19 Jul 2008 8:00 PM

This wasnt written by me - but a while ago I found the data on the races Bess won and lost.  Last December, she came last in three - the last one it said 'faded out' - and her owners obviously just ditched her to the kennels.  I feel so angry and upset about this - she has wounds over her body that hurt, from the racing and goodness knows what.  She is also so nervous of people particularly men, but to me and increasingly to my family she is the most amazing, gentle companion who is gradually learning to have fun and play - enjoy life.....she is four years old now .....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It wasn't all that long ago I ran the dusty track for show, Devoted and driven, my face pierced the wind As race after race I fought to contend. Slow at the turn and lacking in grace I did what I could, but I never placed. I loved to run and hear the crowds roar But the cheers turned to boos when I didn't score. Folks lost their money when they bet on me, They called me a loser, said "retire number three". I had no idea what I was likely to find As I walked from the track for the very last time. My person was waiting, eyes hard, face long, I sensed inside the sadness, this time I wouldn't go home. I tried to change my person's mind And wagged my mighty tail But I knew, deep down, without a doubt Just like racing I had failed. We drove along a country road till we came upon a town Where, errected of the main road was a place known as "the pound". A pretty woman came outside and took me from my crate, My person signed the papers and looked me in the face. He said "I'm sorry, I have to leave you here and have you put to sleep,
You're not as fast as all the others, you no longer earn your keep".
I felt my heart break into bits as I walked with head bowed low,
I knew that it was over, I had no place to go.

Inside the dingy building, I was checked and tagged and weighed
A voice said, "We'll put him down tomorrow, if not today".
I heard the pretty woman say, "Don't look him in the eye,
He has that Greyhound gaze that says I do not want to die".
They put me in a kennel, with others on death row
I lay down on the concrete, and moaned so soft and low.

As morning filtered through the glass I stretched my weary bones
The pretty woman came to me and said, "It's time to go".
The hall was long and dark and cold, I did not cry or weep,
I used my eyes and face and soul, to halt eternal sleep.
She tried her best to use defence, and look away from me,
She seemed to know how wrong it was to do this deadly deed.

She bent down close and held my face against her silken cheek,
The needle entered my front leg, and quickly I felt weak.
I heard the pretty woman sob as she laid me on the floor,
I saw a last glimpse of her, and then I saw no more.

I may not have been the fastest dog to ever run the track
I just wish someone had loved me, so I could have loved them back.

Add Comment   |   View Comments (6)

19 Jul 2008 6:39 PM

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon.
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain! I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it. I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true.
I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not pretty, every day, and if you can source your own life from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes!"

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and
bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.


I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like
the company you keep in the empty moments.

Add Comment   |   View Comments (5)

17 Jul 2008 7:36 AM

A ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men
on it were able to swim to a small desert like island. The two
survivors, not knowing what else to do, agreed that they have no
other recourse but to pray to God for help.

However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they decided
to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides
of the island.

The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the
first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the island, and
he was able to eat its fruit. The other man's parcel of land
remained barren.

After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for
a wife. The next day, there was another ship wreck, and the only
survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the island. On the
other side of the island, there still was nothing.

Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, and more food.
The next day, like magic, all of these things were given to him.
However, the second man still had nothing.

Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife
could leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked on
his side of the island. The first man boarded the ship with his
wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. He
considered the other man unworthy to receive God's blessings,
since none of his prayers had been answered.

As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from
heaven boom-out, "Why are you leaving your companion on the
island?"

"My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for
them," the first man answered. "His prayers were all unanswered
and so he does not deserve anything."

"You are mistaken!" the voice rebuked him. "He had only one
prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have
received any of my blessings."

"Tell me," the first man asked the voice, "what did he pray for
that I should owe him anything?"

"He prayed that all your prayers would be answered."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers
alone, but those of another praying for us. This is too good not
to share.

With obedience and love for others come blessings. My prayer for
you today is that all your prayers will be answered. Be blessed.


"What you do for others is more important than what you do for
yourself."

Author: Unknown

Add Comment   |   View Comments (5)

15 Jul 2008 10:02 PM

Thank you so much for the messages about Bess, my mother and my eyes....*big smile*..................yes, I am not in quite so much as I am still seeing double after the injection into the eye muscle - but I think (I think...!) it is a little better now, though still see a lot of double, when writing or reading, I see two lines to the right hand side which is disconcerting.  Trying not to think about it just now - am just glad it is summer and no winter driving..:(.............back to hospital in a couple of weeks.

Bess is still an AMAZING companion, though has a weird way with others.  One of my tenants she doesnt even lift her ear to - the other she barks and barks and barks and growls, so much so that he has now started watching The Dog Whisperer on TV to see if he can diagnose her problems with him..........I dont seem to be able to get this channel at the moment sadly....

Mum is good, though still struggling with her disabilities.    Well in herself, but unable to get around at all much without pain.  My son is determined to take us on a train ride to see the sea in a couple of weeks, which is about two hours away.  Further than both of us have been for years!!  Dont know how mum will cope.

See you all again soooooooooon......huggggs to you all.................Cathrynn XXX

Add Comment   |   View Comments (6)

15 Jul 2008 9:54 PM

The Top 10 Rules of Chocolate
Top 10 Rules of Chocolate

10. If you've got melted chocolate all over your hands, you're eating it too slowly.

9. Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices & strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want.

8. The problem: How to get 2 pounds of chocolate home from the store in hot car. The solution: Eat it in the parking lot.

7. A nice box of chocolates can provide your total daily intake of calories all at once. Isn't that handy?

6. If calories are an issue, store your chocolate on top of the fridge. Calories are afraid of heights, and they will jump out of the chocolate to protect themselves.

5. Eat equal amounts of dark chocolate and white chocolate, for a balanced diet. They actually counteract each other.

4. Money talks. Chocolate sings.

3. Chocolate has many preservatives. Preservatives make you look younger.

2. If not for chocolate, there would be no need for control top pantyhose. An entire garment industry would be devastated.

and the #1 Rule of Chocolate:

1. Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you'll get one thing done.
--------------------

Add Comment   |   View Comments (9)