Creek Running North

w00t!

In early 1994, both of my Collies were diagnosed with canine lymphosarcoma (diagnosis was 4 weeks apart).  Yeah, it was a freakish thing and the vet oncologist who took the case had never seen anything like that before.  I was about 4 months away from finishing my graduate degree.  I did manage to finish up some papers from home, but told my profs they wouldn’t be seeing much of me again - probably ever.  My mother came out and stayed with my dogs the few times I had to make a trip to the university.  Luckily, I did actually get finished up with the help of some understanding profs (special people) who made that possible.  Both of my dogs died later that spring.  Looking back, I’d do the same thing over.  Had to be done.  No doubt, others might see things differently, but not me. So, yup, I understand.

And may the next phase of your life be wonderful. Good for you.

A man with his priorities in good order.

Could you please fuck up, just once, sometime soon, just to establish your fallibility? Thank you.

Wow.  Quitting long-term jobs isn’t easy.  I admire your guts.

I myself told the English department at NCSU that I’ve decided not to teach next fall. Scary but necessary. Forward into the breach, dear friend. And Zeke, too.

Alriiiiight, Chris!

Coming up on 3 months since I quit my job, and I’m a month away from finishing my second book. I expect to get a total of three written before the end of this year.

No idea whether they’ll sell, but ... hey, I’ve had a total of $130 in freelance income since I quit, so confidence is high.

Seriously: Best of luck, Chris. May you experience an incredibly transformative life-moment.

(And if, sometime in the next few months, you find yourself sitting on the sofa in the middle of the day drinking Brown Derby beer, covered in neon-orange Cheetos dust, watching I Love Lucy reruns and thinking how hot Ethyl Mertz looks, call me and I’ll fly out with the flails and get you back on track.)

your love and care for Zeke are moving - may the transition be as comfortable as possible for both of you at this time.

Well, yes, of course.  And if your boss is as good a person as my Dean is, he/she will just chuck your resignation, say “hang in there with Zeke,” and go on with business.  If not, then there’s not much point in being subservient to lesser life forms, is there?

Hang in there with Zeke; but I know you will.

Zeke has one helluva dad.  Wish we all had one like you.  Sheila

aww, zeke.  such a good dog, such a lucky dog.

oh, chris.  somehow, i had the idea you might have been aiming in this work direction.  first things first—much love to zeke.  i hope it all works out well for you over time, and know it is virtually impossible to think far ahead when one’s family is in crisis.

Bless you all.

god speed to both of you.  brave souls.

Well, don’t keep us in suspense: Did your boss accept it?

And if your boss is as good a person as my Dean is, he/she will just chuck your resignation, say “hang in there with Zeke,� and go on with business.

That’s not far off, Sherwood. We’re going to talk in a couple days to see if I still mean it.

Which I will, assuming Zeke doesn’t make everything moot in the next 48 hours, and I doubt he will. He ate an In-N-Out Burger tonight, which usually keeps his will to live turned up to 11 for a few days afterward.

Oh, hi Auguste. Didn’t see you standing at the terminal.

Chris wrote:

“[Zeke] ate an In-N-Out Burger tonight, which usually keeps his will to live turned up to 11 for a few days afterward.”

Keeps mine turned up, fo’ sure.

Did you see this from Mike Peterson’s blog entry about the death of his lab, Nellie?:

“Nellie’s breeder had the right prescription: Lots of steak, ice cream, pepperoni and love, for as long as she was okay.

“So for the past eight weeks, I have spoiled the girl with extra treats and extra affection. And there’s nobody I’d rather spoil like that, because she was absolutely appreciative—she always enjoyed snuggling in under the quilt and watching a football game, or going along for a car ride, even if it was just to the corner store for milk.”

My old mutt, Kelsey, is getting so many extra hugs and squeezes these days that he’s going absolutely neurotic.

You go, Zeke, you go big guy.  We who have never touched you have been touched by you, you bet.

Oh, Chris… I’ve been out of the loop and just heard about Zeke. Much love, hope and good energy coming your way from New Brunswick, Canada…

As for leaving your work to care for him, you will be - no, sir, you ARE - a God in the Animals’ Pantheon…

ronnie

‘Bout time. And, Huzzah!

(o)

(Yeah, I know these things are a tad annoying, but I don’t have something specific to say that hasn’t been said, and just wanted to let you know I’d been here.)

Your/our gain, Earth Island’s loss, if you actually depart.  Although I’m sure Kat is fully able to step into your over-sized shoes.  Pity, I was just going to send you some info and an inflammatory “unbiased” analysis of the Oregon salvage logging controversy a year after the Donato Science paper firestorm, to see if Earth Island would be willing to take on the topic and offer a rebuttal.  If you’re interested, let me know - I’ll help as possible.  May you enjoy your uninterrupted days with Zeke to the fullest.

Fred, if you do send the file, be sure to call it EarthIslandJournal.doc

Fred, Kat would indeed be utterly qualified to take my job. Sadly, she has left the building.

congrats! woo!

per In & Out burgers, and the canine pleasure in partaking thereof (?grammar??  eh, fuck it): o yes.  they also have those lovely outdoor tables.

while ( zeke )
{
hooray();
scratch_head();
feed(treats++) USING hands();
ignore(busywork);
ignore(busybodies);
ignore(blog-trolls);
}
Loop (repeat) indefinitely.