Pup Talk, Nine Years Ago, and a Cause for Concern?
Oscar and Rudy continue to dominate our home life with their antics and love. They've been with us for nine weeks (today!), and they're thriving in their new environment. A few days ago, I saw a meme that said, "Treat your rescue pup so well that they forget about the abuse they suffered in their previous home." And that's precisely what we're doing.
They appear to be responding to their new names, and we're still working on potty training, which has been more difficult for them. We'll get there.
Today marks nine years since I retired. September 3rd, 2015, was the most emotion-filled day of my life for several reasons.
Last Friday, we met Rachel, Drew, Cliff, and Drew's mother, Jenny, at the state fair. We couldn't have picked a better day weather-wise, but with that nice weather came record-breaking crowds! We had to skip a few longer lines because they were more than an hour long, and whatever awaited us at the end of the line wasn't worth that kind of wait.
We left the pups with the folks at Puppy Play N Stay and were delighted to hear that Rudy came out of his shell this visit. They told us he met a new friend, and they spent most of the day together playing and running around the facility's play area. He was so tired when we got them home. I smiled at our zonked-out Rudy — it was evident he'd had a fun day! When we left them there a month ago, Rudy was shy and stuck close by Oscar's side or leaned against a wall while observing the others. It's nice to get them used to a kennel where they know we're returning for them and they're not being abandoned again.
It's become clear that Trump lacks an appealing vision for the country that can entice voters to vote for him (say nothing of his declining mental state). Project 2025 is an appalling vision and should concern anyone considering voting for Trump. And yes, despite his protests that he knows nothing about the authoritarian takeover plan, the people who wrote it have close ties to his campaign. In many cases, they were former members of his administration.
Rachel Maddow has been shining a light on what appears to be a coordinated effort by Trump and his loyalists to interfere in the upcoming election. While she doesn't say this in the video, it seems the Republican plan is to create so much chaos in the counting and certifying of the votes in battleground states that those electoral votes can't be assigned, leaving no clear winner of 270 electoral votes needed to secure the win, thereby sending it to congress as a contingent election where Trump will prevail. It seems outlandish, but why else would they do what they're doing? From all I've read, we have safeguards to prevent this chicanery. Still, I can't help but feel a little unsettled that one of our two main political parties appears to have thrown in the towel on continuing our grand experiment — our form of democracy.
I'm still contending with patellar tendonitis in both knees. Usually, regular riding helps mitigate knee pain for me, but that's not the case with tendonitis — it exacerbates it and slows healing. It's been a frustrating and disappointing year of riding for me, but fortunately, I also have other interests, namely golf.
The Zoom(ie) session in the video below was from a few mornings ago and shows part of how we begin each day. It brings a smile to my face to see them so happy. They're loved and living their best lives!
That's all I've got.
Comments