It was a spooky, rainy weekend here in New England. I took this photo of my house the other night. See all the rain spots on the lens? Or are they actually ghostly orbs?
Devin is working on her college applications and last night she made the mistake of telling me the topic of one of her essays. It was something like: If you had to come up with a title that would describe your life up until now, what would it be?
Devin joked that she was considering calling her life Of Mice and Bats.
This got me started. I wanted to help. ”How about The Beautiful and Damned?” I offered.
“No,”
“A Little Princess!”
“Mom!”
“The Scarlet Letter!”
“Okay, stop, I really don’t need your help.”
“The Bad Seed!”
“I’m going upstairs now.”
“Psycho! The Creature From the Black Lagooon! Apocolypse Now”
Silence.
“The Thing!”
What will she do without me next year?
I mentioned in a recent comment that Batman dropped by last week. I wasn’t here, but when I arrived home, the guys working on my bathroom told me he had been there all afternoon and had rigged up some contraptions that would rid the house of bats for good. I hadn’t noticed any contraptions, so I went back outside and saw what he had done.
Oh Batman! Dear, sweet, misguided Batman!
Morning Ann,
I think I would have missed those too. Actually, in the second picture, it looks a bit like he hung a Santa from the eaves. I hope what he has done is effective, but it seems a little like putting a fake owl on the house to keep away the unwanted critters. Many a time I have seen the unwanteds sitting right beside the owl!
But, what do I know….. my claim to fame is getting rid of the Canada Geese on our property.
Poor Devin! lololol The Bad Seed? Really???? hehehe
What on earth are those things? How are they supposed to stop the bats? Unless they emit some sort of signal. I though he was supposed to seal the entrances up while they were out during the day.
I’m telling you, Denis needs to talk to the bat expert when he’s on Conan this week!
Ann, this being Halloween week, I have a rather interesting video to show. I didn’t find this upsetting at all, some may (it does have photos of dead bodies), but beautifully done with a lovely piece of music.
All are warned either don’t open or don’t continue if you find it objectionable.
It’s called Death and the Victorians.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ma4qEq9_28&feature=related
I just checked it and it isn’t pornography
Okay, Annie, that was unbelievably creepy.
Here’s something scary I found on YouTube. A director was shooting an ad for a car commercial in the UK. WHen he looked at the footage, he noticed something….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b853h1ocEhM
Actually, I just laughed, which wasn’t the reaction he was going for. Fun!
am asking for your opinions on this future endeavor.
in 3-4 years my husband and i will be at a place in our lives where we are hoping to give back.
i contribute to women for women international. a charity that matches a women to a sister in an other country that needs help with her life and education.
it cost me about 35$. pe rmonth. i received a package, photo, bio etc on my matched sister in congo.
my son in law being a vet , i often hear about seniors who must give up their pets or sacrifice their own meds or even groceries to medically care for their pets, or they must give them up, euthanize them sooner than truly necessary.
our tibetan mastiff at the age of 30 months was diagnosed with hip dysplasia, medication only goes so far. now after about 8000.$ of surgery and rehab she is good as new. easy for us, we can pay. we are very lucky but had we not had the means i think about now at the age of four we would have to consider putting her down. she had become in constant difficult to manage pain. the surgeon said;” medication has brought her this far, now it’s time.”
we are thinking of providing the funding, being major patrons to set up a foundation that would match wealthier pet owner to a senior who is having a hard time paying for their beloved pet’s medical care, perhaps one could ” adopt”/agree to pay for pet insurance for one year for a matched senior and their pet. ……..or there are many options.
we all know what a pet can mean to a senior and how having a animal to care for often keeps a senior healthier, happier and perhaps away from a retirement home for a few extra years.
Ladies what is your opinion on such a project?
thank you,
elise
gladwyne pa.
Elise, I think it’s a great idea! When we had Lulu’s second hip surgery, I asked the vet how people with lower incomes handle bills such as these. He told me that sometimes they will waive the fee, if the situation is dire. WHen I was just out of college, Denis and I had a dog that became very ill and was treated at Angell Memorial, a famous veterinary hospital in Boston. We had no money so they worked out a payment schedule and it took over a year to pay off the bill. I think smaller practices would have a hard time working out a payment plan and even if they could, many elderly can’t spare a dime these days. I love your idea.
When I’m in the city, I often notice seniors out walking their old dogs and I am so glad for them that they have their pet to encourage them to get out of the house and have that walk each day.
Elise, that is a beautiful idea! Especially in these times too many people, seniors included, have to give up their pets due to medical bills. I think you are wonderful for thinking of such an idea.
Hey, you’re not far from me! I live in western Bucks county. lolol
I think it’s a lovely idea, as well, Elise! I don’t know what my grandfather would have done without his little dog during the years after my grandmother passed away. It breaks my heart to think of other seniors not being able to enjoy that companionship. Keep us posted on how we can help!
First off, It’s nice to know I’m not the only one on the planet that was getting the rolled eyes this weekend. My son’s in the middle of essays also. I was being clever, (or so I thought) with great opening lines. Nick is a science/math/polysci guy and hates writing about himself, anything personal. Nuclear toilets, he’s chatty cathy. Thank goodness most of my hair is grey. We spend our lives teaching our kids to turn their vision outward, away from themselves. Less “I”, more ‘you or them’. Now, the most critical turn in their lives and we want them to write only about themselves, their opinions, how things affect them, them them. THis is going to get interesting.
Elise, you have a wonderful idea and a big heart. We have a senior on our block who is in that position. She takes in older rescue dogs. One at a time. This time around the dog became diabetic. She can’t afford the meds. So as a result Molly is going blind. My dog trainer and I are working with her kids and vet to see what can be worked out. (see, there isn’t any foundation or place for her to go) I suspect the kids won’t or can’t pay either. Those dogs are the one thing that keep that 84 year old in her own home. A high percentage of pets that get surrendered are from seniors. And they never get adopted because they are old with ailments. There is also a husband and wife team in our area that collects pet food, then they get a list from the senior center for low income seniors with pets. Good luck.
Elise, it’s a great idea! I wish some young, wealthy people (you hear me, Paris Hilton??) would do the same for families with pets. It’s horrible for a child to lose a pet — very traumatic.
I think I’ve mentioned I’ve worked for vets on and off since high school. Never on the tech side, always the receptionist, then office manager side. It’s almost impossible these days to find a vet who will take payments.
I once worked as the office manager for the most evil vet, if the person couldn’t pay their bill and according to FL law, he would keep that pet until they either paid the bill or after 30 days he would euthanize the pet. And he then made the bills even bigger by adding on boarding for the nights the pets had to stay until the owner could pay. And he was such a bully, didn’t have the balls to tell the owner any of this, it was my job. I lasted 11 months thinking surely I can get this man under control and make him see the pain he’s inflicting on families, but in the end I just couldn’t get through to him.
It’s been years since I’ve worked for a vet, but I think it’s still available — there’s a credit card specifically for vet bills called Care Credit. Unfortunately, the rate of approval is about 10 declines to 1 approval.
Okay, Maureen wins the most evil former boss contest, hands down. Elise, if you start a non-profit organization for this cause, I’ll underwrite the cost of setting up a website where people can donate.
It looks like there is salami hanging from your roof. Possible bat pellant? Also reminded me of Santa.
Love the pup photos – do you think Denis might break?
Great idea Elise!
Ann, 27 things (just kidding, only 6 this time):
1. “Of Mice and Bats” – Devin is hilarious!
2. How are those red birdfeeders going to get rid of your bats?
3. Creepy video link #1 – I am soooo getting cremated!
4. Creepy video link #2 – I am the most gullible person on the planet, so I turned my volume waaaay up and almost had a heart attack. Thanks for that.
5. I work with seniors and so many of them have pets. These pets give their days meaning and structure (pets have to be walked and fed, etc.) One of our ladies (Christa) recently had to put her cat down, as the cat was extremely old, ill and in pain. I don’t know if Christa will recover. It breaks my heart.
6. I’m totally in on donating to Elise’s idea! (And, Ann, you’re a gem to underwrite the cost of setting up the website for donations.)
Catherine
Yeah, he was evil. But after other vets around the area heard I lasted 11 months with him (I guess the record before me was 4 months) AND they heard that I worked up until the day my water broke AND that I stayed to finish payroll AND that I returned to work 2 weeks after a C-Section, I had a great little business going as a consultant to animal hospitals all around the county teaching them how to put training programs in place, how to comply with OSHA, how to get AAHA certified and things like that.
And then I got to work with some of the best vets around. There was one hospital just opening up that was a co-op, all different specialties including cancer treatments for dogs and cats. There was one vet who wanted to start the first dog park in the city and I went to all the board meetings and got the petitions signed and that park is still there today.
So, yes, he was a giant weenie, but I got to do a lot of work with good vets after that. And, my daughter was an infant, so I could pretty much make my own schedule which was so wonderful b/c my husband worked out of town all week.
Elise, what a great idea! I know my life would be very different and empty (yes, kids and hubby, I still love you too!) if I didn’t have my four cats (I’m sure all the other pet lovers would agree). They really add joy to our lives, so I can’t imagine how devastating it must be for elderly people to give up the one thing in their daily life that they love so they can eat and have their medications. I love the little bat houses-they look like feeding stations for the bats!
What are those things he hung up?
Are they signs that say occupancy full
Not taking new members.
How odd?
Elise—what a wonderful idea !! Pets and seniors are perfect together. You’re right for all the reasons you mentioned. And such a wealth of ideas and support right here. Let us know how we can help and I’d bet we would all do what we can……keep us posted. Barbara
That video scared the bejesus out of me! I don’t dare watch the one with the dead people. So much for a quiet night with a good book. I’ll need an EKG tomorrow.
lol@Aislinn! I, too, about had heart failure – ha.
I just had to put my 18-yr-old cat to sleep yesterday. She had failing health, but then had a stroke and there was nothing else that could be done for her. I would love to take the money I used to spend each month on her meds, etc. and donate it in her memory. She gave us such joy over her life, and I want to make sure that others can continue to enjoy their pets as long as they’re still on this earth to be cared for.
Such a lovely, caring idea, Elise.
ann and ladies,
i cannot tell you how it warms my heart and confirms what i have been thinking.
let me get back to you all and keep you posted.
i was really thinking of starting this with our own money and that is not for 3-4 years.
my daughter and son in law are here for dinner so can’t write any longer tonight but i will keep everyone posted. i will speak with a good girlfriend of mine who is a dog lover and a partner in a major law firm here in philadelphia and see what the first steps to such an endeavor are. for all you to know i am a retired architect from montreal, remarried a number of years ago to the most extraordinary human being in the world we live on “the main line” with our five dogs and if my english is sometimes a little surprising it is because i am french canadian and english is my second language.
mille mercis mesdames,
elise
elise-
i’m on board, too! i absolutely love your idea! i can’t imagine giving our pets up and my heart breaks for people who have to. our shelter has so many animals being dropped off due to job loss, foreclosure, financial constraints, etc. it’s devastating at any age, for seniors especially.
lolol Aislinn! I didn’t watch either because I’m a big wimp. I don’t like anything scary.
Once again, I am late! Elise, what a wonderful idea! I love things that are hands on in what can be a busy, impersonal world! Kudos to you and Ann!Please, please keep us posted, okay?
The Bad Seed — very funny. That movie always gives me the creeps . . . like “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane”, and “Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte” — man, those were scary movies — I remember as a very young child, “Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte” was a sort of pop song we would sing, but we always knew the menace behind it — I’m getting chill bumps as I write this. “Death and the Victorians” — wow, how was that woman who died in 1820 still so well preserved? What genius embalmed her? I am really very squeamish — I can’t watch any hospital, trauma, plastic surgery, or CSI type shows — but a work experience has somewhat helped me dealing with death and the decomposition process. I used to work for a law firm that represented plaintiffs in the Tri-State crematory class action. Brent Marsh of the Tri-State crematory in Georgia basically just stopped performing cremations (his dad’s health was failing, and he never wanted to run the business), and chose instead to litter the grounds with the bodies. The GBI (Georgia Bureau of Investigation) found over 300 bodies in varying stages of decomposition, and documented the victims in photographs. Before we went to trial, I was given the assignment to identify the remains of the decedents of our clients. I had to go through thousands of the most grisly photographs you could imagine to get the trial exhibits. I told the lawyers that they could never show these photographs in a courtroom, unless they wanted people screaming, crying, passing out, and puking (like a bad sweat lodge, or an Ann Leary book reading — you’re TOO much, Ann!), and thankfully they took my advice. Still, the damage to my brain was done — still I think very kindly of these people — and kinda like the beginning of “Our Town” I think these human remains still have a sort of life (or at the least history and dignity) about them.
goodmorning everyone,
i have been thinking a large part of the night.
i want to go forward with the project, and it may be possible but here is the situation;
i don’t know how feasible it is for me to try to set this up now as my husband and i had originally thought of setting up a foundation with our own money, and that is only in 3-4 years. my husband is a lawyer and would have dealt with the administration and setting up of the foundation, he is a busy man trying to get his company in a good position so he may sell it well in 3-4 years. i can certainly try to raise seed money for the organization. it would no longer be a fund….i have to find the funds!
i will need to incorporate, get tax exempt status, non profit etc, i would need to recruit prominent/celebrated board members etc. this is all quite different than just paying ourselves to get things started and rolling and fill the cofffers etc. i have written ann an email with more details. if i/we do decide to give it a try now i will all keep u posted, get on facebook, skype.
am happy to read your thoughts, suggestions.
and again thank you so very much , i just wanted to test the waters on this idea i have been harboring for a moment. your support is inspiring.
elise
[email protected]