Your Pet's Best Friend

Don't miss the concert in the park!

 

Spring Camporee 2009

Three times each year the Cherokee District Boy Scouts camp together for a big group outing with lots of  fun activities for the boys.  It's a big deal compared to a regular camp-out.  This spring, we combined with five other districts. I couldn't get all the tents in one picture from the top of the climbing tower, but you get a little bit of the idea here. 

The theme was an Olympiad, with each district representing a different country.  The Cherokees drew Chile.  I tried to get someone to make an Easter Island moai statue out of an oil-drum, but there were no takers.  We did lash up a gateway.  When the wind blew just right, you could read "CHILE" in the hanging letters.

I don't usually camp with the troop, having retired as Scoutmaster several years ago.  With that many boys, you need lots of activities, so they asked me to run the climbing tower.  I had some good help, including my brother, Will.  Here he's belaying his son, Joe, up the wall. I was afraid the weather might stop us, but we made it okay.  It was really wet, having rained the night before (and all week before, for that matter), but two sides of the tower were climbable (despite the mud the boys carried with them).  It barely sprinkled during the day, so that was great.  In re Chile, it was the Andes Mountain Range instead of a tower.

Here's a study in contrast.  The dutch oven has sat on the coals for a while, and the finished product is being inspected. The boys cooked a traditional Chilean dish with corn, chicken, raisins and other difficult to identify ingredients.  They were the overall winner in the Iron Chef contest.

Here's the Dad Patrol's method of heating the spaghetti sauce.  "One less pan to wash".  I'm proud of my brother's ingenuity.

There was a big campfire show with skits and songs and camp promotion, including next year's centennial year and national jamboree.  I got to lead my new song (which I'll post here soon).

And here's my favorite photo commemorating the muddy (but fun) day.  That's a tent floor (ugh).  For more details, see our troop website and for more pictures check the link.

Much needed ride

It was a little too windy.  It was a little too cool.  My riding buddy was out of town.  It was a little too late to start (I had spent half of my "afternoon off" at Children's Division, studying the file of my new CASA volunteer assignment).  Lots of reasons not to ride.

I rode anyway.  Sometimes I bemoan the lack of scenery here.  It's as flat as a pancake: no hills, no forests, just wide open spaces. Today, wide open space was exactly what I needed. 

Out on Ol' Red, it was just cool enough to be invigorating.  It had been so long since the last ride that I was completely "in the ride", no thoughts of anything else.  I could see for miles in every direction.  I could just BE for miles in every direction.  For an hour, I was sort of like the cowboy alone in the grandeur and solitude of the Great American West. 

Mighty fine.

Sons of the Western Bootheel in Concert

  On Sunday afternoon, the  great little auditorium  of the Caruthersville Public Library had just the stage to "set the stage" for some cowboy songs and a feeble attempt at humor. Dig our cool fake campfire.

Despite being "saddled" with a bad cold, Ranger Ron kept a stiff (and whiskery) upper lip and came through with his usual comic additions to the melodies.

Scotty's yodeling couldn't be beat, and Uncle Matt and I rounded out that four-part harmony that makes the moments I really enjoy singing.

We followed the show with a visit to Mike & Jean's Little Pizza Heaven.  It is the only pizza within driving distance that is fit to eat (and I give no food a higher compliment).  Much better than beans and biscuits.

Happy Trails.

Cub Scout Wild West Olympics

While I'm pretty heavliy involved with Boy Scouts, I haven't done too much in the Cub Scout department.  When I heard that the theme for this year's Cub Olympics was to be "Wild West", I knew I had to get in on the act.  The Mobley brothers have a LOT of cowboy props.

Our district training chairman, Dan Norton, came up with a dozen game ideas.  Once those ideas got filtered through Cubmaster Charlie Brown and myself, we had a great event for the boys. We strolled and strummed cowboy songs, spun lariats and cracked the bullwhip to add a little extra atmosphere to the boys' competitions.

The Pony Express was my favorite event.  That's a 7&3/4 Stetson on the boy, front brim rolled up "sidekick style".  They couldn't see a thing.  Here's a link to the whole show.

Cowboy songs, coming right up!

The Sons of the Western Bootheel will be performing for the public as part of the community concert series in the City of Caruthersville, Missouri.

Come on out and join us at the Caruthersville Public Libary at 2:00 PM on this coming Sunday, January 18.  It's cowboy songs, stupid jokes, and yours truly, playing the stand-up bass. "Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's the little man with the big hat, the big bass and the big mouth!"

Happy Trails.

Christmas to New Year's - lots of living, not much blogging time.

It's hard to believe that I haven't posted for a whole month.  Hardly a day goes by that I don't spend twenty or thirty minutes answering questions from people who have found the blog while googling their pet's medical problem.  As I've mentioned before, I can't prescribe for them (because I can't see and know their pet), but I do try to answer their questions as best I can.  Does that count as blogging time? 

Maybe I'm starting to feel the recession a little, as I have a little time on my hands for the first time in ages.  Sunday I did not have a single animal in the hospital, nor did I have any emergency calls.  I had done my administrative paperwork on Saturday evening.  It was the first time that I can remember that I did not even go into the building for an entire 24 hours.  I must say that it was sweet.

December wasn't like that, though.  I had planned to take off on Saturday the 13th, make a leisurely morning of it and head up to Cape Girardeau for Tuba Christmas.  Unfortunately, I had a patient with a urinary blockage who required emergency surgery.  Rehearsal started at 1:00 PM at the River Campus.  After stabilizing the patient, and changing clothes [you don't want to know], I hit the road at 11:30 AM, and I was only 10 minutes late to rehearsal (95 miles away).  I was able to enjoy the music, and fellow band-nerds, but not my "leisurely morning".    I'd post pictures, but they look just like last year's. [Tuba Christmas, that is, not the surgery.]

The next day, the Kennett Schola Cantorum hit the road with the Christmas concert of a capella early (as in Renaissance and medieval) choral music.  Here we are on the stage of the Caruthersville, Missouri Library for their community concert series.  My favorite lyrics were from a song entitled "Ladye, the Silly Flea" (naturally).  Then on to play low brass for my friend David Ross, who includes me in his annual Christmas musical at the First Baptist Church in Blytheville, Arkansas.  I'd post pictures, but they look just like last year's.

Our own Prebyterian Christmas Eve extravaganza featured a solo from Sheryl Crow (a song from her Christmas album, available exclusively at Hallmark).  I didn't hear it, though.  After the second marathon rehearsal on Tuesday evening, I came down with a stomach virus.  The virus stayed all through Christmas Eve and Christmas, sort of like Marley's ghost.  I missed singing in the service for the first time in 32 years. Bummer, dude.

I'm "doing a hundred percent" now, though.  Lots more to do and talk about. Stay tuned.  I may even get back to veterinary medicine (blog-wise, that is).

Parade of American Music

November was the "Parade of American Music" month for the National Federated Music Clubs. My wife (and other friends) are members of the local club.  This year they went all-out to maximize the number of programs of American music in the area.  It was a rare civic club that escaped their machinations.  There were several programs featuring the music loved by Abraham Lincoln.

This picture is of my brother Matt and I playing the tandem harmonica at the Rotary Club meeting.  Our instrument was painstakingly reconstructed from historical diagrams.  Many is the time that Stephen Foster and his manservant, Jupiter, would sit on the veranda playing "Oh, Susanna" on the tandem harmonica.  Since Lincoln loved this song (and harmonica music in general), and since it is one of the two songs I can play on the harmonica, that's what we played.

In nearby Steele, Missouri, the program was a USO show in a nursing home.  Not Lincoln's era this time, but the big band music of the forties.  The professional swing dancers engaged for the entertainment were forced to cancel.  I was more than a little reluctant to step in, as it's been a long time since my dance lessons. Fortunately, the Methodist minister there is a fine dancer and a good teacher.  I had a great time, whether the residents were entertained or not.  That suit had to go to the cleaners, though -- it was soaked.  I may not be skillful, but I am enthusiastic.

Nordic Track Repairs

I bought my Nordic Track cross-country ski machine twenty-plus years ago.  Unlike a lot of folks, I haven't just used it to hang clothing on (though it's darn good for that).  Except for a few months spent on crutches, I used it for twenty minutes two or three times a week for a long time.  A little over three years ago, I bumped up my cardio workouts to every day, thirty minutes (not counting warm-up).  Got to stay in shape to keep up with dogs and Boy Scouts.

It's the most basic old model.  No motor, no electronics, not even a height adjustment (I had to build little steps to add incline resistance).  For me, it's been a good machine.  No concussion, no deep flexion, so it's been easy on my knees.  You use upper body and lower body, so you can get your heart rate up in a hurry.

And then, it happened.  After only twenty-something years, the machine broke.  Boy, they just don't make 'em like they used to, huh?

One ski just shot out from under me last week.  The little grippy-thingy in the right drive roller quit gripping.  What am I going to do?  I use this every day.  Got to get that cardio knocked out before breakfast.  Who wants to drive across town to the gym before breakfast?  In the winter?  Not me.

Well, the good old internet came to the rescue.  I googled up Nordic Parts, found what I needed, paid online on Saturday night, and I was amazed to receive my parts on Wednesday.  Thursday morning I was ready to ski across the family room again.  Many thanks to the folks at Nordic Parts.

My truck is out of balance.

So, my truck has two gas tanks.  One has $4/gallon gas in it, and the other one has $2/gallon gas in it.  I have to lean to one side while I'm driving.