February 20, 2012

Why I'm Skipping a Springsteen Show

Any of my readers who know me personally know I've been a RABID fan of Bruce Springsteen since 1981. I have every legally released recording or video (and yes, some not-so-legal ones too), I can recite his life story from memory and, in fact, can probably look at a picture of him and tell you the year it was taken. Back when I had a job with a really nice salary for a single girl, I even hopped planes to see him in other states.

Now look, there are people who have literally taken weeks at a time to follow his tour through the US, Canada, even Europe; I'm not one of them. I'd like to think that means I'm relatively sane and still have retirement money, both of which are good things, yes?

His newest single was released last week and I'm very excited for the CD to come out. And yay, he and the band have announced new tour dates and everything which is way cool. My gosh, dude is like 62 or something and is still making relevant music. And he's still sexy as hell and hasn't lost much hair and can rock a pair of jeans (whew. stop.) and do three hour shows...but I digress.

Anyway, he's going to be here in Atlanta next month. Tickets went on sale and I didn't try to buy any. See, he is performing at Philips Arena downtown. Owned by the Atlanta Spirit Group, it is also home to our (mediocre) NBA franchise. These bozos wasted more than ten years and a shit ton of money in lawsuits over their third property, our (sold and moved to fucking Canada) NHL team.

If one were to Google "Atlanta Thrashers", one would find innumerable articles detailing the cluster-fuck that is this ownership group.

I'm sad to lose hockey in Atlanta, but I'm also bitter about the events which led up to that loss. And until those asshats are no longer beneficiaries of any Philips Arena revenue, I will not be supporting any event in the facility.

I'm sure Bruce doesn't care, but I feel better.

An Open Letter to Raymond

Hey, I've apparently done something to piss you off, but I can't defend myself unless you tell me what it was.

I'd seen you behave exactly the same way when you froze The Mitchell's out of your life.

At least you can't accuse me of being a bigot or homophobe; but you're treating me in exactly the same manner. I know for a fact, anything you can accuse me of is light years better than what they did.

Not taking my calls, nor returning my messages is just passive-aggressive and immature. I didn't earn - nor do I deserve - that.

Grow the fuck up.
  Anne

What My Cats Teach Me - Lesson #1 Agnes

I am in awe of an animal's ability to quickly, and without drama, adjust to physical limits. Remember that cat who was abandoned when some people I know surrendered their townhouse to the bank and left the state? Well, it's almost two and a half years now and the old broad is still kicking and will turn 19 sometime in the Spring. She's always been on the skinny side and barfs quite frequently. She's also been owning the dogs and has both of them absolutely terrified of her (which is hilarious because each dog weighs at least 50 pounds and I don't think she tips the scale past five).

Anyway, when we took her in I knew she was a Senior cat and Hubby and I agreed that we would simply give her a safe, comfortable home and lifestyle in which to live but there would be no dollars available for a veterinarian. Other than the one visit when we first got her, if she developed any illness at all, we would simply take care of her until there was nothing left but to euthanize. Kitty hospice, as it were.

Over the past month or so it has become blatantly obvious she has lost most, if not all, vision. Luckily she has lived here long enough that she knows how to get from point A to point B without smacking her head on something (usually). While it is a little disturbing to watch, I do smile when I see her heading toward a stationary object only to skirt around it. She doesn't run anymore, rather never moves any faster than a mozey. She doesn't jump up as high as she used to, but she can easily get to the end of the sofa where she has a comfortable place to sleep (which she does pretty much all the time). She can use the litter box (99% of the time). She can find the food and water bowls, no problem. And since she can't really see the dogs anymore, she doesn't terrorize them like she used to.

I've also managed to hit on a feeding schedule for her which has significantly reduced both the frequency and volume of barfing (yay). I like to think that if she's not throwing up then she's actually getting some benefit from her meals, right?

Like my friend Mark says, "If she eats, poops and grooms, leave her be." And she does all of those things. Maybe not with the same gusto but shit, she's an old lady and none of us - human or animal - can move as well in old age as we could when we were younger!

Animals are a perfect example of doing what you can as well as you can. They don't act out because they can't do it as much or as fast. I strive to live with whatever MS throws at me in the same way as Agnes.