How much is enough?

Today, I posted a link to a NYT article by Paul Krugeman regarding whiny rich and their tax cuts. Immediately, RK epitomized the essence of the article by stating that only thieves take others people's money. Sadly, I deleted his post before I could post a witty comeback, so I'm left to mull over his ridiculous greed and selfishness in the privacy of my study. Which is a much better place than on the internet. But I really do wonder, how much is enough? He isn't making 250K a year, so why does he care that the richest among us won't be getting the tax cuts? It's not like they are getting refunds, they just have to pay a little more in taxes. Yeah, yeah, they won't be able to buy a new boat this year, or a house that has too many rooms, but hey, someone else may be able to get money for a student loan and get an education. But, it is rich people's money we are talking about, so let's get real. They just deserve more than the rest of us. They deserve to pay less in taxes because they've worked harder and are plain smarter. Ok, I can accept that. In the 15 years that I have known him, he has been generous with his money. I have benefitted from an Ipod, numerous plane trips, restaurant meals, etc. But has all that generosity come with a price? Was he actually buying my friendship? Was he showing off? Is he that insecure? Does money bring happiness? I don't think so. I think the amount of money one has is directly proportional to sadness. The less I can live with the better. Lately, I've been worried about my personal expenses and not having enough. But do I really need a wood fence?Would I be just as happy with a trip to Pacific City instead of Belize for the big 40? Can I live with the dent in the back of my new Rav4? Yes, but. Wanting things is part of what makes us human. It's when those wants are so unfillable that we have a problem. A problem which cannot be solved by politics. Greed is a sad thing. We seem to have a lot of greedy folks in this country. Greedy people whose minds are warped into believing the rants of nonsense like Limbaugh, Palin, Beck. Those are sad people. I feel sorry for them. Very sorry. I'm not sure how much longer the friendship with V & K will persist. It's not the kind of friendship that brings happiness into my life. I want to run screaming from them. They are detrimental to my spirit, and I must protect my spirit at all costs. My spirit is all I have. I will be true to it. It will guide me. Even through this wave of fraudulent politics. Good outweighs evil.

Successful surgery

We are at the end of day 2 of the 8 week healing process. Carly is sleeping soundly on the bed with the cone head next to Maisey. She whinned for about 12 hours yesterday, either from the frustration of having a plastic cone stapped to her neck, the pain of the surgery or the itch of the stitches. Either way, it was a tough night for me. I got up about 4 am and gave her a pill wrapped in peanut butter. Evidently, the peanut butter masks the bitter taste and it goes down without a hitch.

I'm glad we got the surgery over. After interviewing 3 vets and a nurse, it was time to make a decision. If I can just keep her slow for the next two months, we'll be home free and back to scaling mountains. The vet says that her left knee will be stronger than before. I wonder if that will cause the right to bust? Hope not, but at least I know what to expect and to save some cash.

She even peed tonight. A very thick urine because she was having trouble squatting on three legs.

She so emotionally attached to me. She wants to lean up to me on the bed, just to make sure I'm there? I reassure her repeatedly, that everything will be fine, that this is just temporary. Hopefully she understands and believes me.

It's funny how I don't care about the money or the time lost or anything but healing her. I don't know what I will do without her. Mom says God will give me another special dog, but I wish this one could be around for ever. I will always remember to make the most of each day I have with her. She is just so amazingly wonderful and special.

My hiking partner

Five days ago Carly was having a great time hiking through the woods on Bainbridge island, when the last tendon in her left knee ligament snapped. A loud squeal was heard, followed by another and then limping. I knew what happened, just didn't want it to be true. We have visited 3 doctors; a naturopathic and a surgeon and still I'm not sure exactly what should be done. I'm sure that she needs surgery to get back to full health. And the weeks of no-activity following the surgery will be less than fun. But what surgery do I do with? They have this new surgery, a tightrope that seems promising, but because it is so new, will there be complications? There's the traditional surgery and the normal route of repair that seems like the best shot. What if the other one breaks? I feel that this break had been occuring for a long time. With all the twisiting and turning and speeding around that she does, it was bound to happen. Here it is and we don't have a lot of options. Just one, actually. I think Dr. Brad was fairly unsatisfied with the tightrope surgery. He highly recomends Dr Fry due to his high success rate with the traditional method. The guy I met today seemed knowledgeable, but he's so young and doesen't have the number of surgeries under his belt. I want a surgeon that really knows corgi knees, if that is an issue. Her left knew is so blown out. Will it heal back? Would a simple suture surgery be enough? This is pretty scary. How to know what to do? My active, healthy dog is down for the count and I don't have the answers. I need answers. Does it really matter? All the suture is there for is to keep the knee stabilized as the ligaments heal back again. Then, all is well. What are the chances of blowing out again? So confused and uncertain. I'm looking at 3 months of down time. Catching up on house projects, going to yoga, lots of quiet, healing time. And the trailer sits outside, waiting. Maybe I should see if anyone wants to borrow it? I don't want to drill holes in her knees and have then break again. I know that bones heal well and solid, so that shouldn't be an issue, but still not sure what to do.

Ringo is missing

Ringo didn't come home for dinner. So that means that maybe he found dinner on the go, or maybe he is injured and can't get home. I don't know, either way, I'm worried about him. Did he get into something? There's nothing I can do but worry. I last saw him about noon as he blazed by the back door then around the front. Nothing to worry about there. Should have come when I shook the asprin bottle. He must be in trouble. He always comes for food.

The Curve of Time

The second book of the year is "The Curve of Time" by M. Wylie Blanchet. It is a story of a mother and her 5 children who power their small boat, the Caprice, up the inlets and bays of Georgia Strait, British Columbia. The story is told first person by the mother, a widow. It does not tell how the husband died or when, or even the ages of the children. Other than a few descriptions of adventures with bears and meeting people who live in the outermost woods, there is not much depth to the story. She doesn't even give all the names of the children, at least I could not find them. I could only find 3 names. The story lacks passion and emotion, the reader sees that the little family enjoys the trips, but tells us nothing of the reasons why they did the sailing trips summer after summer. The story is set in the 50's, I think. But again, not really any detail to go on. The story tells of exploring Haida villages, but carefully omits any description of the places so that others cannot find these hidden gems. I was really hoping to enjoy this book, but it read very flatly and I was not drawn into it, even though I have been through the places she has travelled and should have been able to reminise about them through this book. I'm sure there are better stories about sailing through the Inside Passage, I intend to find them.

Off the Bookshelf

From this day forward, I will blog about each book that I take from my overfilled bookshelves and read. These are books that have been waiting to be read for years, many years. It's time that I start taking a good look at the books I've chosen, read them and give them some thought. It's going to be a great journey through my bookshelves. Then, if I like the book, I will decide whether to keep it or sell it back to a bookstore. Occassionally, I may pick up a book from the library, and if so, I'll add it to this blog. This blog will give me a reason to get through my bookshelf and maybe read a few good books along the way.

So the first book is "The Book of Yaak," By Rick Bass. It was a great way to begin this project. From the first line, I was drawn to his images of the woods of Montana, and the creatures who live there. The book gave a voice to the forest that was about to be logged. Later, Bass states that one valley was saved, but the rest were goners. I would like to visit this Yaak Valley, this place seperated from the world outside, the world that is trying to extinguish it. This book has affirmed the fact that a little relentlessness can be a very important thing to have in this world. Where would we be with out people who are relentlessly fighting for what they believe in, for those are the people with passion. Those are the people who can add something to the world and enrich lives. I am proud to be one of those people. I want to be relentless like Bass, like all the other Basses in the world. I may not fight for a forest, but I can fight for streams. So the Yaak, a great story in a great place and a book that will stay on my shelf. Yaak, save the woods, save the creatures, save what should not be squandered and spent. The problem is that there a whole section of the population, decision makers, who don't care about saving woods, who just want what they can get from it. I met one of these folks recently and have been trying to avoid him since. A few weeks ago, he became unavoidable, picked a fight with me and then acted like it was all my fault. He could not see the value of the stream and until the stream is no longer, he will not rest. He has thumped me off the site, he thinks he has found an easier target, but he will not get around, he will not get what he wants. Greed never wins. They didn't win in the Yaak, even if they got all the trees, they only got a short term win. Their greed will be the end of them. I can't wait to read about the Yaak again.

Relentless

Today my boss handed me a letter that was intercepted before reaching the big boss. In it was a fabrication of a site visit in which I used one profane word in the following sentence "That's F---ing unfair." This sentence was used after I was harrassed, threatened and insulted by a man who dislikes having a woman in a place of authority. He insulted me personally. It's been the same everytime I met with him, he always trying to put me down and undo me, insult me or my expertise. He was always looking for a fight and that day, he got one. He is an evil person, a person who wants to control women, a man with a bad case of little man syndrome. The only way the episode would have been avoided was to have brought someone with me. The intercepted letter was full of lies and with the exception of the profane word, I did nothing wrong. I stood my ground because I had to. Is it my fault that some men can't respect women? Why is this my problem? Why do I have a letter written about me, when the problem was his? It was like I was set up to go out there and look at a stream, getting set up to have this guy under my skin, then to threaten to go over my head and work with my boss, exactly what I told him he was welcome to do. The letter is his having a say, a last word. Like that proves that he is right. The letter took 2 weeks to write and not a word of it was true. So, then my boss says that I'm relentless. At first that may sound like an insult and maybe he was just trying to politely tell me that I should back down, but honestly, smart women do not back down. Smart women take chances and tell the truth, even if others can't bear to hearit. There are those who respect my guts and determination and passion. Then there are those that would like to me go away. Sorry to the second group, sorry to the weaklings who can't stick up for themselves, I'm not like you. I say what needs to be said, I don't quiver behind whispers and tell lies to people's faces. I sit up and tell it like it is. I am proud to be relentless, when it matters. I will always be relentless when it matters. I will always stand my ground, show my passion and stick up for myself. No one gets to shove me around with manipulation and lies. Thank goodness I never have to work that man again. I don't have to take that abuse from anyone. He's a piddly engineer who thinks he owns the world. I wish he would go away. But he won't. He's just one of those people that now I get to avoid for the rest of my life. I honesty don't think I did anything wrong. It was just a site visit, it was just a discussion. There was no confrontation, no unwillingness. He wanted to push my around, I wouldn't let him. He got mad and wrote a nasty letter. So what. I hope he feels better now that he got the last word. Well, not really. I got the last word, right here. Ha.