Much Ado About Ru

Hi, everyone! Let me start off by thanking those of you who stopped by the Para-X last Saturday, and those who were there in spirit. Particularly, I want to thank my assistants Jen, Claude, Keith, and Charlene for doing the lugging, the set-up, and the salesmanship. Claude, you were an excellent lecture assistant. The attendees loved you.

The sales were OK, but the swag bags went like hotcakes. Thanks, Phyllis, for the Fate Magazines. People signed up for their comp copy of the next issue, in which my Glastonbury article appears. Perhaps best of all was the media contact. The Star Ledger did a piece, mostly focused on my artist pal Lauren Curtis and her very long nails.

photo via The Star Ledger

The Sentinel did an article, which included a photo of me lecturing.

Unfortunately, my eyes were closed. I look like The Sleeping Prophet or...dare I say it...Cartman! (Respect my paranormal au-thor-i-tay!).

I was also lucky enough to speak with a gal from Weird New Jersey, who hopes to do an article on the Expo. That would be lovely, as Graven Images Oracle seems like something that would be right up their alley.

Now about the title of this entry.....Rufus is not a well pup. His toilet habits have changed, he is constantly itching and chewing, his skin is pink, he had a bladder infection in the Spring which came from nowhere, etc. They say a mother knows her child, and I know my dog. We took him to his usual vet, who gave him his usual pills. Rufus improved, but never got completely better.

 

Claude said I should try her new local vet, with whom she was very impressed. So was I. Excellent communication (copies of everything e-mailed to you, phone calls for follow-ups. Wow.), comfortable with the pets, nice staff. Long story short - Rufus is full of yeast, and his bladder has lots of tiny stones.

Initially, we thought he would need surgery, but there is a possibility we can avoid all that with diet change. It all depends on the composition of the stones. So, please, spare a prayer for my little Woobie. Can you say no to this face?

 

One funny incident came out of all this. The vet called a prescription into the Pharmacy. When I got home I realized the CVS would not connect Rufus Clark with Katharine Clark. I called the pharmacy and checked that they had the order, told them he was my shih tzu, and that they should charge the medicine to my card and deliver it to my house...

“Is this his first prescription with us?”

“Yes.”
“Oh. We can't combine accounts. He has to come fill out his customer information sheet.”
“I'm afraid that's not possible,” I said, sadly. “Rufus doesn't have hands.”

There was a pregnant pause.

“I'm sooo sorry!” The clerk sounded embarrassed.

“Plus he has a tendency to eat pens when he's frustrated. I never could get him to learn cursive, what with his paws..”
“His...paws..?..”
“Yes!” I kinda shouted. “I didn't say he was my SON, I said he was my SHIH TZU!”
“This med is for a ...dog?”
“Did you notice who called in the script?”
“Monroe Animal Hospi...”
“There's your first clue, dear.”

Word must have gotten around the pharmacy because, when I called to check on the status this morning, the nice male clerk on the phone said, “Script for Rufus? Oh yeah...it's here alright!”

Oh yeah. I'm sure it is.

On the Sherlockian front, I saw this picture on a Tumblr site:

Look closely. The bag he's carrying says, “Take photos with Sherlock Holmes for any donation, and help save Undershaw – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's historic home.”

I like to remind fans, from time to time, that the home was saved from being converted into condos, but it is a long way away from being restored.

This is the house that Doyle built, and where he wrote Hound of the Baskervilles. There is an organization dedicated to saving Undershaw, and they have a great website: www.saveundershaw.com. Learn about the place. See pictures of how it now looks. Think how it can be again. They even have a shop were all kinds of things can be purchased, or you can just pledge.

This bloke is willing to don a deerstalker and Inverness cape, stand in the rain, and be photographed with strange tourists for the cause. Surely we can spend a few quid on a book or a mug in the name of fandom and history!

Take care, everyone. Be careful – it's Samhain season. Updates on Rufus next week.