Paws and Think

World changes are happening all around us. We are inundated with earthquakes, illness, tsunami waves, gigantic whirlpools (I was mesmerized by the one in Japan) and potential reactor meltdowns. Mother Earth is doing a major brush off. (“What ARE these things crawling on me. Ugh! People! I'm gonna have to spray again.”) Who can blame Her? We build on fault lines, erect mansions on land and in areas that Native Americans wouldn't touch with a ten pole lodge pole – and for good reason. It floods. It has mud slides. It erupts. The spirits of ancestors past stand to either side of the mountain, watching the “crazy white people” flow downhill, clutching their wine glasses and L.L. Bean boots.


Now, Japan has the world's focus. There is hunger, death, destruction, suffering. The results are overwhelming. Everyone wants to provide aid, send money, volunteer to help in some way, because we see the fate of the Japanese people mirroring our own tragedies of Katrina and 9-11. And – as with any international aid to an insular culture – there are barriers: bureaucratic red tape, “forms”, political concerns for State Security and the very present threat of potential corruption. Who knows if the money we send will ever translate into a bowl of rice, a warm coat or shelter?

There are living beings who are also suffering, who have no political position, no participation in the urbanization of the planet, and literally no voice. World Vets is an organization dedicated to the rescue of animals in dangerous situations. They already have a team in Japan doing what they can for lost, injured and abandoned pets. Their web site is http://www.worldvets.org/ While you reach out to the people of Japan, please remember those other family members that they loved and cuddled.

Another excellent organization is the SCPA International (http://www.spcai.org/). Not only are they helping with the current disaster in Japan, but they also work to bring military working and found dogs home from Iraq and other war zones. They have a “no dog left behind” program which deserves our attention. In the core of your compassion for others, please don't forget the ones with fur.



No Dog Left Behind

 Now, on a personal level, I am please to announce that I have a piece published in the Spring issue of Circle Magazine. This was not a certainty, so it came as a pleasant surprise. The piece is called “Charged To The Hilt”.

I'm even MORE pleased to announce that I am now – however tentatively – up on my feet again. I went yesterday with my pal Jenny A. and picked up the fracture boot. It had to be specially tweaked because the leg is still quite swollen.

However, it does the trick and should serve me well until I get my CRO walker. I see Dr. S. in Langhorne next Friday (April Fools) and he will determine if I'm ready for the transition. So, onward and upward!

Keep on Truckin', Everyone!