COVID-19 WEEK 18: LET'S EXPLODE THINGS! 4 HORSES DEAD!

PREFACE
Ah yes, the Fourth of July. Celebrating our country's birthday...during a pandemic. All public gatherings cancelled, meaning all the big fireworks displays are cancelled. Meaning what are the people going to do to show their patriotism and salute America's birthday and independence from a ruling country that didn't represent our needs and wants??? Let's blow stuff up!

STORY
The Fourth of July has always been a terrible night for my sister. I've been living with her for 6 years now and even when I was living elsewhere, I would come and keep her company. She has horses. Horses tend to panic or are very stressed by the loud booming and exploding of fireworks. We live in a livestock area. An area that was founded on horse ownership and 1-acre minimum homesteading. As the 'city' encroached on the wide-open land, and the 'city dwellers' moved out of the city and into our spaces, they brought what they were running away from. They think that now that they have all this land, they can do whatever they want. But we have laws out here too. Dogs have to be on leashes. You can't plant things in the swale (the area from the road to where the sidewalk would be if there was one...also called easement). There are established trails for horses, pedestrians, and bicycles. ATVs, Gator carts, and golf carts are not allowed on these trails. Nor are they street legal. But that doesn't stop 'them' from using the trails illegally!

The mayor of our big/little town lost her horse a few years back due to a heart attack during 4th/July fireworks. She has worked hard to minimize who can shoot them off. But this year, due to COVID-19 and cancellations of firework displays, everybody thought they could have their own display! Even the GOVERNOR waived the ban on fireworks for Florida! The signs posted this year were watered down in language so that nobody paid attention to them. NO FIREWORKS WITHIN 1000 FEET OF LIVESTOCK! The fireworks started even before dark (8:30 pm) and didn't stop until 1 AM! Two of our horses were frantic during the booming and crashing and popping. Neighbors shot off illegal fireworks, the kind that go high in the air...we call mortars...and explode with a loud BOOM! All we could do was watch as the two horses ran around the ring, bucking, snorting, and in general distress.  Not to mention the stress it puts on countless dogs, traumatized cats, and PTSD Veterans. 4 horses in our neighborhood died on the night of the 4th of July.

Poor Danny Boy was exhausted by 1 am and he laid down in the ring. My sister checked on him throughout the night to make sure he was still alive. The third horse is over 30 years old and didn't seem to react to it all, but she's always been very steady about it. Maybe she just can't hear it as well. Danny Boy is very young, 13 or so. His heart could have burst from all the stress. This is only the second 4th/July he's gone through down here. He's from Ohio country living. Last year was his first year, but with all the effort of our Mayor, the fireworks were very mild and didn't stress him out. But last year, the people had central places to gather and watch them. They didn't feel it necessary to blow stuff up in their yards.

CONCLUSION
Everyone has rights. The rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. You have the right to swing your arms if you want to, but when your arm comes in contact with the next person's nose...that's where your rights end. Other people have the right to their rights. Everyone needs to respect the rights of others, even when you have to modify your perception of your rights. We do not live in closed boxes. Or defined spaces. You can draw a property line in the sand, but that does not stop air, wind, smells, voices, or freedom. We ALL need to be better neighbors. Better neighbors in our communities, in our cities, counties, states, and in the World. Everyone is connected, despite lines drawn in the sand. Love One Another.

COVID-19 LOCKDOWN - WEEK 6

PREFACE
Six weeks into "stay in place" and I haven't lost my mind. I started limiting my travels outside on March 5th. I'm still here. I'm still healthy. I'm a homebody. That's what they call someone that doesn't go out much. Someone who stays home and lives their life in a smaller world than most people. It's not a choice I made but a choice I fell into after experiencing one last trauma that broke me. PTSD. Depression. Anxiety. Being single, female, older, and vulnerable...prevented me venturing out to nightclubs, dating events, even movies...until I just went out to do the few jobs I contract to perform, and occasional "drive to nowhere" to relieve stress. I saw it coming...just wish our country's leadership had seen it coming.

STORY
Now, the coronavirus pandemic! After an extended time, our governor finally ordered a lockdown of the state of Florida on April 1st, 2020. After thousands and tens of thousands of spring breakers played on the beaches for weeks after the first confirmed cases, oblivious to the damage (contagion) that they were spreading. They believed they were immune to a DEADLY VIRUS. Youth. Hubris. False concept of immortality. We may never know the extent of the deaths that delay caused.
The lockdown didn't change my life very much.

I wipe down the groceries that are delivered to my door (instead of picking up the grocery order from Walmart, shopped by someone else___I HATE GROCERY SHOPPING!). Making the switch over to grocery delivery was seamless, until everyone else started doing it too. Now instead of next day or the day after, it's a 4-5 day wait. Still, you just have to plan it out and be a little organized. Publix still has same day or next day delivery...they're more expensive but they have a few things that I buy that no one else has, anywhere!

Any packages or mail gets quarantined for several days or wiped down with Clorox. All surfaces in the house are wiped down with bleach every 2-3 days. There are only me and my sister living in the house and no one else has come into the house in over a month. We wash our hands a lot anyway, so that's no different. Not much has changed.

CONCLUSION
I know lots of people are out there going bonkers. Too much togetherness with family. Too much being alone for others. I'm fine with being alone with myself, my thoughts, playing video games, writing, painting, crocheting...lots to occupy my mind.

Also I'm lucky to live with my sister, whom I get along with famously. She's my best friend. I'm lucky that her house is on an acre of land. We have 2 cats for mental comfort. 3 horses to occupy my sister when she gets stressed. There are many that are not so lucky. I wish I could help them all. Comfort them all. I do wish you all peace and good health. I pray for the end of this pandemic. A treatment. A cure. A vaccine. Better days are coming!

MEASURING MY LIFE BY THE CATS I'VE LOVED

PREFACE
The vet that treated my cat, Milo, sent me a condolence card. It was a sweet gesture and I do appreciate it. It is never easy to lose a pet. He was diagnosed with Lymphoma two years ago August 2013. I could not afford the $300 additional chemo treatment that would only give him a possible 18 months. I decided to research natural cures and treated him myself with colloidal silver and aloe vera. The disease attacks the digestion and blocks their ability to absorb the nutrients from their food. My treatment allowed him 9 more months than the chemo promised.

STORY
I was Milo's person for the past 16 years. He came to us as a kitten (6 weeks old) and I had originally intended for him to be my son's cat. I had Molly (female brown Burmese) and my late husband had Sox (male Tuxedo, black and white). Milo spent his first few weeks sleeping in a box next to my bed at night, when he wasn't out and about getting to know our other two adult cats.

 Milo

Molly

 Sox

Milo was to be Ian's cat. Ian was 14. As it turned out, Ian was allergic to Milo's saliva and Milo liked to lick as a show of affection. Molly had no maternal tendencies toward him and attacked him repeatedly. He was a tiny kitten and could not defend himself, so I decided that Molly was to become an outside/inside cat (but mostly outside). Molly had always resented becoming an inside cat, so she was happy. Sox adopted Milo and protected him against Molly.

When we got Sox, he was a stray kitten that someone had abandoned near a friend of my sister. My sister called me to say that this kitten needed our family. We had been without a cat for a while, since our last kitten had been put down due to spinal problems, loss of use of his back legs and potty functions. Spooky was less than two years old. It was traumatic and we had gone for over a year without looking for another cat. Sox was a wonderful addition to our family. He LOVED my late husband and was a sweet, loving, adorable quirky cat. At max. weight he was 24lbs! but had a tiny little voice (mew!) like Mike Tyson. He also loved cantelope and watermelon!

Sox was about 4 months old when we got Molly. Molly was originally named Bonnie, but it didn't fit her. Her owner was going to be forced to take her to the animal shelter (to be gassed!) so I agreed to take her. I'm not partial to female cats but I didn't want her to be euthanized at seven months old! She came into our house always wanting to squip out the door to be outside. It was a constant battle. Molly knew how to open doorknobs! We had to keep the door deadbolt-locked so she couldn't get out. Molly also liked to open the side-by-side refrigerator doors (and LEAVE THEM OPEN!). We would come downstairs to find both doors standing wide open! My late husband had to devise a "lock" for the doors. He used a piece of aluminum rod, bent in a U-shape to slip over both door handles at night when we went to bed. Molly finally stopped after a few months.

All our cats have played "fetch", usually with small aluminum balls that we would fashion for them. They would run after them and bring them back to be thrown again. Molly was the most insistent. She would bring a ball and drop it on your bare foot to let you know she wanted to play fetch. They loved the sound they made on the tile floor.

Molly was the first to go. At 15 years old, arthritic and thin, she stopped eating. I force-fed her water and drops of food through the night, but she became lethargic and less responsive. I took her to animal control and had her put down. Soon after I was forced out of my house due to the landlord selling it, and I could only take one cat with me to my new living arrangements. Sox was 15 yo but in good health. I took him to the animal shelter and gave up ownership with the hope that someone would adopt a 24lb Tuxedo cat. This was in 2008 and there was a lot of animal rescue going on at that time. I hope he got a good home.

Milo was my sole companion for the past 7 years. I was his person. He saw his family go from 3 people, 2 other cats to just him and me. My son moved out on his own but couldn't take Milo due to his allergy. Milo kept me company, was very talkative, would rush to the door if someone knocked or rang the bell (like a watch-cat). He slept in my bed with me. Woke me up when it was morning (to feed him!). Milo watched TV with me sometimes and ALWAYS watched the Annual Westminster Dog Show (intently!). His favorite place to lounge was on my chest (while I watched TV, worked on the computer, or drove him in the car!). He was a total inside cat, never venturing outside.

CONCLUSION
These are just three of the cats that have populated my life, become part of my family, and owned a piece of my heart. When we take on a pet, we have to realize they have an expiration date. Lots of people don't think about a pet being with them for 15-20 years, nor about how close you can become or how involved in their lives. When it gets to the end of their life, it can become all-consuming in the daily caregiving involved, but you do it without a thought. The hardest is when you have to decide if you are being selfish and keeping them here because you can't let go. Luckily, Milo told me in his way that it was time for him to go (for me to let him go). I miss him every day but know that he is in a better place, running and chasing with Sox and Molly.