...oh so suddenly...
I head back to good ol' SLC tomorrow morning. Just got done packing the car, which is pretty much like playing the most awesome game of tetris ever. While I arranged things, our crazy dog chased and attacked toads that hopped in and out of the woods. I have a song stuck in my head and it won't go away, and I kind of want to sleep, but am too (something) to sleep.
Speaking of our dog...(and here I'm referring to Victor, the youngish dog that was acquired by my family sometime in February)...he's a total pain in the ass, but a sweet dog. He destroys things, he's destroyed remote controls, power adapters, shoes, pillows, blankets, cds, rugs, wooden furniture...he's a pain. But, like I said he's a sweet dog. Anyway,
Yesterday I was working at home for a while, doing some videograbs (a.k.a. the fastest way to make your eyeballs bleed and fall out of your head), and I decided to go sit on the porch for a while. I went outside to find a dead baby rabbit on the porch. Oh, did I mention Victor also kills just about anything he sees? Well he does. So then I see him running around with another dead baby rabbit, and he runs off. Then he returns with another baby rabbit who is hurt pretty badly, but still alive. I grabbed Victor and put him in the house, then went to assess the damage to the rabbit. It had a big chunk of skin ripped off of its side, and its back right leg was totally mangled, flopping around while it tried to hop away.
So, I couldn't just let it die, it was totally still alive, just badly hurt. I looked up an animal clinic that would accept injured wildlife, and found one out in Fern Creek (like a million miles south down Bardstown road). When I went outside to find the rabbit, it was nestled in some leaves near the hose, and I picked it up. It was warm and soft, and it's bloody leg hung down through my fingers. Gruesome, but it was alert, and alive and doing all right. I put it in a box with some leaves and set it in the passenger seat in my car. I drove to Louisville, got lost a few times going to the clinic, keep checking looking to see that the rabbit was still alive, pet it a little.
Finally I get to the clinic and take the rabbit in. It's taken to the back, I fill out a wildlife release form, and (even though it went against my better judgment) asked whether or not they thought the rabbit would live. The nurse said, matter-of-factly, "rabbits that are brought in with open wounds have an exceptionally high risk of infection, so we euthanize them immediately upon arrival." I thanked her, then turned, walked out the door, and began crying. I cried the whole way home, then when Sam asked me what happened to the rabbit (he'd been there when Victor delivered the spoils of his hunt) I started crying again, then when my parents asked me why there were dead baby rabbits all over the driveway, I started crying again. My overly-emotional response surprised me, to say the least. It was just a rabbit, huh.
Ok, so I know "it's the way of things" as my dad would put it, dogs kill things, it's hard wiring. But there is still something profoundly sad about young, helpless, injured things. And for whatever small time I took care of that rabbit, I thought I was doing something to help save it. Really all I was doing was helping it die in a less painful way. I spent a lot of time yesterday trying to figure out why it affected me so strongly, and I still really don't know.
Hm. I didn't really intend to tell that story in such detail. So, on that lively, happy note, here's a nice little rundown of some actually good things that have happened lately...
- I quit smoking cigarettes. It's been almost a month.
- I've been reading all summer, lots of different books, magazines...I'm a word sponge.
- After the month or so of crazy overtime work I've done for my mom's company, I am able to pay off ALL of my credit card debt, and it was a lot. Now it's gone and I can finally start saving money for...what? Who knows, something awesome.
- I've felt really good lately, in general. I've been trying to take care of myself and I feel better, happier than I've felt in a very, very long time.
- I got to spend a decent amount of time with both Tarrah and Amanda, which is always wonderful.
- Rich O's, seriously, go there. Why there is such a good beer bar in New Albany is a mystery, but it's there and has just about anything you could want to order, plus good food too. Tarrah and I must have gone there three or four times. Good stuff.
- I love driving on these country roads on warm summer nights. Some good music, and I could drive forever on these roads, through these nights. For the longest time, driving was synonymous with smoking cigarettes. When at my parents' house, I would always drive and smoke, without fail. I enjoyed driving mostly because I would smoke. I've been re-learning to love driving simply for what it is, not because of an attached addiction.
-I am very, very excited for this school year, and all that might happen after it.
Well, jeez, I sure didn't know I had such a long entry in me. I've neglected this journal for a while, and I think it all just spilled out of me. So, SLC folks, I'll be up there tomorrow night, running errands on Sunday, and then moving in on Monday.
Here's to yet another summer, with all of its weird, transformative powers.
Speaking of our dog...(and here I'm referring to Victor, the youngish dog that was acquired by my family sometime in February)...he's a total pain in the ass, but a sweet dog. He destroys things, he's destroyed remote controls, power adapters, shoes, pillows, blankets, cds, rugs, wooden furniture...he's a pain. But, like I said he's a sweet dog. Anyway,
Yesterday I was working at home for a while, doing some videograbs (a.k.a. the fastest way to make your eyeballs bleed and fall out of your head), and I decided to go sit on the porch for a while. I went outside to find a dead baby rabbit on the porch. Oh, did I mention Victor also kills just about anything he sees? Well he does. So then I see him running around with another dead baby rabbit, and he runs off. Then he returns with another baby rabbit who is hurt pretty badly, but still alive. I grabbed Victor and put him in the house, then went to assess the damage to the rabbit. It had a big chunk of skin ripped off of its side, and its back right leg was totally mangled, flopping around while it tried to hop away.
So, I couldn't just let it die, it was totally still alive, just badly hurt. I looked up an animal clinic that would accept injured wildlife, and found one out in Fern Creek (like a million miles south down Bardstown road). When I went outside to find the rabbit, it was nestled in some leaves near the hose, and I picked it up. It was warm and soft, and it's bloody leg hung down through my fingers. Gruesome, but it was alert, and alive and doing all right. I put it in a box with some leaves and set it in the passenger seat in my car. I drove to Louisville, got lost a few times going to the clinic, keep checking looking to see that the rabbit was still alive, pet it a little.
Finally I get to the clinic and take the rabbit in. It's taken to the back, I fill out a wildlife release form, and (even though it went against my better judgment) asked whether or not they thought the rabbit would live. The nurse said, matter-of-factly, "rabbits that are brought in with open wounds have an exceptionally high risk of infection, so we euthanize them immediately upon arrival." I thanked her, then turned, walked out the door, and began crying. I cried the whole way home, then when Sam asked me what happened to the rabbit (he'd been there when Victor delivered the spoils of his hunt) I started crying again, then when my parents asked me why there were dead baby rabbits all over the driveway, I started crying again. My overly-emotional response surprised me, to say the least. It was just a rabbit, huh.
Ok, so I know "it's the way of things" as my dad would put it, dogs kill things, it's hard wiring. But there is still something profoundly sad about young, helpless, injured things. And for whatever small time I took care of that rabbit, I thought I was doing something to help save it. Really all I was doing was helping it die in a less painful way. I spent a lot of time yesterday trying to figure out why it affected me so strongly, and I still really don't know.
Hm. I didn't really intend to tell that story in such detail. So, on that lively, happy note, here's a nice little rundown of some actually good things that have happened lately...
- I quit smoking cigarettes. It's been almost a month.
- I've been reading all summer, lots of different books, magazines...I'm a word sponge.
- After the month or so of crazy overtime work I've done for my mom's company, I am able to pay off ALL of my credit card debt, and it was a lot. Now it's gone and I can finally start saving money for...what? Who knows, something awesome.
- I've felt really good lately, in general. I've been trying to take care of myself and I feel better, happier than I've felt in a very, very long time.
- I got to spend a decent amount of time with both Tarrah and Amanda, which is always wonderful.
- Rich O's, seriously, go there. Why there is such a good beer bar in New Albany is a mystery, but it's there and has just about anything you could want to order, plus good food too. Tarrah and I must have gone there three or four times. Good stuff.
- I love driving on these country roads on warm summer nights. Some good music, and I could drive forever on these roads, through these nights. For the longest time, driving was synonymous with smoking cigarettes. When at my parents' house, I would always drive and smoke, without fail. I enjoyed driving mostly because I would smoke. I've been re-learning to love driving simply for what it is, not because of an attached addiction.
-I am very, very excited for this school year, and all that might happen after it.
Well, jeez, I sure didn't know I had such a long entry in me. I've neglected this journal for a while, and I think it all just spilled out of me. So, SLC folks, I'll be up there tomorrow night, running errands on Sunday, and then moving in on Monday.
Here's to yet another summer, with all of its weird, transformative powers.