We Just Lost an Hour

Greetings from Happy Meadows. We had a mild winter and I got to go out every day until yesterday when it was so cold and windy that only my black nose made it past the threshold of the front door. Neither Mike nor Judy walked to the end of the driveway to get the mail, not that much worthwhile comes anyway. Mostly advertising. Mike’s late wife, Gena, still gets mail. She just was offered an opportunity for free hearing testing. She also gets emails, the latest offering her a supposedly good rate to refi the house. It’s a crazy world where a person can be deceased for 30 years and still be seen as a prospective customer.

Mike continues to work part time and seems to enjoy it. He sees a few patients every week on zoom. I think it helps keep his mind active. Oh, and he just bought a new car, a hybrid SUV (Hyundai Tucson). It is by far the nicest car he has ever owned. Drive it in good health, Mike!

I may have mentioned that Mike has been restricted in his activities because he has no COVID antibodies. This is because of his chemo. His doctor at Emory told him that there is a new product called Evusheld which is a combination of 2 monoclonal antibodies against the COVID virus which is available on an emergency use authorization (EUA) from the FDA. However, Emory didn’t get enough product for Mike to get immunized. However, a friend from his Men’s group called to let him know that Wellstar was well-stocked, and another friend from the group helped him to get in to see a doctor there. A third friend called Mike to tell him he read about the product in the New York Times. Happily, Mike was immunized 2 days ago, and he should be good to go for 6 months. However, he will continue to mask and use good judgment about where he goes. He gets by with a little help from his friends.

Mike is also still working on his book proposal. Michelle came over yesterday to help Mike celebrate his recent birthday (79). She teaches English and excels at teaching writing. She was a big help to Mike yesterday. Thank you Michelle!

We just lost an hour and missed out on our weekly family zoom with the family in Israel, who didn’t lose the hour. Speaking for the cats of the world, this makes no sense.

Shayna Maidel has been found to be in the early stages of renal failure. The Extreme Vet has her on a special diet, which creates a whole new order of feeding in the house. She can no longer have access to the kibble which used to be available 24/7. We are all getting used to this. She also gets subcutaneous fluids. At first it was twice per week, but now just once. Mike and Judy are working out a method to do this with a minimum of trauma to all concerned, and I am optimistic. Maybe eventually this can be managed by diet alone. I hope so, and so does everyone else.

I will continue to post the news from Happy Meadows when we have such. I do think it is worth mentioning that it was so warm that a few days ago that the frogs started singing their love songs. Remarkably, after temperatures 2 nights ago around 19 degrees F, I heard them singing again today now that it has thawed. The tendency for life to persist is remarkable. May all of you persist joyfully in your lives as well as do our amphibious friends. Until next time, be nice to your cats, dogs, and kids, and So Long from Happy Meadows!

5782

So, after two months of steamy Georgia summer weather which has restricted my outdoor prowlings, even at night, I am back with more news. The best news is that we are all well. Magi has developed into a sleek, muscular fellow. He weighed 11 pounds when Mike and Judy took him to the Extreme Vet recently for his first of hopefully many annual check-ups. He looks like a Bengal cat. I would show a picture if I could get Mike to figure out how to do it. Word Press has revised (improved no doubt) the format of how this page looks, and we don’t see where to go to add pictures. And, Mike is too impatient with the process to spend much time figuring it out. So you will have to look up Bengal cats on line if you want to see what Magi looks like now. Please do, for he is quite smart-looking.

Mike recently found out that he does not have COVID antibodies after his first two immunizations in February. He had his booster two weeks ago, so maybe this will kick something in. He says he will get tested again in October. In the meantime, he is restricting his activities again. He will be doing the Berman Center work entirely online until he has immunity. Things wouldn’t be so bad if not for the people who are still not vaccinated. They have put themselves and everyone else at risk, and they seem not to care. It is hard to understand or accept how ignorant and selfish people can be. Mike didn’t want me to say that, but I have overruled him.

Oh, we made some progress. There is now a dimmed out picture of Magi below with a little pinwheel of doom going round and round just below his left eye. Maybe this means it is still loading. Maybe there is a deeper and more nefarious meaning. Maybe it means Mike still has no idea what he is doing. Time will tell, and time seems to be what I have a lot of these days.

There has been an interesting development in the sports world—awareness and concern about the mental health of the athletes. We hear about ACLs, tendon transfers, concussions, and fractures of all kinds, but if a player gets depressed it is hidden from view. Athletes train to be tough and competitive, and hate to show any sign of weakness. Mental health issues have been thought of as signs of weakness in the sports world until recently, but that is changing. In sports from tennis to football to gymnastics top athletes are admitting to their difficulties and seeking help. There is absolutely a mental side to every game. If an athlete loses self-confidence their performance is likely to suffer. ESPN has done a story about Drew Robinson, a baseball player who made an unsuccessful suicide attempt last year. The Atlanta newspaper ran a good story about him in the July 25 Sports Insider section. He tried to make a comeback playing after he recovered from his injuries, but suffered somewhat of a set-back in his depressive disorder. Wisely, he decided to let baseball go. But his team, the San Francisco Giants, has hired him as a mental health advocate for the team. Likely he will also serve as an advocate to the community at large. Mike has spent his professional career treating patients with addictive and mental health disorders. He says they are painful to live with and carry a stigma which makes such conditions hard to bear. It is a good thing, and about time that this is changing. Athletes with mental health disorders can seek treatment and recover instead of suffer in silence. So can anyone else who has troubling issues with anxiety, depression, addiction, or other mental health symptoms. Help is available, y’all, so do talk with someone about what is troubling you.

Mike has had a positive development in his effort to get his book published—he has a literary agent. The agent seems to be experienced and successful in his field, and we are hopeful. He gave Mike the assignment of writing a book proposal which, it seems, is a big hairy deal. I guess publishers don’t want to read the book, just the book proposal. So, it had better be good. Mike is just about ready to finish Book Proposal 1.0 to send to his agent. He hopes it is close to what the agent needs and is hoping for. Maybe in another year or so The Twelve Step Pathway – A Heroic Journey of Recovery, will be jumping off the shelves, so to speak. Mike has also hired a website designer, and his author’s website will hopefully be active by the end of September. He will be blogging on the website, but I will continue to blog as well from right here at Georgia Cat Speaks. I suppose there will be a link between the two.

From our home to yours we wish you a happy and healthy new year, 5782. Let’s hope it is a year when people stop being so angry and start being nicer to each other again. Oh, and by the way, for you optimists I am happy to report that people are still having babies. The lovely people next door just had their second little girl. She is precious! I guess this means that they hope for a good world for their children to live in. I believe this will be so if everyone works for it–or most people at least. We cats will survive regardless, but it will be the kind of world I want to live in if love prevails and xenophobia is the big loser. Until next time, so long from Happy Meadows.