Wednesday, April 19, 2006

The mundane thoughts that bubble up all the way to expression in this journal are the froth of the other 1500 thoughts that come during the day. That number is an average for the average person, I read somewhere yesterday. How they arrived at that number was not quite clear, I mean, how could that possibly be measured? They had people walking around all day with electronic gear hooked up to the brain? I wonder how that compares with dementia and Alzheimer patients.

I've been searching for a column that Ann Landers wrote about dogs. I had copied it a couple of years ago (but have since lost) from her archived columns, but they are no longer available. Seems Creators Syndicate has published books from them and to get it, I'll have to buy a book. I've browsed several dog lovers' sites thinking one of them would have posted it, but didn't find it. I've read some sweet tributes, but not the one I'm looking for. This is not it, but it's close:

All I Really Need to Know I Learned from my Dog

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joy ride.
Allow the experience of fresh air and
the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
Take naps and stretch before rising.
Run, romp, and play daily.
Be loyal.
Never pretend to be something you're not.
Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.
If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
When someone is having a bad day,
be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.
Thrive on affection and let people touch you -
enjoy back rubs and pats on your neck.
When you leave your yard, make it an adventure.
Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the guilt thing
and pout - run right back and make friends.
Bond with your pack.
On cold nights, curl up in front of a crackling fire.
When you're excited, speak up.
When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

This is Georgia's 60th birthday. Freddy turned 60 in Jan., Carole will in July, then mine in Nov, and Jean's the next day Dec.1. The 5 of us who were in school together for 12 years should get together again. The last time was at a party at Philip Williams' house in Pville in 1996. I was the only Baptist in the bunch growing up, but I went to the Methodist Camp Lake Stephens with them every summer, a marked contrast from the Baptist all girls Camp Garaway, which I attended in pre-adolescent years.

Georgia takes B12 shots, she told me when she was here. I didn't ask her why, they're usually for mental alertness and energy. Maybe I should consider some B12 for myself. I wonder if it makes a significant difference. I may call her. I talked to her brother Jerry at church Sat. night, he was serving as one of the LEM's when Bishop Gray was there. He's got the Partlow genealogy I had asked her for. I need to call him back about that, too. Their dad is in a nursing home in Oxford with Alzheimer's. Georgia is probably worried, as I am, that she will suffer the same fate as her mentally incapacitated parent. As sharp as she was/is, it probably worries her more than it worries me. I've never known a time when I was not considered a scatterbrain. It’s a much shorter distance between where I am to there than she would have to go.

Angela Sweeney finally sent the details I needed to set up Mother’s income trust checking account. I’m hoping someone at the bank can make more sense of it than I did.

No comments: