Dale Thompson
05-17-2004, 8:58 PM
Hi Folks,
Thanks for coming over. What I am going to say may sound corny or silly to some of you. That is certainly your privilege. It is still a free country. If you have no pets or have no feeling for animals, you will be wasting your time by reading any further. I thank you anyway for honoring me by taking a look.
They say that it helps to share your grief with your friends and family. I feel fortunate to think that I have many friends on SMC. This morning, May 17th in the Year of our Lord 2004, my daughter, along with our first grandchild, drove up from her home just south of Milwaukee. At 11:00AM this morning, she and my wife took my shop buddy and pal of eighteen years to the local vet for her last trip. I know that I should have taken my cat Cupid over there myself. I am ashamed to admit that I was just too weak of a person to do it. In fact, it would not have been possible. I would have walked into a point-blank machine gun barrage before I would have walked into the Vet’s office with my “Buddy”.
Being a cat, over the eighteen years of her life, she and I have had many bloody battles. I would guess that it would take a fuel tanker to contain all of the blood that has been shed. On this day, however, I thank GOD that not a SINGLE drop of it was hers. As I was trying to stem the crimson flow and waiting for the paramedics to arrive, she would go and get her brush and, always purring, would expect me to brush out any fur that had been displaced during the massacre. I always did. My friends may not recognize me without all of the scratches on my arms. I may have to get a new Social Security number and a new Zip Code to reestablish my identity.
With regard to her duties as my “shop Buddy”, I’m not sure that I can deal with the shop without her. Who is going to listen to the wood and let me know when by saw blade is getting dull or when the wall of my bowl is getting a bit thin? Who is going to find those little drill bits, screws and other things which have a habit of falling off the work bench and mysteriously finding a “hiding place” undiscoverable to humans?
She never liked the noise of the shop vac or the compressor. Since the compressor has a small leak and kicks on every seven or eight hours, she always made sure that the switch was turned “off” whenever it was not in use. She also made sure that my shop would meet the minimum standards of the fire inspector should he ever visit. When my wife found traces of sawdust in the family room that were the shape of a cat’s paw, I would be reminded that my shop needed some “serious” cleaning.
Right now, I don’t have a functional shop without her. I think that I am going to “pop” the main breaker for a while and see if I can figure out how to run it without her. In reality, I’m not sure that I can go in there anyway. It wouldn’t be safe. My vision is pretty blurred and I keep seeing three lines instead of one. I can’t figure out which one to hit. I think that I had better get my eyeglass prescription checked. Anyway, at least the circuit breaker will be surprised. It has never been “popped” before without seeing me with a screwdriver and a wire stripper in my hands trying to do some electrical “modifications”.
I think it’s time to head for the cabin and get away from computers, tools, machines and all that stuff. I DO have the new Jet mini up there but Cupid never had the time to read the directions to me so I don’t think that I can run it safely. I could run some laps on my 100’ 1:32 scale slot car track. The problem is that it is not fun to race alone. If I have someone over, I never win. Cupid would let me win every once in a while just to help me maintain my self-esteem.
Folks, this has been the VERY WORST day of my sixty-two years of life. It is the third time that I have lost a pet. The dog I grew up with died when I was in college. That was awful. The dog that my kids grew up with died when my son was in the Marines and my daughter was in college. That, too, was awful. As hard, however, as those were, this is the worst. At my age, Cupid will be my last pet. That is only fair, both to me and to the pet.
In conclusion, I must admit that I am not a real faithful observer of organized religion. I do, however, remember Merle Haggard once saying that, “When I am really, REALLY low, the only thing that brings me up is music”. I’ve got some old Tennessee Ernie Ford and Jim Reeves Gospel music up at the cabin. It’s helped before – it’s worth a try.
Lastly, I know that Cupid has already found an “old guy” up THERE who not only has the best tools in the world but the best tools in the universe. I’ll bet that guy even has a shop vac and a compressor that are BOTH totally silent. I’ll also bet that HE can turn bowls better than I have even dreamed of.
“Cupid”, I can only hope that you will take me back when it’s my turn.
Prayers will be much appreciated.
Dale T.
Thanks for coming over. What I am going to say may sound corny or silly to some of you. That is certainly your privilege. It is still a free country. If you have no pets or have no feeling for animals, you will be wasting your time by reading any further. I thank you anyway for honoring me by taking a look.
They say that it helps to share your grief with your friends and family. I feel fortunate to think that I have many friends on SMC. This morning, May 17th in the Year of our Lord 2004, my daughter, along with our first grandchild, drove up from her home just south of Milwaukee. At 11:00AM this morning, she and my wife took my shop buddy and pal of eighteen years to the local vet for her last trip. I know that I should have taken my cat Cupid over there myself. I am ashamed to admit that I was just too weak of a person to do it. In fact, it would not have been possible. I would have walked into a point-blank machine gun barrage before I would have walked into the Vet’s office with my “Buddy”.
Being a cat, over the eighteen years of her life, she and I have had many bloody battles. I would guess that it would take a fuel tanker to contain all of the blood that has been shed. On this day, however, I thank GOD that not a SINGLE drop of it was hers. As I was trying to stem the crimson flow and waiting for the paramedics to arrive, she would go and get her brush and, always purring, would expect me to brush out any fur that had been displaced during the massacre. I always did. My friends may not recognize me without all of the scratches on my arms. I may have to get a new Social Security number and a new Zip Code to reestablish my identity.
With regard to her duties as my “shop Buddy”, I’m not sure that I can deal with the shop without her. Who is going to listen to the wood and let me know when by saw blade is getting dull or when the wall of my bowl is getting a bit thin? Who is going to find those little drill bits, screws and other things which have a habit of falling off the work bench and mysteriously finding a “hiding place” undiscoverable to humans?
She never liked the noise of the shop vac or the compressor. Since the compressor has a small leak and kicks on every seven or eight hours, she always made sure that the switch was turned “off” whenever it was not in use. She also made sure that my shop would meet the minimum standards of the fire inspector should he ever visit. When my wife found traces of sawdust in the family room that were the shape of a cat’s paw, I would be reminded that my shop needed some “serious” cleaning.
Right now, I don’t have a functional shop without her. I think that I am going to “pop” the main breaker for a while and see if I can figure out how to run it without her. In reality, I’m not sure that I can go in there anyway. It wouldn’t be safe. My vision is pretty blurred and I keep seeing three lines instead of one. I can’t figure out which one to hit. I think that I had better get my eyeglass prescription checked. Anyway, at least the circuit breaker will be surprised. It has never been “popped” before without seeing me with a screwdriver and a wire stripper in my hands trying to do some electrical “modifications”.
I think it’s time to head for the cabin and get away from computers, tools, machines and all that stuff. I DO have the new Jet mini up there but Cupid never had the time to read the directions to me so I don’t think that I can run it safely. I could run some laps on my 100’ 1:32 scale slot car track. The problem is that it is not fun to race alone. If I have someone over, I never win. Cupid would let me win every once in a while just to help me maintain my self-esteem.
Folks, this has been the VERY WORST day of my sixty-two years of life. It is the third time that I have lost a pet. The dog I grew up with died when I was in college. That was awful. The dog that my kids grew up with died when my son was in the Marines and my daughter was in college. That, too, was awful. As hard, however, as those were, this is the worst. At my age, Cupid will be my last pet. That is only fair, both to me and to the pet.
In conclusion, I must admit that I am not a real faithful observer of organized religion. I do, however, remember Merle Haggard once saying that, “When I am really, REALLY low, the only thing that brings me up is music”. I’ve got some old Tennessee Ernie Ford and Jim Reeves Gospel music up at the cabin. It’s helped before – it’s worth a try.
Lastly, I know that Cupid has already found an “old guy” up THERE who not only has the best tools in the world but the best tools in the universe. I’ll bet that guy even has a shop vac and a compressor that are BOTH totally silent. I’ll also bet that HE can turn bowls better than I have even dreamed of.
“Cupid”, I can only hope that you will take me back when it’s my turn.
Prayers will be much appreciated.
Dale T.