The “Pit” is Starting to Show

           Pit Bulls have always had a bad reputation for being vicious dogs.  Any dog can become vicious if neglected or abused – which Bonnie is not.  She is the sweetest dog – at least to humans.  I have seen a side of her that lives up to the name of a female dog.

 

          Levi is the name of the man who has built our deck and back room.  He has a dog named Roxy – also sweet and probably kind of dumb like Bonnie.  Unlike Bonnie – who is quite overweight – Roxy is skin and bones.  She does look like she hasn’t had a good meal for a while – but she also has little interest in eating or playing with dog toys.  She would like affection and loves to chase the chickens. Bonnie, on the other hand, seemed intimidated by the mass amount of chickens that used to come into our yard.  Now she decided that she can not only chase the chickens but catch them in her teeth. 

          The chickens used to follow her.  Now they run from her – with good reason.  She has killed one chicken which I buried because I didn’t want Bonnie to end up choking on her bones.  That would be cruel irony, wouldn’t it? 

          Today she went after Mitch and Cheryl but I held her back.  I really would not miss Mitch’s pathetic attempts at crowing but not at the expense of having his corpse in my yard at the hand (bite) of our dog.  But then again, the chickens should have never been allowed to roam into our yard in the first place. 

          Bonnie has an itch that she can’t seem to locate.  She moves her head back and forth and makes growling sounds as though she is getting ready to attack.  The problem comes and goes.  I remember her bobbing her head from side to side when we first got her.  But I don’t recall her growling until recently. 

          Still loves to take walks and yearns for human affection from everyone.  But she doesn’t want to share that attention with any female dogs – though another male dog is okay.  I don’t want her killing cats or chickens or earning the reputation of the stereotyped pit.  She really is a sweet dog.  Wags her tail.  Cleans the floor.  Pulls on her leash.  Fast and heavy.

Be Prepared . . . Perhaps

When the “Come Follow Me” program was introduced at the same time as two hour meetings, we were told to use the third hour to study at home.  We were also told that we wanted to develop the habit for one day when we were unable to attend church meetings for whatever reason.  None of us had predicted this soon however.

We had cancelled our last RS activity due to the weather and decided to cancel our upcoming as well.  We had made the decision before the church announced NO MORE MEETINGS until further notice (here). Only seminary will be held unless the schools shut.  But as of now only seminary is the only meeting that will be held at the ward house.  No others.  Not even sacrament meeting. 

Why do people panic instead of remaining calm?  Why do so many always expect the worse.  Instead of viewing the police car at the high school as “Oh, good.  They are keeping my child safe” a parent may panic and demand, “What is going on?” or a fire truck at the elementary . . . of course Roland is looking at this with a business mind and political gain.  I seriously doubt the church is in it for either of those.  And it always takes much longer for the world to catch up to what God has warned us about all along.

Some are eye rollers and don’t understand the severity – or don’t want to.  Closing our eyes to what’s happening won’t make it go away.  When a sporting event is cancelled, then I know that it’s serious.  They haven’t cancelled the schools as of yet, but have limited to school only – no parent teacher conferences, no assemblies, no athletic or performing art events.  Today the air raids have been going off all day. 

We have “bug out” bags located next to our door.  Over the years we have added, borrowed and changed items but have never had to use for intended purpose.  Even now.  We won’t be “bugging out”, we will be staying in.  Hopefully with the benefits of electrical communication and running water.  We won’t stay marooned.  Jenna and I will go to the park or elsewhere if school is cancelled.  Hang out in the fresh air.  It will still be fresh air? 

I came to Oregon, not just to add years to my life, but decades.  I intend to claim them. 

Death happens

                Death is inevitable.  It's bound to happen to all of us at one time or another.  Some deaths are more expected than others though it seems to come as a surprise to most.  Such was the case of Dottie,  who was part of the water fitness class.  She didn't go out with our group often when we'd meet at the coffee shop or bakery but had been there a few times including the last when the group had gone to a new cafe for morning breakfast.

        Dottie had given Carolyn her cell phone number and would occasionally make phone calls just before class to find out if she was coming.  Carolyn didn't know her last name.  It didn't appear that any of us did.  When she asked, I wondered and so the news did not surprise me nor affect me the same way as it had Carolyn who had been teaching at a school - I would guess Canyonville as it is her favorite.  She received confirmation about the obituary she'd seen.  She took it hard and started crying and asked to leave her position.

        I liked Dottie.  She was always pleasant and sincere with paying compliments.  I did not have the same sentimental attachment as Carolyn did.  I don't mean to appear callous or unfeeling but my reaction to Dottie's death wasn't any less than it was to Jeanie's or my mom or my dad.  Death happens.  Not everybody has the same reaction to it.  Carolyn and I, for instance, have two very different ways of understanding death.  I don't see it as the final stage of life.  There is a life beyond this planet.  When we leave this mortal existence, we will be reunited with others who have already passed.  But she seems to view death as the absolute end to existence.  But why?  What would be the point of how we live if it all comes to end and all that is left of us is memories for some?   There's got to be a purpose for our existence.

        I remember when Joh's father died, he tried to explain to Corey about "Day of the Dead"; in turn, he tried to explain it to me, though I know I didn't fully get it.  Since Disney's release of "COCO" I'm certain I have a better understanding and appreciation.  It's just one example of life after death.  I don't buy into the floating on clouds and playing harps bit.  I do believe in a greater life after this one.  I do believe that the way we live here on earth will determine our rewards in the hereafter.  Death happens.

Four Areas to Acheive

          I post about my classes as because it is part of my current life.  Although the class was last mod, it still affects me, and I didn't have time to post last month as I may have this month.  I had two classes last mod, but don't generally post about my assignments or discussions in accounting.  They're boring.  Even my instructor said they were boring.  That made me laugh.  The subject of accounting is so one dimensional.  Answers have to be exact.  Everything is black and white.  Blah, blah, blah . . .

          Critical thinking, on the other hand, teaches aspects of human behavior and the way our minds work.  There isn't right and wrong in the same sense as accounting.  Not everything is black and white as with math.  Not only is there a huge variety of grey shades, but huge explosions of many colors.  Perhaps I should have gone into journalism . . .

          I've shared a bit of my assignments and discussions from my critical thinking and feel the desire to share more as there is always more than one side to the story or situation and I need to learn how to accept both (or all) side.

          Roland was getting on my case for not posting to the discussion board first thing on Monday morning, but we had specifically been told NOT to post until after we had received further instructions in the lecture itself.  The first week's discussion was to define critical thinking and include examples of how we think in various settings such as social, political, environmental and religious, which are most important and why.  This is what I posted to my first discussion:

"My husband and I have different opinions on practically everything except possibly religion, and even there we are in two different stages of understanding or development.  Let me give you some examples of how we vary.

"Economically:    When we lived in Salt Lake, we always had a tremendous amount of garbage to fill our cans each week.  The sanitation program in the area had recently sent around flyers to introduce a recycling program, and we could pay to have a recycling can for about the third of another garbage can. 

"I accepted offer believing that I was helping the economy in addition to having more room for whatever I was disposing of.  Problem is the men in my household refused to learn to sort - which is more crucial now that we live in Oregon than we did in Salt Lake.

"I view that recycling helps create jobs;  my husband looks at recycling as more cost to us both financially and time-consuming.

"Politically:         I have always had a problem with the media's interference announcing the outcome of an election before everyone on the west coast has even had a chance to vote;  some voters get cocky thinking their candidate is going to win as it was announced and may not even bother going to the polls.  The media is not always a reliable source and sometimes the cockiness has cost those who didn't vote because they believed they had it in the bag [I think the results of this last Presidential Election for example]

"Socially:   Salt Lake felt like it was all about business and growing.  No one could leave the house without marketing being thrown in our faces.  Life depended on gain.

"Here, in the part of Oregon where I currently reside, they have no clue what marketing is.  They have social events to bring the community together - not necessarily to raise money.  We're a close-knit community. I prefer the simplicity.  My husband likes the complex.  I Hate competition.  He sees it as necessary.

"Religion:    The population of the area I currently reside is less than 3500 and yet there are 17 denominations of faith. It's good to have a place to meet and share Christian beliefs (or what have you) but there are certain sectors that are ousted by others.  For example, we recently asked to use one of the rooms in the LDS church we attend; we needed space to host my daughter's birthday party as there were several friends that she wanted to invite - more than our house would hold;  we needed a larger space but without a large cost.  Some of the kids she had invited couldn't come because their parents didn't want for them to be in an LDS church specifically.

"I think the most important issue to me is how we interact with one another and how we're accepted.  I love the friendships I have made within this community.  I am not suspicious of people as I was in Salt Lake - often wondering what a person wanted from me or what he/she was trying to sell.  I like having friends who are interested in real friendships and not just what I can do for their business or political career."