Taking Note of a Few Things: The Rescue Me Edition

His name is Bug and I picked him up at the same shelter where earlier this year I brought Laverne and Shirley to be placed for adoption. His scruffy hair, unique shade of color, and loving nature made him a slam dunk to adopt.

It did not take me long to realize that Bug is not a rescue. He is the rescuer. It was me who needed a source of unconditional love, affection, and playfulness. In just his first day with me, he made himself at home.

At six pounds, Bug knows no obstacles. He quickly learned to navigate the few steps in my home, went right out to my gravel area to pee, and calmly looked at a very large cat that wandered into our backyard and figured it was no different than the cats he encountered at the shelter.

Unlike Laverne and Shirley, Bug allowed me to sleep our first night together. He reluctantly let me wake him at 1 a.m. to take him out to pee, which he did in short order. After that, it was five o’clock before we rose, a full hour later than I normally do.

As I was told by the woman working at the shelter, Bug did not seem to be in a hurry to get adopted. His siblings were long gone and somehow, he managed to have his own private quarters. He was commonly requested by others looking to adopt but they balked at his fee and moved on. I figured over the life of a dog, what difference does it make if he is more expensive than others?

Bug probably looked at me and figured what difference does it make if this guy is more broken than the others? He came right up to me, I picked him up, and the next thing I knew was he was treating me as if he had known me all of his 13 weeks of life.

Like me, Bug is just as happy with a piece of cardboard or an old rag tied in knots as he is with his new little stuffed mouse. If he can repurpose something and have fun with it, maybe he can repurpose me and do the same.

I was not sure I would ever allow myself to bring a dog back into my life. Leaving behind Mini and Peanut in Tennessee gutted me. Taking on Laverne and Shirley was way more than I was ready for. I figured I was not meant to have any more pets. Then I began looking at the shelter’s offerings and when I saw Bug, I had to go check him out.

While I waited to meet him in the shelter’s private room, I thought I was going to be adopted by a cat. The cat at the shelter’s front desk followed me into the room and as I sat in a chair, she hopped up and had no trouble curling up into a ball on top of my head and napping. Her blue nails and matching lips made me realize she had a good thing going there as she was pampered to no end.

However, like all cats do, she left as soon as someone else walked through the shelter’s doors. They use us humans which might be why I do not have any cats for pets. Dogs just love us and see a need to save us from ourselves. Bug has certainly helped me make the first real strides in doing this.

I can tell already; Bug is going to be a real taskmaster. This morning, he supervised my strength workout. When I got to doing barbell bench press, Bug sat on my head and kept tapping on my face like he was telling me to do another set.

When you think about it, I scored a great deal with Bug. He comes with two weeks of free vet services and apparently free personal training.

Construction has wrapped up and I now have a newly covered front porch, back patio, parking structure, and shed. While this has all gone on, I have been fascinated watching videos of Asian women, some toting their kid on their back, constructing the most elaborate bamboo structures using just a hand saw and machete. My work crew was great. They worked fast and they appreciated the beer I purchased for them. Still, a big part of me would have loved to hire one of these women.

As it is, I may end up using some rolls of bamboo fencing for some finishing touches.

Who the hell buys their 14 year old son an AK-47 for Christmas? Who does it after that kid and his parents have been questioned by authorities over alleged shooting threats made by the son? Am I the only person who feels dad should have an AK-47 shoved up his ass and a round fired off as punishment?

The biggest challenge I have faced since moving to Chico has been in the area of medical care. Down south, I had no problem finding a wonderful neurologist who treated my daily headaches with Botox. After she finished playing pin-the -tail on the jack-ass with her syringe, my headaches were a non-factor for three months.

Unfortunately, I have been told there are no neurologists in Chico. I can go to a med spa or dermatologist for the Botox injections, but insurance will not cover them because their use is considered cosmetic by insurance. My pain specialist is trained to provide them, but the clinic he works for is not set up to bill insurance for them.

How does a community with over 100,000 citizens and several surrounding communities dependent on it for medical care not have a neurologist?

It’s not much easier to find a veterinarian up here which is why I will make no attempt to find a new one and just rely on the services offered by the vet at the shelter I picked up Bug.

I never thought that I would see a vice-presidential candidate less qualified than Dan Quayle. JD Vance ought to be enough for any fence sitter to vote for Kamala Harris. At least Tim Walz has studied, taught, and understands our constitution.

Right now, Trump is the man who pulls the strings in the GOP. Imagine him choking to death on a cheeseburger and fries and Vance becoming POTUS. I am telling you, never before in the history of this nation has a vice presidential candidate mattered as much as today.

JD Vance lacks the qualifications to be a tour guide on Capitol Hill. He is incapable of reading a statement without screwing it up. Instead of Trump being the puppet master of the GOP, should Donny go down, Vance will be lucky if he is Pinocchio and has his strings pulled by everyone in the GOP.

The debate is a few days away as I write this and Trump won the fight over whether the candidates’ mics should be left on or turned off when their opponent is asked a question. Once again, it was a clear sign the GOP is backing a man-child whose lack of self-control meant fighting for him to not be heard interrupting Harris when she speaks.

If I was in charge of ABC*, I would use a split screen throughout the debate. At least let viewers see one more time what a little boy Trump is.

I took Bug shopping the other day. We stopped at CVS where he was a hit up by the old ladies before we headed to Lowe’s. While walking around the garden center, I pushed a shopping cart with Bug inside. He was enjoying things for the most part. Then I stopped to grab a plant and before I knew it, Bug leaped out of the cart and attempted to escape.

At the age of 66, I was impressed at just how fast my reflexes were. Before he could take off running, my hand was on his neck and he was fighting me as I placed him back in the cart. He was not a happy camper.

I guess puppies are no different than babies. If you take either shopping, old ladies love to dote over them and as soon as you take your eyes off of them, they make a run for the exit.

To be honest, I used to do the same thing whenever one of my wives dragged me shopping. My favorite hiding spot was the running shoe section where I could sit down and try on shoes I did not need but inevitably would purchase.

My son had a habit of crawling army style through clothing departments and hiding inside the racks of clothes where he would listen to shoppers talking to one another. Then he would crawl back to where I was and report what they were talking about.

I managed to watch the entire debate between Vice President Harris and Pets R US Trump. Are there really that many registered voters who listened to Trump go on about pets being eaten by Haitian immigrants, who believe his nonsense that can get this POS elected? If you are sitting on the fence and listened to his babblings and still think this nation is better off with him leading us then perhaps it is time Bug and I move to a more forward thinking nation like Sudan.

Kamala Harris was poised, prepared, and offered real plans for our future over lies, conspiracies, and finger pointing. If you watched the entire debate and walked away feeling comfortable with Dumpster Fire Don as our next president, I am sorry, but you have no love for this nation and for all it represents.

Donald Trump is a bigger threat to the well-being of this nation than any terrorist group imaginable. He stands in the way of progress for more than just people of color. Women, the middle class, the elderly, children, our armed forces, small business owners, college students, and our environment are all at risk.

Even if Harris turns out to be a bad president, in four years she can be voted out of office. If Trump is elected, he’s going to go about doing anything he can to remain in power after his constitutional final term expires.

Why is there a VP debate? These things do not matter. If you cast your vote for president based on the results of the vice presidential debate, you need your head examined.

Those who support Trump the most are people who can’t comprehend plans to solve problems so they relate to a guy who makes bold promises without any specific details. Keep in mind, Trump made bold promises to each of the three women he married and cheated on them and then lied about cheating on them. Those thinking of voting for him this year might want to consider themselves as his fourth wife. He’ll use you and then hop in bed with his mistresses named Putin, Orban, and Kim.

I am adding a workshop space on the backside of my new shed. I managed to make great use of the space between the flooring and the dirt by filling it with the five sacks of hardened concrete and thousands of pieces of subway tiling the previous owner left behind. I figure this is a better spot for it than tossing it over the fence and into the slough behind me. Besides, that area is reserved for Bug’s poop.

A final prediction, and it is not about the election. The WNBA postseason will get more coverage than the MLB postseason. The NFL and NCAA football seasons have rendered professional baseball an afterthought. A bunch of games where pitchers are yanked after the 5th inning doesn’t help. Imagine NFL coaches pulling their starting quarterbacks at halftime because they don’t want to risk injury.