Hello, and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. If my calendar is correct, Father’s Day is just around the corner, and for some of you this better be a wake-up call to get your “you-know-what” in gear…pronto! Now, we all know Father’s Day follows Mother’s Day, but I bet you did not know that Father’s Day almost did not happen. There was a strong movement after Mother’s Day was made official to change it to Parents’ Day in recognition of the role father’s played in the raising of a family. Mother’s Day was made an official national…
Browsing: Commentary
Even though the “official” start of summer is not until June 21(when we celebrate the summer solstice), it’s pretty hard to deny that summer is in the air after Memorial Day weekend. The swimming pools open, baseball is being played every weekend, the temperatures climb higher and higher, and of course, the lightning bugs have arrived. Every evening, just about dusk, I love to stand outside and look to the west. The sun is streaking the sky with brilliant pinks, oranges, and purples. The trees appear as silhouettes against this glorious display of color, and in the darkest depths you…
We just finished an 1,800-mile, round-trip journey to Florida. We traveled in three vehicles, with most of our time spent on I-95 and I-4. Driving was an experience, though the weather was nice and we experienced no mechanical issues. We saw accidents, a brush fire, traffic backups, road construction, lots of tractor trailers, cars pulled for speeding, and drivers who thought that they owned the road. I am thankful that we arrived home on Saturday and did not have to deal with the heavy traffic that Memorial Day Monday brings. With summer approaching, I wanted to talk about the travel…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. Hope you had a nice Memorial Day weekend…mine was going along pretty well till I got an e-mail from my master …on Memorial Day no less. He said,”Hey, I know it is a holiday but we still have a paper to put out.” Yikes! I have been working my tail off all weekend, and just as I sat down to rest for the day, I get this little love note. I must have done something very wicked in my past life…lol. Anyway, I did work my tail off doing…
Weed (noun): a wild plant that grows where it is not wanted and in competition with cultivated plants. Garden (noun): a piece of ground, often near a house, used for growing flowers, fruit, or vegetables. Gardener (noun): a sometimes-frustrated individual often seen pulling, digging, spraying, and saying unkind words about weeds. Yes, weeds are a constant source of aggravation, whether you are an ornamental or edible gardener. Weeds are also more than just a nuisance. They compete with your desirable plants for nutrients, water, and light. Weeds will grow faster than cultivated plants, and they are fast reproducers. Weeds can…
I was watching an Orlando news station last night, and they reported on the tragic death of a four-year-old boy. The story goes that he had started trying to get the baby monitor in his room over the last few days. The monitor had been on his dresser, but his mother had moved it to the windowsill behind the dresser. The reporter went on to say that the little boy got out of bed and climbed on the dresser, pulling it over on himself. I do not remember hearing the timeframe of the mother checking on the child, but this…
Hello, and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. Doctor visits have certainly changed over time. When I was little, the doctor still made house calls, black bag and all. Then, we moved to a more centralized visit, going to his office, which was actually in the back of his house, and he would come in one of the exam rooms, sometimes with cigarette in hand [I know, I am old!] and check you out. Then, we moved on to sitting in the waiting room for 30 minutes. Then, another 30 minutes in the exam room, with the…
W e have just experienced our warmest days of spring 2017. As the heat rises, what do we need to be mindful of? The medical problems that come from high temperature and humidity will be much more prevalent than the fire problem, but we must consider both. With higher temperatures comes a greater workload on air conditioners, fans, and electrical systems in general. I will try to walk us through a few of these things that will, hopefully, prevent a fire and keep you and your family safe. Concerning your air conditioning units, they need a proper level of refrigerant…
As we draw increasingly closer to the last days of school, my heart is joyful and full of sorrow at the same time. It has always amazed me how this can be, feeling hopeful and sad simultaneously. I am hopeful for the summer, that it will be relaxed and we can spend some quality time together. I am hopeful for the fall, when my boy will start middle school, an entirely new chapter in our lives, and I am sad, because this is his last year of elementary school, and I am sorrowful because the time just flies by too…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. Not counting Washington D.C. things have been pretty quiet around here. Speaking of DC, it seems these days that they are spending more time on investigations, inquires, and hearings than working on any real legislation. In the past I would have said that was a good thing since it seems the less our government does the better off we really are…however, with all of the serious issues we face with health care, tax reform, security, and the economy…Congress needs to quit acting like Democrats and Republicans [or like little…