Monday Mantra

But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked."Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.""How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice."You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."(Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, chapter 6)

Its The Little Things.....And The Little People

Let me tell you I am a cynic. I am a realist and don't really look for the best in people. Kids seem to lose their innocence and reverence for things early on these days. Today I got a little lesson in cynicism

I stopped by the cemetery to say hello to my dad and check his flowers. (Oklahoma winds you know) There was a yellow flower on his foot stone. I didn't think much of it. I could hear the chattering of young girls voices over the hill and a happy dog bark. Wasn't paying that much attention really. I just hoped the dog wasn't hiking his leg on the headstones or the kids weren't being destructive.

Three young girls came over the hill. I would guess their ages at about 12 for two of them and maybe 9 for one little one. Following in their wake was a black lab fur kid with a big ole grin on her face. All I could think was "MAN, I want a minute alone here".

A sweet little voice floats across the grave markers. "Do you like the flower?" I looked up to see them all clutching a handful of yellow flowers. I told her I liked it very much and asked them what they were doing. And it goes like this:

"My Grandpa is here, he was in the army."

"We stopped to say we love you to him"

"Then we decided to say I love you to all the guys from the Army"

My dad was in the Air Force, not the army. I did not correct her. I only told her I thought that was a very nice thing for them to do and walked away. I couldn't speak anymore.

Monday Mantra

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy

Shakespeare

(Thanks Carolynn)

Bragging Rights

I had the honor of being invited to guest blog on The Urban Cowboy. Hop over and give it read friends! Brian has a blog of many colors.

http://theurbancowboy.net/

I Gots Nothing........Here is a bunny

Whoosh and I would appreciate it if the ground would stop shaking in Oklahoma. We arent used to this crapola.

What Makes Your Heart Smile?

Darby

I wanted to share this little girl's story. It made my heart smile. This one is dedicated to Arabella and to Briseis. Godspeed on your journeys across the bridge precious ones.
This is Darby's tale....told by her Dad.

A very special gift was given to me in 2003, when a tiny brown lop girl named Darby came to live with me.

Darby was born to a breeder, and we think that very early in her life her mother was under a tremendous amount of stress from overcrowding and poor living conditions, and turned on Darby and nibbled away her tail, feet and parts of her hind legs. Missing all but one of her toes, one leg was nearly an inch shorter than the others, making standing and walking very difficult for her.

Despite her physical problems, Darby enjoyed life more than almost any other rabbit I have known. She struggled mightily to stand up and move around as best she could, but most of the time ended up dragging herself across the floor in order to be with the other bunnies. In her mind she was a perfectly normal bunny, and she saw no reason why she couldn't act like a normal bunny.

Special needs bunnies are indeed special in so many ways, but maybe the most important way is how very loving and trusting they are of people. They usually require extra care and handling and thus the bond that forms between them and their caregiver is one of absolute trust and affection. Darby radiated pure love and goodness to me every single day that I had her. Stroking her soft fur sent her into spasms of total bliss and joy and she wiggled and squirmed with delight. When I scratched her ears or massaged her back, her eyes would close and for a little while, she would go to a place where her physical problems didn't exist.

Toward the end Darby's frail, tiny body began to fail, but not her spirit. I returned home one evening to find my beautiful little girl had peacefully and quietly gone to the Bridge, where I have no doubt she can run faster and jump higher than any other rabbit there.

Steve Guida

The Halloween Poem