R.I.P. Prissie Sue

My Mom's dachshund Prissie Sue died this morning. She was 15 or 16 years old and had been in poor health lately. She was a chocolate miniature dachshund that my step-father Ray bought a year or two after he married my Mom.

I remember when they brought her home for the first time. I was living at home again after a few years in college, and the first few nights she slept in the bed with me. She was so small that she fit in the palm of my hand, and a lot of times she'd end up rolling off the mattress and sleeping in a loop of the sheet that was hanging off the bed. She also had a crooked tail and was the runt of the litter, so they got her for a bargain.

She loved to howl along with anyone that would start it for her. Back then we also had three outside dogs in the carport, and usually if I got her started howling the chows out there would all start howling along as well. Prissie was also the alpha dog. The chows would all roll over when she came out because she was always aggressive with them.

Prissie was dachshund #4 in my life. The first two were Lady and Heidi, who were full size dachshunds that my parents bought before I was born. Heidi was actually Lady's puppy. The third one was Turkey, who was old when we got him after someone dumped him out on our road. Our Annie dog in Nashville is #5. I loved them all and Prissie Sue will definitely be missed.

My Cute Kids

Bad Morning, Good Morning

I woke up really tired this morning. My sinuses were all stuffed up, despite taking Claratin for a week now. It was dark, rainy, and was a great day to just roll back under the covers and sleep. After I got back from taking Victoria to school, I made Jack his milk and went upstairs to open his door. Usually, I open it a crack then hide in the guest bedroom or the bathroom to wait for him to come running out with his blanket. This morning, nothing.

I waited a few minutes then went in to check on him. He was stirring around a little, but definitely didn't want to get out of bed. I rubbed his back while he tossed and turned for a few minutes but finally he sat up and gave me his usual "Hey Daddy" and pulled his pacy out to give me a kiss.

I was still thinking about calling in to work and going back to bed, but seeing my boy made me feel a lot better, and since they've been laying off people at work lately I figured I might as well go in. The hot shower cleared up most of my sinuses and I got Jack dressed as well after we read the Froggy Goes To School book first.

Finally, on the drive to work, just outside our subdivision, I saw the wild turkey herd that lives around the area. There were about 50 of them grouped together this morning, and I got to sit on the road for several minutes enjoying the sight while they all ambled across it in front of my car. At that point, not even the reports on NPR that the stock market was going down rapidly put much of a dent in my good mood.

Obama

My father-in-law David has been working full time for the Obama campaign in Nashville for the last few months. We kept asking if he had ever met him and he had not until the debate came to town. Here they are shaking hands.


Personally, I'm pretty discouraged about the elections this year. Everyone seems to think Obama is going to change things, but I think he's just a career politician like McCain and is unlikely to make any bold decisions that will need to be made. McCain is just too old and desperate to be President. He's saying and doing whatever he thinks will get him votes.

Both candidates have made horrible decisions for VP running mates, although McCain picking Palin has to be one of the worst decisions ever. In the end, I'm voting against Republicans this election. I've always been a Libertarian, so I've leaned towards the Republican party, but they've pretty much betrayed everything they stand for in the last 8 years. They have no fiscal responsibility, no moral responsibility, no courage, no heart, no clue. This is actually true of both parties, but McCain is the poster boy for a party that's fallen the farthest lately.

8 Years Free of Cancer Sticks

I smoked for the last time 8 years ago today. It was in the parking deck of Cat Financial in Nashville. Having watched my wife's uncle die of lung cancer and her grandfather die of complications from emphysema this year, I'm hoping I quit in time to avoid too much damage. I smoked for 14 years, having quit for a year twice in that time period.

I know Paul Clemmons and his Big Tobacco cronies are gnashing their teeth at this news, but they're just going to have to back off.

Overcoming Brainwashing

My own aunt and uncle tried to brainwash me when I was a kid as well, but I was able to overcome it in high school. Sadly, there are still pictures of me somewhere wearing orange and blue.