CAN

“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.”

DAVID PAINE

David Blaine,

Unless you are going to showcase your ability to fly, time travel or dodge bullets, GIVE IT A REST. No one gives a crap if you can hang upside down for 60 hours over Central Park. Moreover, if your little trick involves a catheter PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE keep it on the D.L. I mean aren't you an illusionist? Do something cool and quit trying to kill you damnself.

Grace Calvert

TAKE A HIKE, IKE!

I am so very thankful that my IBCs (Islanders By Choice) and BOIs (Born On the Island) are safe but I am worried about their homes. I am worried about 1007 Ball Street and The Spot and Pat and Maryanne's in Crystal Beach. I am worried about Pieces of Ship and the Nest. Galveston is one of my favorite vacation spots and home to people that are very dear to me. I have so many fond memories and the expecation to make more there. God's embrace, Galveston.

THE LADY AND SONS LASAGNA

Today was a great day! I worked from home and so BB and I had some time to just hang. I decided to cook something Italian for dinner and my dear friend Will hooked me up with a fantastic lasagna recipe. The cool front moved in, BB crawled around and pulled all the dishes out of the cabinets, and I made homemade marinara sauce. I literally cooked (and worked sparatically) all afternoon. I love these kind of fall days where you could care less about ever going outside. I love spending time in my kitchen with the tug of a babbling one year old at my knees. Truly, it all started with a recipe and I kept imagining my Nanny in the kitchen, years ago, baking apple pies as my dad toddled around. I hope that the recipe for my life is as spectacular as hers. I hope that someday I can make a difference in this world like she has. She is one of the most honorable women I know. She has spent more afternoons in the kitchen than I could ever imagine. Her life has consisted of family and giving and bowing her head to pray over one of her favorite recipes.

*HIT AND RUN

I am totally perplexed. Today some of the ladieths in my office were standing around chatting and one of them declared, "DUMP AND RUN!" I looked out of the glass and saw a woman, not from our floor, walking out of the ladies' restroom towards the elevator. She pushed the button and went....RIGHT BACK TO HER FLOOR. The ladies told me that it happens all the time, daily in fact. Women come from all over the building to our floor to, yes, *HIT AND RUN!. Why? Why not poop on your own dang floor in your own dang restroom? Here's what I think. Forgive me for being graphic.

Bottom line...They don't want to "dump" only to look over and see they totally recognize the tan Eddie Bauer sandals and coral toe nail polish next door. "Sonofa! It's Nancy from one cubicle over! She knows it's me. She saw my black toe nail polish and is going to tell the entire office I was in here pooping....loudly."

Honest to God, I have never dumped and ran. It has never occurred to me. Maybe I'm missing out. Maybe it saves you loads of embarrassment or is a total thrill. I've just never experienced something so...vain? Yes, I am private when it comes to bathroom issues but I certainly don't walk over to the neighbors to take care of business. Women are strange strange creatures when it comes to topics like this. Do men do the same? Or do they sit and read a magazine and talk between stalls?

I am going to hang a sign on the door that says *HIT AND RUN FINES HAVE DOUBLED.

BRING ON THE INDIAN SUMMER

FINALLY FREEEEEEEEEEDOM!!!!!!!! FOR HOLLY

Please read the following entry posted on September 2, 2008:


Charles Hennessey aka Parks and Recreation Commission Chairman,

I think you have been drinking Hennessey to list "Zoo improvements to include the Big Cat and Concession facilities" as an accomplishment on the Amarillo Parks web site. I visited your Big Cat Improvement this past Sunday and it's a far cry from anything accomplished. How in the heck is the tiger's home smaller than the "mustangs"? In fact it's about the same size as the potbellied pig's excuse for a living space. That tiger needs room to run, climb, jump and pounce. I have never seen a creature so miserable. He paced, he cried, he looked up at me with those big green eyes and said, "GET ME THE HELL OUTTA HERE. THIS CAGE IS FRIGGIN TINY!" I swear to you Chuck, IF YOU DON'T SET THAT TIGER FREE, I WILL.

Grace Calvert


AND NOW THE ARTICLE I FOUND TODAY ON AMARILLO.COM:

A rapid health decline led to the death of the Amarillo Zoo’s Bengal tiger, Holly, over the weekend.

Consulting veterinarian Dr. Merton Pearson euthanized the 19-year-old tiger on Saturday after it was determined her condition would continue to worsen, Zoo Curator Rhonda Votino said.

“It was a very difficult decision, but her quality of life had deteriorated to a point where we felt it was the most humane alternative,” Votino said.

Zoo staff had taken the 225-pound cat off exhibit last week so her condition could be monitored after she began experiencing an onslaught of seizures.

Initial results of a necropsy included discovery of a possible thyroid tumor that may be unrelated to the cause of her seizures, which could have originated from problems in the brain, Votino said.

Exotic cats typically live 10 to 15 years in the wild and 15 to 20 years in captivity, Votino said.