How do you say thanks?

Young Daisy/Courtesy: Me

This is something I never really contemplated writing about, but if I don't do it now, I don't know if I will. It's more a rhetorical question than anything else, but one of those things that when you get to the point where you are thinking about it, you want to know how to do it?

It's not something I've had to do on the level that I am about to. I've had relatives pass away, we've had to put down family dogs before and TLB and I had to say goodbye to her 1st cat, Simon on New Years Eve day a couple of years ago. Heck, when I was 16, my father had to go put down a German Shepard pup (Sam) that we had because she had mental issues when I wasn't around. 

That being said, Daisy is different. Daisy the Wonder Dog came into my life as a pup. My sister had adopted her from a pet rescue and tried raising her along with my niece, Jordan. It was too much for her.

When I moved to Atlanta in 1999, Daisy and I spent time together and bonded. At that point, she had ended up with my parents, who lived there at the time. They already had a Golden Retriever, Hallie.

Fast forward to March of 2000 and I'm getting ready to buy a Townhouse when I asked. "If you'd like, I'd be glad to take Daisy in". "She'll have some room in the Townhouse". They said yes.

Sure, she was still pretty destructive when I got her. She ate a pair of my sneakers, a baseball glove and a part of the window sill along with any piece of wood or leather she could find. But she grew out of it. And we bonded. She was brought up right, Crate Training, healthy eating and exercise.

We were inseparable. Sure, I had to leave her with my parents to dog sit when I was traveling for work, which I frequently did in those days. Daze would sit at the window of their house and cry when I left. And come tackle me at a full sprint when I came to pick her up. Always.

It was the greeting when I came home that I'll always remember. It didn't matter if I was gone an hour...or 8 of them, she went crazy when I came home. She was there, smiling, with not 1, but 2 tennis balls in her mouth. And she would proceed to run laps around the couch before pouncing on me.

And then there was the "Moment of Zen". Truth be told, my best friend came up with that. Since Jon and  I talk most everyday, most of our conversations were while I was on my way home. And quite often, it would be as I got home to Daze. You had to hear the Zen to understand it. It really sounds like she's saying "Hello" if you listen. It's just really funny to hear it from a dog.

It's the little things you remember the most. When I would stretch out on the couch, she was right there at my feet. If I went in the office to do work, she had to be underneath the desk. Even at night, she had a bed next to mine, she was there when I went to sleep, she was there when I woke up. When she was young, it would involve her paws and face on the bed trying to wake me up, as she got older, it was just sitting there waiting to be pet.

We had some adventures. I took her with me to Panama City on a Scuba Trip in 2004. She was great in the hotel...except when she saw a squirrel near the tree on the other side of the parking lot. She treed it. Couldn't have been prouder. Much later, she would go with us to visit my parents after they moved to Wilmington, North Carolina. We had a crazy trip to Michelle's hometown Lafayette, Lousiana in 2007. Just me and the dog, driving 9 hours in a non-stop rain that ended as severe thunderstorms. But she was always there. And as long as I was there too, she was happy. She even came with me to the 1st ever WGCL Fantasy Football draft in the old Channel 46 shack on Briarcliffe Road. She just hung out, visited and got spoiled, by everyone there.

There is a saying that "The world is their playpen". That's the Wonder Dog in a nutshell. She had a "Stupid Pet Trick", and it made everyone who saw it, laugh.



I think the toughest adjustment that she's had to make, much like Michelle and I, was moving up north. The house we rented when we moved up here was a challenge for her, never mind us. But, it had a backyard, something she had never had. However, the first time I tried to let her out the back door onto the back deck leading to the yard, she just stopped. Stopped and stared "What? You're not coming with me?". I did. But the house was rough on her. Cold. Un-insulated, the winter was rough.

It got worse. She developed allergy issues. Bad allergy issues. We got a cat. Being the friendly dog that she was, she accepted him. And she just rolled with it, like she always does.

It's been really tough this winter. Even more so than last. Last year it snowed. A good amount. And she enjoyed it. She always liked the snow, the once or twice that it snowed in Atlanta, she'd run around like it was a new toy. But this winter has been too much. It's snowed. It's iced. A lot. Even more than the precip, is the cold. It's been horribly cold this winter. It's been tough on me, I can't imagine how hard it's been for her. But she's tried.

It started getting bad a couple of months ago. She was chewing the top part of her legs raw. She was shedding in clumps. But she never complained. Never wavered. We found out in September that she had Thyroid issues. I was giving her pills twice a day and rubbing solution on her legs to keep her from chewing. About...I guess a month ago, she started slowing down. I'm not sure if it was even noticeable then. She didn't greet me at the door with the two-tennis balls in her mouth, she didn't give me...or Michelle the "Moment of Zen". She just kind of wagged her tail, smiled and laid down.

It's been worse the past few weeks. She was spending most of her time in her orthopedic bed, next to where I sleep. She'd get up to eat, but that was about it. Last week, we realized where we were. I took her out to go to the bathroom on a cold, snowy morning. She went, but then laid down in the grass and just stayed there. I picked her up and carried her back to the apartment and we went to the doctor.

He gave her some pills and we did an x-ray and saw something not right. Her heart isn't right. By heart I mean the organ that pumps the blood. Her heart, that was and has always been right.

I struggle with this part, not because I'm sad, but because I want to do what's right. More than anything I don't want her to suffer and I don't want her to be miserable. I owe her that. I don't look back and I'm not going to be upset.

How do you thank a dog for doing what all good dogs do? How do you thank an animal for being your best friend for all these years? How do you thank her for listening to all your problems and always just being happy that you are there and sharing? I don't know if even something like this can do it justice. But I refuse to think anything else.

((Note--We are going to see the Oncologist today 2/9/11 at 4:30pm. My regular vet today said Daisy doesn't have much time left. Michelle and I know this. We are okay with this. We just want to know for sure.))

((2nd Update--Don't know if anyone else is reading this so far after its written, but we had to put Daisy down on Sunday. It wasn't good. She was really struggling and we couldn't bear seeing her like that. Especially since we knew it wasn't going to get better. Honestly, I couldn't really talk much about this until now. I'm still getting used to her not being there when I get up in the morning. The apartment is really quiet. Too quiet, which honestly, is the hardest thing to deal with))

Damn it's cold!

Apt. Parking Lot/Courtesy: Me

Sure, I know it's cold in other places too, but humor me if you will. I'll admit it. Got no problem saying it. I hate the frickin' cold.

I've always been a warm weather guy. Probably because of my upbringing in Florida although the fact that until 2009, I never really lived north of Lynchburg, Virginia. I've ranted about this before. I mean heck, we got 22 inches of snow here in Cincinnati this past February and I had more than enough time to ramble on back then.

No, we aren't expecting 22 inches of snow this month in Cincinnati. At least not that I'm aware of. I just don't remember it being this cold, for this long last winter.

It's been below 32 degrees here since, I'm pretty sure, Thanksgiving. Okay, maybe it's been since the 1st of December, but you get my point. It did, briefly pass 32 last Saturday...for about 5 hours...and then it got really cold and snowed...again.

Daisy in the Snow/Courtesy: me

I used to like snow. It was something that I didn't get to see very often growing up. Any chance to see it before moving to Cincinnati was always kind of cool. It's not so cool anymore. I'm pretty sure the only one of us enjoying this right now is Daisy the Wonder Dog. Even though she's 13, she gets in the snow and starts running like she did when she was younger. Yeah, it snowed a couple times when we lived in Atlanta. Not often, but a couple of times...and it accumulated.

It snowed when I lived in Nashville too. I remember being stranded in Bowling Green, KY in 1995 when it snowed almost a foot and the News Car me and intrepid reporter Nick Beres were in died on us. Admittedly, it was kind of fun, we broke down right near a hotel and we found an open steak place right near the hotel. We sat in the hotel room drinking beers and laughing at severe weather coverage the whole night.

Probably the most snow I've ever seen was in January of 2005. Over a foot came down in about 4 hours when we were in Philadelphia for the Eagles/Falcons NFC Championship game. I've never seen anything like it. It was literally a snow downpour.

X-Mas Tree Lot across street/Courtesy: me

I guess it's a good thing I'm semi-retired from working in the field. I don't have to go outside anymore and show people that it's snowing. Or that it's cold. I don't have to stand on a bridge overpass like I did in Nashville in 1998 when it was -10 with the wind chill, doing live shots every 30 minutes. But still it's frickin' cold.

Tonight, while I write this, the low is supposed to be 5. No, that isn't a typo (though I do make a lot of them). Really...5 degrees. With about a 10mph wind. I don't know what it makes the windchill...other than frickin' cold.

Maybe you get used to it over time. Maybe that's why I like the warm weather. A 90 degree day doesn't bother me at all. But I grew up with that. I didn't grow up with this. Heck,  most years as a kid, Christmas was a day where we got our presents in the morning and then went outside in shorts and t-shirts to play with them. Don't see that happening this year.

In honor of the Snow...enjoy a rare cut from Styx....Snowblind. Thanks YouTube:

Enough already....No more snow!

I don't know about anyone else, but I think I've had enough of this whole winter thing. It's bad enough that the TLB (The Lovely Bride) and I have been transplanted to this town that isn't quite in the Northeast, isn't quite in the midwest or in the central part of the country, no, we're in Cincinnati where it supposedly snows a little (avg. 22in.), only our 1st winter here...it is snowing...A LOT!

Those who know me well or at least

remember me mumbling something about it, will remember that I was actually born in New York...Long Island to be exact. We moved from there when I was 5 to Florida and I've never really left the Southeast. Yes, I lived in SW Virginia...Lynchburg to be exact for a year and a half while at my 1st TV Job, but aside from that, I've pretty much been raised in the South.

I know that, when I lived in Lynchburg and the 4 years that I lived in Nashville, I saw snow. Not tons of it (well, there was the one big snowstorm in 1995 or 96), but enough that it was kind of a cool "Novelty" kind of thing.

We are now in Snowstorm #4 for 2010 here in Cincinnati. While we haven't quite gotten hammered like the folks in D.C and Maryland, we've gotten our fair share. The storm we are currently riding out...oh...we are around 6 inches and it is still coming down and will be until tomorrow morning.

Do I sound like I'm complaining? Yeah...I guess that I am. I do have some cold weather/snow gear to deal with it. Thank you WGCL for buying me a nice pair of snow boots in 2005 for the Falcons NFC Championship game in Philadelphia where it snowed over a foot in about 4 hours, I don't think I could deal with this without those.

But anyway, I just felt like rambling about this. It has been a bit of a challenge to deal with. I had to shovel my driveway this afternoon when I returned home just so I could park in it. I'm going to have to go out and do it again before the day is over. Our house: because our heating bills are astronomical...the house is set at or around 56 degrees. It just is kind of old having to dress cold...all the time.

Is the snow going to stop? Yeah...eventually, though more is expected this weekend. I guess on the good side, they know how to deal with it here for the most part. Unlike Atlanta where there were people running around buildings throwing there hands up and screaming in panic, nobody here panics. Here they just calmly say "Well, it's snowing, what do we do now?". The roads, despite all of the snow are in fairly good shape. They weren't this morning, but once the snow plow gets to your street, you know it.

Anyway, I'll stop whining now. I know that it was our choice to come up here to the Northern hinterlands and we'd make the same decision if it ever comes up again. It's just an adjustment, albeit a big one. TLB for one absolutely hates this weather, me, I'm not a fan, but I can deal with it. I think the only one who likes it...is Daisy the Wonder Dog.

In honor of the passing of one of Rock's great's Doug Fieger of the Knack...I give you not My Sharona...but rather my favorite Knack song...Enjoy. Thanks You Tube:

And the Cycle of Life Continues

Okay, I'm back after a couple of days spent at Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati eating really bad food and sleeping Monday night in a reclining chair (my back handled it pretty well). Michelle's surgery went extraordinarily well and we are back home where she is resting comfortably and way ahead of schedule in terms of what I would expect.

So, things move forward and even though they slowed for two days, it is time to get back to the order of things now. It's time for me to get back to skimming through the job ads. Time to write some more for the book. I have 15 of my 26 assigned chapters done, and like the other guys who are working on it, now have to pick up 8 more. But that will be this afternoon's work.

It's a beautiful, if a bit chilly day here in Cincinnati. The snow has finally begun to melt. As I sit here on the mighty I-Mac, Daisy the Wonder Dog is sunning herself on her doggie bed here in the office. Michelle is typing away on her phone in the bedroom with the cat sprawled out next to her and my mom is down in the den watching TV and doing crosswords, I feel kind of bad because there isn't much she can do besides offer moral support...and make coffee since I'm not particularly good at that.

No, things are moving back towards the middle, normal...or at least I hope so. As I told the Chief (my father) yesterday, one of the toughest things for me to deal with up here in Cinci is that I haven't been able to get into a fairly normal routine. Every couple of weeks it seems like something is going on that changes it. I know, especially after my last year or so in Atlanta, that you shouldn't stay too regimented in terms of your day or even your life anywhere, but for me it brings some comfort and consistency. It is a good part of the reason I haven't felt comfortable here yet. Until I find what I am looking for...at least professionally...I am not sure that I will ever get comfortable.

Sorry for the short post...I will update more frequently from here on in. In the meantime...enjoy today's video...it's for all of you in the Sports Biz...I will put this on Onlinesportsguys.com as well....I give you...Courtesy of the You Tube...THE LT SLIDE!!!