It’s a beautiful day here in Philadelphia. It’s a shame that the real BooMan is missing it. I went to the store a little while ago and it was strange not to have to tell him that I would be right back. Oh well, I’ll get used to my new freedom of movement sometime soon. It does have its upside. Still, it’s a little lonely to not have his Newfness around to demand his due.
About The Author
BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
Oh, I get sad again every time I hear about it. 🙁
I have some semi-positive pet news, my deformed kitten actually stood up straight for a few seconds yesterday. His rib cage didn’t form correctly, instead of being shaped like a barrel the ribs sort of splay out away from the body so he can’t get his back legs underneath him easily. He was born April 8th and he still drags his back feet behind him like a 2-week old, but I have some hope now that he will at least be able to walk somewhat normally when he grows up. He didn’t actually walk once he was upright, but standing on his own is huge progress.
I’m glad to hear that your kitty is doing so much better! 🙂
Very much better, the vet saw him at two weeks and was surprised he had lived that long. I guess he still might not make it but he looks as healthy as the others.
I was thinking about the real Booman today and how much you must miss him. It’s so hard to part with a beloved companion, but I do feel that his incredible spirit has become part of this website, and now that spirit is even stronger. I know that when Fitzmas finally comes the real Booman will be jumping around and frisking and wagging his tail just like the rest of us!!
Yes, definitely!
You’ll get used to the strangeness but you’ll never forget him. And that’s as it should be. I hope you are finding some enjoyment in the beauty of the day.
Me, I have a collapsed lifter ;o)
In my small block :o) But when I went to the auto parts store and asked for a new set, the kid behind the counter gave me a dumb, blank stare. Step aside kid, let me talk to the old guy over there, I said. Bubble burster that I am.
Anyway, I couldn’t get what I needed today, so I’m making the best of it with some cold beer to go along with the stellar weather here in NY. I think I’ll pull through somehow ;o)
Hey super. If they are hydraulic lifters, try pouring a little of ATF in the engine. 90% of the time it will loosen it up. :-)(about a quarter to a third of a quart)
Thanks Cruz, but I’ve already torn it down. The bad lifter has a hole worn in the bottom of it, so it’s shot. Good thing I didn’t mess up the cam too. It’s Sunday, so parts like lifters are kinda hard to find.
I’ll keep your advice in mind. Always good to learn little tricks.
Thanks
Do it when the valves are noisy, and to clean the engine. Let it run for about 15 minutes and then do an oil change (ATF eats carbon and plastic, so if you keep it in the engine for a long time, it will damage the seals. But for a short time it is ok)
If you need further advise let me know.
More Corporate Scrutiny Needed
Got to hang out with the grandleezy last night and this morning. Always fun when it is just the two of us. We’re real buds. Love her madly!
Cubs lost last night in the tenthinning. Back to calling them the flubs! Carry on children!
Dear Boo,
I was mentored upon the full and complete elegance of Mammalian Wisdom by my true friend and loyal companion … Tess, a Golden Retriever. I was at times a lazy and inattentive acolyte. Still .. some stuff stuck.
Tess instructed me upon the priceless art of …’ self rememberance ‘ … of how to get out of my head and back to living in this particular unfolding moment …safe .. within my body …and to go ahead and breathe full from my deep belly and fart whenever I wanted.
Tess taught me to listen with open ears and open mind to the farthest away sound I could while at the same time hearing the wind rustle the rose bush up under our bedroom window in the middle of the night.
She taught me that everyone is our best friend until they prove elsewise.
A year ago Tess developed a brain tumor. I tried to nurse her as best I could but it got bad for her and I had lay down on the floor and cuddle her while the vet gave her the injection that slid her into the forever darkness we have named so many things yet no so little.
I whispered in her ear how much I loved her and told her that her body was all worn out but that mine was ok for now so .. ‘Come ‘ … one last time … ‘Come… into me .. into my body/mind’.
At night … when I get up to go pee in the dark … I still step over her.
I love you and your tender heart Booman … the way I love Tess … cause I feel the way you love your dog .. is the same way you love all life .. embracing all of us who visit here.
And that’s why I come.
There is much wisdom in what you wrote… for I have always believed as well that the “training” that goes on between human and dog works on both sides of the equation. They train us, while we think we are training them, and if the process works smoothly, both sides achieve what they need.
I also believe that they never truly leave us, and do come back to visit, if only in our dreams or in our hearts. I lost my dear Coco in 1995 and keep her ashes in my study here, where the room is infused with her noble spirit of patience, wisdom and cheerful fun. No wonder, then, that our present dogs love spending so much time in here snoozing, watching over me, pestering me… Coco watches over us too.
I know what you mean about feeling Tess is there in the middle of the night when you get up… though Pepa usually sleeps at the foot of the bed, resting her head on my ankles, I often wake during the night and think that Coco is there as well. That was one of her favorite places to sleep… and I know she gave Pepa wisdom before she passed on… so they do live with us forever.
Thank you for posting such a heartfelt remembrance of Tess. I was moved to tears … but the good kind, those that remind us of why animals matter so much in our lives.
Kind words Iowa Victory Gardener…. thank you.
I suppose in the same beautiful way … becoming parents of a child allows one to see each of the all the whole world’s children .. each … as our very own blood … all the dogs we meet .. too … is our dear one. Indeed … the best teachers tell us .. we are mothers to each other and to all that lives.
These words that gather in kindly blogs(bogs?) like this refuge of Booman’s .. are resvoirs of good will .. pools of well wishing. The energy does not disolve when we turn to a new thread .. or focus on fresh news. Drop by drop … we fill our hearts.
We come like shy deer …out of the self-bound forest here to the edge of Booman’s pond .. to quench a deeper thirst .. to play and cry and learn to know what it might be for us become the healthy functioning and fruitful human family we remember in our best dreams.
I think your victory garden must be large enough to nurture all who are hungry. Thanks for inviting me to your table.
BooMan, we’ll keep you nice and busy.
.
Bangkok (AP) May 7 — BREAKING NEWS — The Constitutional Court on Monday annulled Thailand’s parliamentary elections last month and ordered fresh polls in a bid to end the country’s months-long political crisis.
“The organization of the election by the Election Commission was unconstitutional,” court spokesman Paiboon Warahapaithoon said in a televised news conference called to announce the judges’ ruling.
The court’s 14 judges voted 8 to 6 to invalidate the April 2 elections based on a lawsuit filed by academics who claimed the commission acted too hastily in organizing the polls, and that they were unfair.
In a separate vote, the court ruled 9 to 5 in favor of holding new elections, Paiboon said. A date for the new elections would be set after consultations between the court and the commission.
The widely expected ruling came after the nation’s revered monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, sternly suggested last month that the top courts find a way out of what he called the country’s political “mess”.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY
Aarrgghhhh. Rotten shitty luck, that’s for sure. What an irony, as you point out– beautiful weather, but a heavy heart. I’m really sorry for you (and Mrs. Boo, too).
I’m also sorry that you weren’t able (for obvious reasons) to make it to our meet and greet fundraiser for Joe Sestak, our great congressional candidate in PA-07. We had a great time, good turnout, beautiful weather, and I think he really connected with those who attended. I am increasingly optimistic about our chances in this race, which would truly be significant nationally– this has long been considered an ultra-safe district for the Repugs, but the tide is turning, my friends, the tide is turning…
Thanks, bud. Sorry I missed the get together. You’ll have to tell me about how it went.