years old and a renewed band groupie....Yes, I am a Carolina Soul Band Maniac. I am not looking to go into re-hab any time soon!
I am in the process of helping to find sponsors for the CSB....they REALLY, REALLY need their own TRANSPORTATION for the group. They are now having to rent a van and pay someone to haul their sound equipment to and from shows. They have to EAT...and sometimes SLEEP while on the road. They have to buy GAS to keep on truckin'....They have to have those fabulous outfits DRYCLEANED so they'll look impeccable while on stage...They have to SURVIVE! They have to have MERCHANDISE to sell to help with expenses. They need someone to help them get a CD made for promotion and sales. I have no doubt that the Carolina Soul Band is going places...and I hope I'm right up in front of the stage when they get there.
If you get the chance to experience this group live, PLEASE go for it. You will NOT be disappointed. Come and be a groupie with me! It'll make you feel like a teenager again. And if you know of any business or corporation willing to come along for the ride let me know and I'll send them a promo package for sponsorship. SPONSORS are what will keep them on the road and let the CSB do what they love to do best...play their music for YOU!
My name is Kristye....and I'm a 60 year old Carolina Soul Band groupie. Won't you join me?
Hey....And we can DANCE!
This blog is dedicated to the memory of Drew Ridout...thanks to him the CSB can Keep On Truckin'!
THANKS FOR STOPPING IN! WON'T YOU TAKE THE TIME TO LEAVE A COMMENT?
I´m in with the "In" crowd I go where the "In" crowd goes I´m in with the "In" crowd And I know what the "In" crowd knows (How to have fun!) Any time of the year, don´t you hear? (How to have fun!) Dressin´ fine, makin´ time We breeze up and down the street We get respect from people we meet They make way day or night They know the "In" crowd is out of sight I´m in with the "In" crowd I know ev´ry latest dance When you´re in with "In" crowd It´s easy to find romance (And we work out!) At a spot where the beat´s really hot (And we work out!) If it´s square we ain´t there We make ev´ry minute count Our share is always the biggest amount Other guys imitate us But the original's still the greatest We got our own way of walkin' We got our way of talkin´ (Gotta have fun!) Any time of the year, don´t you hear (Gotta have fun!) Spendin´ cash, talkin´ trash Girl, I´ll show you a real good time Come on with me and leave your troubles behind I don´t care where you´ve been You ain´t been nowhere till you been in with "In" crowd
I'm not a member of the In Crowd....Never will be....and don't wanna be. I wanna to be ME.
All through school I watched the In Crowd at LHS. I like to think that I could have been a member of that crowd, but that wasn't me. I've always liked people for who they really are, not what they want you to think they are. My friends were chosen by who they were inside, not what they were on the outside. My friends were white...and black...rich...and poor. I never hid who I was or what I was doing. I never liked sneakin' around so I got married to my bestest friend while still in high school. All of a sudden I was looked down on by the In Crowd, even though most all of those girls were actively having sex. They just weren't married, so that made what they were doing the IN thing to do in high school. I was doing the OUT thing, I guess. This was my first experience in learning who my real friends are. They love me through thick and thin and stand by me when others pass judgement. I loved and respected my REAL friends...and still do!
"Judge not, before you judge yourself. Judge not, if you're not ready for judgement." - Bob Marley
I was attracted to Ocean Drive because it had always seemed to be a place where everybody was welcome. You'd walk into Fat Jack's or The Pad and there would be doctors, lawyers, divorcees, folks that didn't care if they had a job or not.....a little bit of everything....But they'd all be laughing and dancing with each other all for the love of the dance and the music. Nobody cared how much money you made or where you went to college. These folks were admired for the "family" they had created and anybody was welcome to join. Just behave yourself, don't go after somebody else's significant other.... and love the music. Heck, you didn't even have to be a fancy fas' dancer. All of that has changed now that so many have retired and moved to OD. They have brought their cliques and In Crowd mentality with them. Our "family" has split up and many have chosen to put up a false front so as to be included for the In Crowd gatherings. I've been at the ODP perfectly enjoying the afternoon and meeting new folks when some of the In Crowd would come in and comment to me "Where are OUR people" or "Who are THESE people"? Needless to say I have lost popularity because of my answer to their question. I watch them come and look in the door and when they don't see "their" people, they leave. I've seen afternoons when as many as 30 or 40 would come and leave, two and three at a time, whereas if they had just stayed with us common folk more of their people would have come and they could bunch up and be the In Crowd. In my opinion, there's plenty of room for everybody.
Now that I'm old and gray I've come to the conclusion that most of the people I consider friends have more self confidence and are much nicer people. Socializing with them is always a pleasant experience and I never know who else I'll get to see. It's not the same 'ol, same 'ol....Know what I mean? Don't EVER insinuate to me that in order to be your friend I can't be somebody else's friend. That's what's happening here at the beach. I've never considered the term YOU people or THOSE people until I've heard it so much in the past 5 years. I've decided I'm happier being one of THOSE people because I can be true to myself. I don't go out drinking every night. I don't sleep with someone else's husband. I try to help those in need, no matter what their social standing. I just want to earn a living, love my family and fas' dance every chance I get.....because I moved here to be a part of that unconditional love for fas' dancing....and sadly, that has disappeared. It's now pretty much conditional.
The In-Crowd is downright mean. It seems that while acting like they really care about others, in reality they are constantly pushing people that don't fit their mold down, down, down. They pick and choose their causes according to how much recognition THEY might gain by advertising their support. I've always been drawn to the folks that don't seek that recognition and do things for others for the right reasons. I sleep good at night. Yep, when and if my financial situation improves and I can see the light of day, 'ol Kristyemac is gonna leave OD in a cloud of dust. I know...I know...the IN CROWD thrives everywhere....but to be sure there's more to life for me than what I've seen around here.
Gonna get off'a my soapbox and see if I can find somebody to dance with...Might as well!
Glad you stopped in...Won't you talk with me and leave a comment?
First of all, I grew up in a very dysfunctional family. Yes, I said it....and yes, it's true. I grew up with a "secret" sister who lived up north and was as much a mystery to me in my younger days as Santa Claus. From early in life I can remember this beautiful, kind and strange visitor would come to our house in the summer and everything I knew about my family would be questioned with no answers given. It was just to be accepted...with no questions.
Lots of my friends had sisters. They talked about them, fought with them, loved them....and lived with them. I was told this girl was my brother's sister. Well...if she was my brother's sister, why wasn't she MY sister. I really wanted her to be MY sister. And, if she was my brother's sister, why didn't she live at OUR house? My brother was nine years older than me and this "sister" was one year younger than him. She didn't call my mother "Mother" and she didn't call my daddy "Daddy". Her mother was my great Aunt Dolores who lived in Pennsylvania. My mother's name was also Dolores. I was very confused.
Every couple of years my grandparents would take me along on their trip up north to visit my Ma-Ma's two sisters. The story to me had it that the three of them were raised in an orphanage and were separated by marriage when my Aunt Dolly and Aunt Dolores chose husbands from up north while my Ma-Ma married a local boy from Falcon, NC. Their lives and our lives were VERY different. Can you imagine how confusing it was as a child to go "way up there" and not be able to ask why my sister was there and had a different mother, who was also my great-aunt? I've decided not to get into the when's, where's or why's of how this all came about. Let's just lump it into that dysfunctional family description I started out with. The GOOD thing about this is that I eventually grew up! With that came the opportunity for me to get to know this stranger who IS my sister on my own terms. Come to find out she had never known quite what to do with me any more than I knew what to do with her. Let's just put it this way....and you figure it out: My sister wound up my cousin, my great- aunt wound up my sister's mother, my mother was my sister's cousin, my brother's sister's mother was also his great- aunt, my sister's grandmother was her aunt, my sister's granddaddy was also her uncle, my nephews are also my cousins, that also makes my half-sister my cousin...and on and on and on.....
My mother passed away without making any of it right so we all have the different stories we've heard over the years about why this all happened. But, the good thing is...YES, I HAVE A SISTER!! Just like my friends, we've had some good times and some bad times. We've hugged and cried and laughed...gone for periods of not talking...then hugged and cried and laughed some more. I think we passed the test when we decided to take a primitive camping trip to Maine for two weeks WITHOUT my mother, but WITH my brother and his family, my sister and her family....and me and my husband. Two weeks of living in a little circle of tents, sleeping under the stars, getting stuck in the Maine coast pluff mud and learning how to interact as a real family. Thank goodness my mother didn't go. I sometimes think that my sister's idea to tent camp may have had an underlying purpose. And I'm glad. We had a ball....just like we were a real family...and we are!
Don't know why my sister's been on my mind lately...but she is. Could be the years that have accumulated...our families are grown with families of their own. I think I'm gonna have to do somethin' about makin' a visit pretty soon. After all, sisters are supposed to stick together. Heck, she's really just "down the road"!
We might have a cocktail and share some stories...
Or maybe we'll go to the beach for the day...
Might just do nothin' but take a walk and catch up!
No matter what we do I just want to get together with my sister...YES, I HAVE A SISTER!
We may have been born with different daddy's but we still like some of the same things!
Until I figure out how to make this happen...I think I'll just dance!
Thanks for dropping in....while you're here, won't you leave a comment?
I've had pets all of my life. Started out with kitty cats my Daddy Stewart would bring to the house when I was a baby. He'd find a stray kitten somewhere and always wound up dropping it by our house. I loved my "dilly dally's" which is the name I think they ALL had. We lived on Prison Camp Road and for many years it probably had the heaviest traffic in town due to the folks that worked at the Prison Camp and the state DOT shed located there. I learned early in life that cats and roads don't mix well. Little girl grief would overtake me every time I was informed that Dilly Dally had gone on vacation, never to return.
Usually within the week Daddy Stewart would show up with another lost soul....sadness would be forgotten as a new little ball of fur would rub around my legs and follow me every where I went in the yard.
I was extremely envious of my friends that had dogs...in their HOUSE for heaven's sake...but mother and daddy would never allow a dog in the house.
Along came a new preacher to Lillington for the Methodist church which was pretty much located in our back yard. He had a bunch of little girls....and the prettiest little poodle I had ever seen. Not even sure if I had ever seen a poodle before. I fell in love with their dog and as luck would have it they called me over one day to show me the beautiful puppies that she had just given birth to. I was probably 12 or 13 and begging didn't go off very well in our house. A no was a no...not to be questioned, so I didn't ask again once I asked about getting one of the pups and was told it wasn't going to happen. About six weeks later I came home from school to find my daddy at home in the middle of the day. That was strange...he worked pretty hard and never came home during the day unless something bad had happened. Dreading hearing bad news when I got inside I found mother and daddy in the kitchen with big smiles on their faces and my favorite puppy from the preacher's in mother's hands. Humphrey Bogart McDonald quickly became "Bogey" and all of a sudden staying at home was a lot more attractive.
I married my high school sweetheart in my teens and immediately became a family of three....me, Bogey and Randy. Where Randy had once been jealous of my best friend, he quickly fell madly in love with a dog that absolutely adored him. Now it was my turn to be jealous! Every where Randy went Bogey was at his side. We lost that baby due to stupidity on my part when she was run over in the drive at our apartment complex by a neighbor. We grieved like it was our very own real baby.
A few weeks later mother showed up in Southern Pines with a 6 month old ugly reddish brown poodle in her car. The preacher family had moved on and mother had tracked them down looking for another puppy from Bogey's mother. They had sold their dog and helped Mother track her down to a lady that was breeding her. This ugly little thing had not found a home and was available.
Leonard Bernstein Turlington became our new little boy, Bernie...and it didn't take me long to find out that he was a daddy's boy, spending his every waking moment with Randy if at all possible. Many moves later we were living at Lake Surf outside of Southern Pines and part of Randy's job provided us a two story townhouse to live in. For some reason Randy had to do something that required Bernie to stay at home with me. It was a beautiful early Spring day so I was upstairs cleaning and changing the linens with the sliding glass doors to the balcony open letting in the sunshine and fresh air. Out of nowhere Randy had come home and showed up outside and as usual started whistling a tune while he was starting a project in the yard. Lord have mercy...by the second note to pass his lips, Bernie's ears flew up and he flew out....OUT...as in up and over the balcony to get to his "daddy". Screaming and running to the balcony all I expected to see what was our "baby" lying dead or broken up on the ground below. What I saw was Randy laid out on the grass with Bernie in his arms. How he ever saw that dog flying overhead and was in just the right place at just the right time to catch him we could never figure out. THAT, my friends, is a loyal pet.
Rarely, did Randy leave without Bernie in the truck or beside him after that. He was even allowed in the clubhouse when Randy would go there for lunch. Sadly, one day when walking in the door at the clubhouse another big dog jumped out of a guy's pickup and killed Bernie right in front of Randy's eyes. I don't think he ever really got over it and we didn't get another dog. Bernie could NOT be replaced.
Until now every dog I've had has left me due to unusual circumstances. There was PC who was taken from our yard and Schatze (my first schnauzer) who wound up moving in with my Uncle Donnie who needed her desperately and could give her hours and hours of lap loving until she passed away at his house from old age. My boys were given a dog by their Aunt Betty that they just didn't pay any attention to so I found it a good home with space to run and play.
Then I wound up on my own. The boys were grown and gone and I was by myself for the first time in my life. Having Schnauzer's in the past and missing my Schatze I somehow wound up on the Schnauzer Rescue of the Carolinas website.
I didn't have time to train a puppy from scratch and it seemed like a good idea....filled out an application and forgot about it. A few months later I get a phone call and the Schnauzer Rescue wanted to send someone to my house for a "home visit" to inspect to see if I would make a good candidate for one of their rescues. It was just like trying to adopt a child! I thought the woman would come, meet me, give me more paperwork and leave. She inspected my whole house! And asked me LOTS of personal questions. She left and said someone would eventually get back to me IF I was approved for adoption. Got a call a week later...I was approved..and due to the circumstances of me working away from home and being a single woman it would probably be a few months before they had a dog for me, IF they had one that could get along in a house for long periods of time alone. After that call I was pretty sure I wasn't an ideal candidate and forgot about it. Then the good call came. They had an "unusual" circumstance...a beautiful schnauzer girl about 4 who had been beaten by her first owner and tied out to a tree by her second. She was "unsociable" so they said, but loving. She hated men, children and needed to be crated...so they said. She needed a home immediately because she couldn't be with the other dogs at her foster home. They told me to drive to the foothills of SC and bring a travel crate and have a crate at home for her when we returned. I was sure this was the biggest mistake of my life, but off I went.
This is a photo of me and Josey meeting for the first time at her foster home in Greenwood, SC.
It was love at first site...she looked at me like PLEASE get me outta here! Her travel crate was buckled up in the back seat and waiting for her ride home. She was TERRIFIED when I tried to put her in it. I put her in my lap and she didn't move from Greenwood to OD. Just laid there and let out a sigh every now and then. I thought I had found someone who needed me but it didn't take me long to realize just how much I had really needed her. Getting home I found out she was also terrified of her crate. She immediately had the run of the house and filled the empty space in the bed beside of me every night. She went to work with me every day...and as I worked on fixing up the rentals I had she would lay on her "travelin' bed" and watch my every move. When she was in the pickup with me she would make sure NOBODY came close...almost breaking out the windows pouncing on them to let anybody know to stay away from me. She alerted me to anything going on outside of the house at night and 9 times out of 10 there would be someone, or some thing, in or around my yard when they shouldn't be. The poor baby had never learned to play and no matter what toys I bought or how many hours I spent on the floor or in the yard with her, she never did learn. This broke my heart. It seemed she only lived to be with me. We were best buds.
She has grown old with me and we've had our good days and bad days...but always comforting each other. Josey had been sick with Cushing's Disease and Diabetes for the past two years and has steadily gone downhill. These past 6 months she hasn't been able to go on her beloved rides, hasn't been able to sleep with me and has pretty much been confined to a new area made up for her in my kitchen. I knew the day was coming that I would have to make a decision...for her sake...to let her go. I think I kept hoping she would just pass in her sleep but the old girl kept hanging on. After 3 terrible days of watching her suffer I made that decision and bought my best friend a one way ticket over the Rainbow Bridge.
Happy for her, but sad for me. I hope she's meeting all of my Dilly Dally's, Bogie, Bernie, PC and Schatze. I hope they all have something good to say about me. I can only speak of good things and lots of love about each one of them.
Another dog will probably not come to live at my house. I'm working pretty much seven days a week and at at job that would be too much for one to ride with me. I DO encourage any and all of you that are looking for a pet to complete your family to consider adopting a rescue. They NEED you and you have no idea how much you need them until you have done so. You will never find a breathing being that will love you so unconditionally and make you feel like the most important person in the world. They adapt very quickly because they know they have found a "furever" home.
I am thankful that Josey found her way to me. And I am thankful that I was able to make the hard decision to let her go. She loved my boys, loved my grandchildren (although we were told she couldn't be around kids) and loved to be loved.
Life is short and life is sweet, but I guess for me it all goes back to my old saying...When all else fails, just dance!
I'm tickled pink you stopped in...how about leaving a comment and talk to me?
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