Remembering Lily
Lily. LilyCatherine. LilyCat. Kennel Cop.
Our little Independent dog born on the 4th of July.
Little Lily came to us as a rehome. We said we would find a new home for her, but we decided she would stay with us and be part of our family. I’m glad we did.
This cute, funny, charming little Yorkiepoo had a way of wrapping herself around your heart before you knew what was happening. Oh, how she loved to play “escape artist” and she was very good at it, too! And when she managed to escape she was so proud of herself she danced around in circles egging you on to chase her. You see, Lily had a very bad case of separation anxiety. It didn’t matter if you were standing on the other side of a gate and she could see you. Oh no! She wanted to be on the same side of the gate you were on. And there was one style of gate she figured out how to climb and get across. She was smart! The first night we had her we put her in a crate at bedtime, but she wasn’t having any of it, and next thing we knew she was up on the bed dancing around! Back into the crate little one. Nope! Didn’t take but 30 seconds and she was out again! The third time, though, was too much of a charm and darling Lily got her foot stuck in the door and I almost had to break her foot to get it out. After that Lily slept on the bed with the rest of the crew. And let me tell you, if she ever got out the front door it was next to impossible to catch her – she was quick on those little four feet!
As charming and sweet and lovable as she was, she also could swear a sailor down to a whimpering mess at her toes. I don’t know where she picked up that language, but boy could she swear! And she would tell you off in no uncertain terms, too. She would swear until she spit, sometimes. Honestly!
All Lily wanted was to be loved. And she was definitely loved by everyone she met. That was the charming side of her. It was hard to not love her; the moment you saw her, you were hooked. But she was really conservative with her kisses, unless she wanted something. Of course, she would never tell you what she wanted, so you would have to guess. It was her game! I guessed a lot! I figured out her favorite treat was teeny Greenies. Perfect sized for her little mouth. She had a prominent underbite but she could chew things with the best of them!
I have to say that sleeping with her, once we were on our own, was a hit and miss thing. I kept a bed pillow next to me where she would sleep sometimes, but it was always special to wake up and find her little head resting on my shoulder and hearing her little “congested” snoring sound in my ear. Those were the times I hated having to get up because I didn’t want to ruin that special moment with her.
In the beginning we used to take “chair naps” where she would lay on a pillow on my lap for a couple of hours. And oh, how I heard about it when I would put another dog on my lap for one of those naps. After a while I got to where I would just hold one in my arms while the other slept on the pillow. It beat the cussing out!
As much as she liked to escape, she did not like going for walks. I hate to say, but I called her “slow as a slug”. It wasn’t that she wanted to take in all of the smells. Nope! She just didn’t want to go for a walk, either by herself, with Bentley, or with Bentley and a friend. Those walks were basically “carries”. She loved being out, just not out on a leash going for a walk. The best part of a walk with her was her getting back home. But, she did like one thing being outside …..sunbathing. And she really loved doing that, even in the heat of the Summer. I could be melting, but she was just happy sitting in the sunshine – until Daddy nearly would faint.
Kennel Kop. The vet learned early on that Lily was an escape artist and had to take extra measures to block her cage door so that she couldn’t open it. Nothing like looking around and finding a little Yorkie at your feet when you were sure she was in a cage a minute ago! I never saw it for myself, but the vet’s told me that Lily would “direct traffic” so to speak when she was there. It was probably more like demanding that she be paid attention to and wanted petting. Oh, she could be annoying, but heartwarming at the same time. It was hard to ignore her! She wasn’t tiny, she was small, but she had a very large presence in everyone’s life.
Shortly before Bentley crossed the Rainbow Bridge Lily was diagnosed with diabetes, and that meant that she had to have shots of insulin. Oh lucky me, because I tend to feel faint around needles. It did not get any easier for me giving her the shots, either. It had to be done, but it was not easy, even using the pen. Eventually I had to go to using syringes for her, but that was hard on both of us. She took it like the trooper she was, though. Especially since she knew a treat would follow. God bless her, she always held so still for me, making it just a wee bit better for both of us.
But, after Bentley crossed, a little bit of Lily went with him. Because I wanted to spend some time alone with him, Lily was at the vet at the time he crashed and had to be put down [remember, he had lymphoma of the spleen]. After he was gone we brought her in to smell him so that she would know he was gone. She was 12 at the time. And for her it was a slow decline afterward. So, while she had diabetes, her thyroid also decided to give up, so we added medication for that. And six months after Bentley left, her eyesight began to go, a result of cataracts, but she wasn’t a candidate for surgery, so over time she she became nearly blind as well.
I knew she was lonely, so six months after Bentley’s crossing I started looking for another dog, mostly as a companion for her, but for me as well. I thought I had found a Schnauzer at a rescue group and Lily felt very comfortable around him, even laying next to him while his foster mother and I talked. It wasn’t to be, though, I suppose because I live in an apartment. I felt so sorry for her because she had never got close to another dog like she did with him. So, I kept looking, and several months later Roby fell into my lap.
I think that getting a puppy wasn’t a good thing for her, but it was a very good thing for me. Roby, like any puppy, wanted so much to play with her, and I think she would have loved to have played with him if she could have seen him, but he was more of a burden to her instead. Even with two days a week at the “vet spa”, she just couldn’t really cope with him and I couldn’t get him to stop pulling her ears and tugging her around like a mop. Lily finally decided it was time to go find Bentley.
So, a year ago, our precious little Yorkipoo that looked like a Yorkie crossed the Rainbow Bridge leaving behind lots of tears and broken hearts. Oh, I have missed her so. I still look for her, and tear up when I think of her or see photos I took of her. A little dog that was bigger than life that only wanted to be loved. And I love her still.
Posted in Personal Thoughts, Perspectives, Pets, Reflections by Jason with no comments yet.
They Just Have to BE
Some might wonder why I made the post about September 11th. Well, it was two-fold. First, it was a reminder about the 20th anniversary of that horrible and devastating day. But secondly, which was never mentioned in the post, it was also about photography and videography.
Our first glimpse into what happened to the Towers that morning was through the news, which the majority of us watched on television. That was thanks to the journalists and videographers that were digitally filming the events that were unfolding. And then, too, were the digital photos from journalists but also from others with digital cameras. And probably the most recognized photo is of the Falling Man captured by Associated Press photographer Richard Drew. Other people also jumped from the towers that day and many were captured on video.
But, there were also many private citizens that captured the events digitally, on film, or on video. They recognized the importance of capturing these events for posterity, for history, for remembrance of how our lives changed forever that day. The images those people took that day are just as important as the photos taken when Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated and when his brother John F. Kennedy, our President, was also assassinated. They tell a story – a story we can never forget, just as the films of the bomb being dropped on Hiroshima, and all the films we have seen of WWI, WWII, Viet Nam, Desert Storm, and the many wars in the Middle East. The stories that did change our lives forever.
Many of us will never be so “lucky” to capture tragedy, as if we really want to be there to do so, but now with the increasing quality of photos and videos on our phones, we can be there.
And so, my post on September 11th was fitting even though there was no mention of photography of any kind. Photography is our way of preserving history, whether we capture major events or just the events and people in our lives. Photography, whether by amateurs or professionals, is important Don’t throw away or delete your photos. Save them. Print them. Put them in albums for future generations to see. They don’t have to be award winning. They just have to BE.
Posted in Perspectives, Reflections, View Point by Jason with no comments yet.
September 11, 2001
This year marks the 20th anniversary of that horrible, shocking, and devastating day. Some of you may remember that day; some of you were probably too little to remember that day. All of us, though, either watched in disbelief, were there in some way, or….. This year is not a celebration, per se, although we should celebrate the lives lost – who they were, what they did in their lives, and how they, the innocent, live forever in our hearts. And then, of course, we should remember those that were in the towers, terrified beyond belief, desperately wending their way down flights of stairs to get out and away with their lives. These people especially need our continued prayers and support, hugs virtual and real, because they grapple with survivor guilt and PTSD every day. We cannot, and should not, ever forget them. Nor should we forget the brave men and women in and out of uniform fighting to save lives and eventually recover bodies when possible. They, too, have suffered in unimaginable ways.
Know that this day, September 11, 2001, was like none in the history of our country, and God willing we should never know another day like it ever in our future. The days that followed pulled the people of this country together in ways we’d never experienced, even during WWII. This happened on our soil, in our house. We were wary, yes, but we also were a country of family. We BONDED together. Our music was patriotic and though flags flew at half staff there were flags everywhere showing the love we have for our country and our fellow neighbor. For a few weeks love surrounded us and protected us and if there was any hate, I don’t remember it.
So, this September 11th, remember and say prayers for the survivors as well as for those that lost their lives. And make note…..this is not a celebration, but a remembrance. We will never forget!
Posted in Perspectives, Reflections, View Point by Jason with no comments yet.
Gratitude – Thanksgiving 2020
I think we can all agree that since March 2020 this year has not been the best. Okay, it’s been awful, and that’s putting it mildly. It started out with a bang and full of hopes and goals, and then the bottom fell out with the coronavirus – COVID19. I’m not so sure that anyone thought this was going to be as devastating as it has been, or the number of people that have died around the world because of it. COVID19 became a pandemic quickly with no way to avoid it. As of this writing there is no active vaccine; in other words, you can’t just run out and be vaccinated against it as you can the ‘flu’. Vaccines are being worked on with three being very promising, but we won’t see them until next year, and between now and then hundreds of thousands more will have succumbed to it. Wearing a mask is about the only defense we have against this coronavirus, but so many people refuse to wear one for whatever reason. Despite this ravage, we have, or should I say I have a great deal to be thankful for.
Although I live alone here in Dallas, and my family is in Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida, I am so very grateful for them. My older sister, that I have only seen once in the last 25 years, and whom doesn’t talk with me now [for whatever reason]…I love her very much and miss her terribly. She has taught me a lot over the years, and we have shared a lot; our combined genealogy research found many ancestors and solved several unknowns; thanks to the internet we were able to share many places that we knew we’d never be able to go; and we shared photos that we had taken. We laughed, and cried, and commiserated with each other. I’m very grateful she’s my sister.
My three nieces, Carolyn, Wren, and Lindsay, their husbands and children, all very much a part of my life, although they, too, live far apart from me.
My friends, many of whom I consider family, not only those I have known face-to-face, but those virtual friends from around the globe. Each make a part of who I am, whom I have become, and all are important in my life.
I am grateful for all of the doctors, nurses, physical therapists, and medical technicians that have helped “fix” my body and keep me going, and those that have helped me transition to the man I have always believed myself to be.
I am also grateful for those in veterinary medicine that over the years have taken great care of my dogs; they have done so with caring and compassion.
I am grateful for those people that deliver our goods across the nation; the long haul drivers, the pilots of the skies, the train conductors, and those that deliver the mail across the country and to our mailboxes; and to those river pilots and captains of the seas that bring goods to us from overseas. Without them, our commerce would collapse and we would have none of the conveniences we enjoy today.
I am grateful for those that deliver our energy resources across the country and to those that work in the oil fields and ocean oil rigs risking their lives to bring this resource to us.
I am very grateful to a woman that over the years has not only saved my life on several occasions, but also has taught me a lot about caring, compassion, acceptance and love. Her job has definitely not been an easy one with me [at times], but she has hung in there at the worst of times and during the best of times. Without her the last 10 years I’m not sure where I would be, or if I would be at all.
I am grateful for having a roof over my head. It’s not a palace, but it is warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and is filled with love. And I have enough to eat and enough food for my dog. I have not wanted.
There is far more that I am grateful for, but I would end up writing a chapter for a book that few would want to read. And, while I believe in God, and consider myself a Christian, I am very grateful for all that God has given me and the blessings I enjoy.
I look around and see that I am rich beyond belief.
I hope that everyone has had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends, even if virtually. Blessings to you all!
Jason
Posted in Holidays, Perspectives, Reflections by Jason with no comments yet.
Who Are Those People?
After my parents died, I was left with a number of photo albums. Some of the people and places I recognized, but most I didn’t. We’re not talking photo albums from the last 40 years. We’re talking [now] about photo albums – and miscellaneous loose photos – from the last 100 years or so. You know, those black covered books with the flimsy black paper pages and the black – or white – corners that held the photos to the pages. The kind of albums you might see in museums, or that your great-grandparents had. Well, three out of four of my grandparents were born in the 1880-1890 range so a good deal of these photos were taken between 1900-1940, 1950 or so. Yeah, we’re talking OLD photo albums.
So, every now and then I sit down with these old photos and stare at them like I am just seeing them for the first time and wishing that the people in them could magically tell me their name and their age at the time the photo was taken. I have gently removed a few of them to see if there was anything printed on the back in pencil, but no, nothing there. Why oh why? I do have a photo of a woman I assume is my great-grandmother with a pencil written caption of “Suk, guess who?”. WHO??? Caption-writer, who are YOU?
And then, there are those photos with only first names on them. Okay, some of these people I kind of know from my genealogy research, but most I don’t. Were they friends? Relatives? When were these mysterious black and white photos of people and places taken? It is frustrating to know that I have hundreds of these photos to pass along to family and can only wish them luck. Other than what could have been valuable family history to pass along, they now have become something that will probably just be tossed away at some point, ending their history.
So, here we are in 2016, a century in the future from when most of these photos were taken. We are in the age of digital cameras and digital media. We go crazy posting photos online in places like Facebook, Instagram, and send them through email to family with cute little captions. Pictures of the new baby, cat, dog, house, boat, vacation, friends, co-workers, sunsets and sunrises, fun at the beach, at the fair, restaurants, etc. We think they’ll be cached for future and posterity, but how long is that? Digital doesn’t mean permanent. Any more, nothing is permanent. Especially photography; digital photography to be exact.
I print photos, those that I like a lot. Mostly of places, not of people. I am guilty of not captioning or labeling them. So, MY questions to myself sometimes are, where was this taken, and when?
So, in fifty years or so, when you might be dead and gone and digital media are left – and maybe even not playable/viewable – will your memories be lost to those who find and see them, or forever? Or will they ask, “Who ARE those people? When and where were these taken?” Or even, “Can anything on this be recovered?” While we might not want to admit it, a printed photo with a label can be invaluable to those generations after us.
[FWIW, and just as an aside, I own one tintype of some unknown man, and a glass plate with an image of my sister.]
Posted in Perspectives by Jason with no comments yet.
Faces
The irises at the end of my building have begun to bloom. Sadly, they never stay around very long, but I enjoy them while they’re here and try to get some nice photos of them. Irises are not my favorite flower – that would be tulips – but they are pretty and I enjoy taking photos of them.
I was out the other day taking photos when I suddenly noticed a fun little “oddity” in one of the ones I was photographing. It was, at least to me, somewhat amusing. I could see “faces” in the flower. At first I thought it was a trick of the light, but I took several photos and decided I was seeing faces and it was not a trick of the light. I guess these kinds of things are in the eye of the beholder because some people I have shown the photos to are not able to see the “faces”. You tell me. I have the faces in this photo pointed out with an arrow.
Posted in Nature, Perspectives by Jason with no comments yet.
Short Update
It’s been a slow, warm Summer for me. That basically means that I haven’t taken very many photos. But, I have taken some, mostly of the irises and day lilies that are in a little garden close to my apartment building. I would say they aren’t the best photos I have taken, but they are certainly not the worst, either. I wish I had a macro lens so that I could take close-ups of flowers, something I really enjoyed doing with my Canon PowerShot Pro 1 camera. But, right now, it wouldn’t matter much because it’s been breezy, which means flowers sway back and forth and capturing them in closeup is like trying to catch a rambunctious puppy: next to impossible.
However, I’ve never been the best flower photographer, so this is good practice for me. My ex-wife takes beautiful flower photos and I am envious of her abilities. Her success, though, makes me a better photographer because I try to emulate what she does while keeping with my own style. There is nothing wrong with making comparisons and then trying to emulate photos of someone you admire. There is no competition, but it makes you a better photographer, at least in my opinion.
I am looking forward to the weeks and months ahead and getting back into the swing of photography on a regular basis. For now I am just concentrating on getting my strength back. Believe it or not, holding a camera requires back muscles that you never notice until they’re cut or strained.
Posted in Perspectives by Jason with no comments yet.
Another Man’s Flower…
… could just be a thistle.
Posted in Perspectives by Jason with no comments yet.
Quote
To take photographs is to hold one’s breath when all faculties converge in the face of fleeing reality. It is at that moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy.
–Henri Cartier-Bresson
Posted in Perspectives by Jason with no comments yet.
