Perhapablog

Monday, May 31, 2010

happy memorial day!

while i have no intention of making this blog a sad public notice board on which to lament the loss of my best friend jake, i couldn't imagine a more appropriate time to come back than today,'cause today, memorial day, was jake's birthday.
his real birthday, not one we made up or picked because we thought it was close...jake was born on memorial day 1993 as one in a litter of 8. my then-wife, nicole, and i got to see him--well, i'm not sure if it was actually him, but three of his siblings--3 days later when they were the size of very small potatoes which carolyn, the breeder, held side by side in one hand, their little eyes still shut, their little tails still long. they were to be bobbed the next day.
we saw jake and his sibs 4 weeks later as they puppily stumbled and played around carolyn's backyard and--because we had shown interest so early, we had the pick of the litter (i'm usually an aspca guy, but we had fallen in love with jake's uncle when we met him at the vet's and so...) jake was the smallest, though in jack russell circles, that's not considered the runt. carolyn pointed out his excellent markings and stature, but we chose him because he was bold and fearless and drank some genny cream ale out of the can that carolyn's husband, bob, had offered him. 3 and a half weeks later we were allowed to bring him home.
my life was changed forever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

may has been kind of a suck month for me. not just 'cause i'm still trying to figure out how to get from one day to the next without my constant little companion next to me, though that's going to be a thing for a long time. i've also been fighting what i first thought was a tenacious cold that now turns out to be allergies and a sinus infection. i've never had allergies before but the doctor says it's the climate change/shift and new combinations of pollen-spewing plants being introduced into the air. so thanks, global warming. or the new coming ice age. or whatever crap they're dropping on us in those freakin' chem-trails!
i also lost another friend, a good friend from high school, that i had fortunately had a chance to re-connect with via facebook...but certainly not long enough. we always think we'll have more time. rest in peace, gaby.

also lost came to it's long-awaited, long-feared, tearful conclusion, which i thought was wonderful, but still has me quite sad that it's over and feeling not a small amount of loss there. i'll miss the island and each and every one of those characters. thank you damon and carlton and j.j. and everyone involved for that wonderful, beautiful gift.

on the up-side, i got lasik on my eyes and threw away my glasses. woo hoo! i can see again!


so i'm back. and the blog is back. as i said back in the beginning of may, before this little hiatus, i had hoped, at the end of alice in wonderland, to make some changes in my life, my writing schedule, my work routine, and that's still part of my plan.
and so i am not going to commit to a schedule here. i will try to post regularly, when i've got something, and will try to make sure it's at least once a week. but pleased don't be surprised if a few days go by without a post--i am still ironing out some wrinkles...
as always i want you to think of this as your blog too and so, if you have anything that you'd like to say or a topic you'd like to talk about, guest-blogs are very welcome! (that includes artwork, fan-fic or short stories of any kind, jokes...you name it!) our family is a very kind, nurturing, and appreciative one!

so not to end on a sad note, it IS memorial day--a day to remember. friends and family who are no longer with us, those who touched us and made our lives better in one way or another, big or small.
but especially, the men and women who have died in service to our country, those who went and fought and were willing to make that ultimate sacrifice, and were fortunate enough to come home--but also those who are fighting for it right now! remember them, say a prayer, thank them when you see them.

have a barbeque, eat a hot dog, play with your friends, your cousins, your family!
have a wonderful memorial day, everybody!

smell ya later~!
todd






my boy





hangin' with his best bud, uncle craig...





me and jake


ps--oh, and some of you might have noticed the spam posted in the comments section of my last post--we're trying to figure out how to delete all that. in an attempt to stem that in the future though, i've switched the comments section to allow me to moderate all comments--so if you write a comment and it doesn't show up immediately, don't be surprised. it might take an hour or two, but it'll get there...
thanks!

6 comments:

Heywood Jablomie said...

really like that last pic of you and jake!

i have a few ideas for guest blogs that i will work on for you, and post what you can when you can. take things easy, enjoy life and work on those kick ass stories streaming through your head!!

Brian said...

Happy Birthday, Jake. I'm sure he and all his buddies are enjoying a cake shaped feast of Jake's favorite food down by the rainbow bridge.

As for Memorial Day, well said Todd.

This is a day to remember those who gave all that they had when their country called and a day to hope that someday soon our country will never again have to make that call.

Anonymous said...

Hi, Todd! Nice to have you back!. Have missed the blog. Thanks for sharing how you got Jake.
So, no more glasses, woo hoo!! Good news!! Love the picture of you and Jake.
Happy Memorial Day, everyone!!

Lu

Matt Wieringo said...

Great post, Todd. Welcome back! Those are some great pictures. (But which one on the bed is Craig?)

I KNEW I was supposed to call you about something! I take it the Lasik went well. That's great news. I dream about not wearing glasses about as much as I dream about flying. Oh, and that one girl back in college. :)

Really, really, really glad to see you back.

Warren said...

Hi, Todd! Missed you here. :)

~ Wendy ~ said...

Welcome back. ;) and yes, thanks for sharing how you and Jake become the dynamic duo. I know you will always miss him but you are that much richer for having him in your life.

((hugs)) Wendy

ps - for what it's worth- I thought you looked really cute in glasses. ;)