We took the dogs to McDonald Park yesterday. It was Fritzi & Lulu’s first ride in the truck. They did fine. We were hoping they’d be content to ride in the back seat, but they weren’t having it. Mr. B sucked it up and shared the front with them. We wanted to exercise the dogs in the fenced dog park, but the small dog area was closed and we weren’t ready to trust the new pups to stay out of trouble with the big dogs. We walked them around the grounds instead, then went home. Later this week, we’ll introduce them to a couple of other local dog parks.
I owe you an update on Mr. B. His blood work came back and he still has valley fever, so he’ll stay on flucanozole another six months. Lulu has valley fever too and takes the same medication, which is working for both of them. They’re happy and symptom-free, thank goodness.
Donna and I both have trouble getting Lulu’s harness on right. It’s a color problem: it’s hard for us to tell we’ve got the black harness strap through the black harness loop against her black fur. We keep thinking we’ve got it right, but then we get outside and discover we haven’t. Lulu can get loose very easily if the harness isn’t on right, and it’s just luck it hasn’t happened. The instant the dogs see us getting the leashes and harnesses out of the closet they start bounding about, eager to go; we have to harden our hearts and make them wait while we double-check all the straps.
When I got my first fighter assignment in 1978 Donna bought me a fighter pilot watch at the base exchange. I wore that `big self-winding Seiko every day for nearly 30 years. At some point after retiring and moving to Tucson, I forgot to take it off before jumping in the pool. One of the gaskets had worn out and water got inside the case.
I took it to a local watch repair shop, where they told me they couldn’t fix it. Ever hopeful, I took that to mean it wasn’t worth fixing — the entire movement probably needed to be replaced, and Seiko quit making those movements decades ago. Meanwhile, that particular watch has become a collector’s item, driving prices for parts and complete movements ever upward.
Seiko came out with a limited edition tribute watch this year, modeled on the 1970s original. Different movement, not as many functions, etc, but when I saw a picture of it I knew I wanted one for my birthday. Knowing there were only a couple of thousand available, I put my name on the list and yesterday a local jewelry shop called to tell me it was in. Now that I compare them side-by-side, I see they really are quite different, but I love the new watch and can’t wait for day I can start wearing it — c’mon, Hallowe’en!
Meanwhile, I’ve been in contact with a watch repairman in Los Angeles who says he can fix any kind of Seiko, in any condition. I don’t doubt it’ll be crazy expensive, but what the hell, I may just send the old one to him for an estimate. Hey, people are selling originals on eBay for as much as $3,000 (Donna paid $150 for mine new), so if it costs less than that to fix it’ll be a bargain, right?
By the way, the disparaging stereotype about fighter pilots — big Seiko, little dick? Please don’t ask Donna. She’s likely to blurt out the truth.
YCRT! (You Can’t Read That!) Department:
Student yearbook editors at Bigelow High School in Arkansas added a two-page timeline of news highlights covering their senior term, 2020-2021. Every story in the timeline was vetted by students and faculty advisors, and the yearbook was given the go-ahead for printing.
You can guess what happened next, am I right? Yep, you got it: school administrators, citing “parental complaints” and a “community backlash,” cut the pages out of every yearbook.
Never mind there’s zero evidence of parental or community complaints. The deed is done, in standard school administrator fashion. Someone might complain, therefore yearbook pages/books/library displays/handouts/senior plays/planned graduation speeches had to go.
If the yearbook committee had removed the five photos of people of color from the timeline, those pages would still be in the yearbook. You know it’s true.
Fuck the stupids. They can’t die of COVID fast enough.