Povey Prattle

Zion and I left this Humane Society this afternoon, both of us grinning from ear to ear. Before we entered my home we went for a successful pee and poop walk.  Then he explored the house, checking in with me from time to time. We went out for another walk and he met Maggie who was adopted by my church friends Jesse and Bill on Thursday.  The two dogs were very chummy!   Good!

In May 2016 I was glad to attend a party at the Field Club in Sarasota for my friend Meade's 80th birthday.  It was a lovely event. As I parked I noted the number plate/tag of the car next to me. The other car. My old Hyundai ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Today I was at my Doctor's Office on Rand Boulevard (off Clark Rd), here in SRQ. When I had parked my car this is what I saw. Two Kias.  Mine is the more modest one  on the left. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 114, 116, 117. If you should happen to see 115 AHR  please call me immediately!

The procedure to insert a stent into my left Iliac artery (not the one on the right as I said yesterday) went well. The blockage was  (in the words of the Surgeon) as "hard as a stone", so it took 90 instead of 60 minutes. The surgeon is a bit of a cold fish.  His support staff are warm and friendly. I was sedated (not anesthetized) as I had to obey certain instructions during the surgery. There were a few painful episodes  (but to be sneezed at on the scale of world pain). I "comforted"myself by saying "well at least you are not giving birth to quintuplets". I had time to reflect on the fact that for these few hours I had no control over my body and my life.  My feet and lower legs were tied together  ( don't want involuntary movements during the surgery you know ) and my arms and hands secured in operating table side channels). I had no control, and I had to trust others. Post surgery I had to remain prone for two hours.  The Registered N...

At Sarasota Vascular Associates, 7:30 a.m. on what will be a cold and frosty morning. (31f forecast for Sarasota),cold by our Florida standards! It will be to insert a stent into the Iliac artery which feeds blood to my legs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The iliac artery is located just to the left side of the body of the fourth lumbar vertebra, where the abdominal aorta divides into two arteries. These again divide as they descend from the end of the aorta and each divides, between the last lumbar vertebra and the sacrum, into the external iliac artery, which supplies blood to much of the lower limbs. This is not me! My early bird neighbour Barbara will drive me to the clinic. My good pal Rick will drive me home. It's routine surgery , but I am more than a wee bit anxious. ----------------------------------------------------------------- In the meantime I got a call from the Hu...

Why does this Clinic on Hillview Street, Sarasota take my mind back to Pittsfield, MA? Those connected with St. Stephen's Parish in that City will know why!

When I 'phoned a near neighbour and she had no idea who I was until I mentioned my cat's name!

So long  to my favourite trousers.  They have been with me to the U.K., Norway, Vietnam, Ecuador and Australia.  I  would describe them as "easy on/easy off".  Now there are holes which you cannot see, and cuffs/turn-ups  in terrible and unrepairable condition. It fell to my duty to put them in the trash today. (Is holding on to old, beloved  and well worn clothes a male thing, or a human thing?) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sans a dog I've been getting my fix by lurking in the neighbourhood to greet and be sweet with other canines. I've struck out today with Seamus (Irish Terrier); Shorty (Cairn Terrier); Annie and Kate (Black Labs); Louis and Vittone (Standard Poodles), and Maggie (Schnauzer), and a gorgeous Greyhound whose name I do not know. I am shameless about this!   (My U.K. family members know that I was never a great dog lover, but the fabulous Pe...

It's Monday and a public holiday (The Revd. Dr. Martin Luther King Day).  But I keep thinking that it's Tuesday! -------------------------------------------------------------------- Spent some time ferrying an older couple to a Spine Doctor's Office. O h, how many tests the husband must undergo before he can get treatment for his severe spinal compressed fracture.  His life is miserable.  There should/could be a better way. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Got my dog fix.  Took my friends two Westies out for a pee walk (they were grateful!)  Had a love fest with my neighbour's Cairn Terrier. Roll on Saturday when (God willing and if the crick don't rise) Zion will come to live with me ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Another neighbour is grieving the loss of her cat.  She may become a foster mother to my cat Adelaide who needs more TLC than I am able to ...

The Revd. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the U.S.A. Federal, State and Local Government offices will be closed, Businesses will be open. As you meditate on the ghastly history of  denied civil rights in the U.S.A.   SING THIS SONG  OUT ALL DAY LONG wherever you are. https://youtu.be/MyS3HPInHtI If you do not know it then learn it! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note the Florida connection.  Florida was a Slave State and a Jim Crow State. (jmp) Lift Every Voice and Sing  Many people are surprised to learn that "Lift Every Voice and Sing" was first written as a poem. Created by James Weldon Johnson, it was performed for the first time by 500 school children in celebration of President Lincoln's Birthday on February 12, 1900 in Jacksonville, FL. The poem was set to music by Johnson's brother, John Rosamond Johnson, and soon ado...