More on Gumby

I was called to pick up Gumby's cremated remains today. I'm not real sure what I'll do with them. It brings back to me the reality Gumby is gone..

Many, many times this week I thought about Gumby. I have no clue if this makes me weird or eccentric or normal.

There are so many things that happen around the house that make me think of my little buddy. I know I often find myself reminiscing. I think the one most haunting memory is a special look Gumby gave me. It was his "attend to me" look. Impossible to deny.

I went looking for photos of Gumby. Not enough for my liking. I think maybe now I understand why my sisters take so many pictures, annoying as it is. Better to have and remember than not. I do have one portrait that captures Gumby so well. Money well spent.

So, take care of your beloved pets. Take lot's of pictures. And remember the pure joy they bring into your life.

Gumby Hogan 1998 - 2007

It is with a real heavy heart that I find myself grieving the passing of a truly wonderful pet. Gumby Hogan passed away at 2:30pm, Wednesday, July 25, due to complications with diabetes. Gumby was first diagnosed with diabetes in 2005. He survived two prior near misses but did not win this battle.

Gumby came bouncing into my life when he was 7 weeks old in November, 1998. A charmer, Gumby was always a character, behaving more like a dog than a cat and quickly became the king of the castle. He had me at meow.

Gumby always rushed to the door to greet everyone. He supervised tradespeople during their activities. Hissed and spit at only one person in the world, other than the vet.

Gumby always curled up with me at bedtime. And woke me in the morning telling me it was time to feed him. He occasionally woke me at 3am. 4am. 5am. Whenever he felt I'd slept long enough.

Since he was the first of an eventual three cats and a dog he believed he was in charge. I sense his first companion, a beautiful little girl named Pokey (what else?), is showing signs she misses him.

It amazes me, why I'm not sure, how we become so emotionally attached to our pets. They really are like our children and our friends. He truly was a wonderful loving pet and I miss him terribly.

I'd like to thank the kind folks at the Tuxedo Animal Hospital for the care and compassion they showed Gumby.

Rest in peace Gumby, you were a good friend.

Inspiration and Other Rambling Bits

I've been searching out and reading many many blogs. I use a simple search command on Google Blog Search: "Winnipeg" and I read what comes up.

One such blog, titled Colleen's Corner, is quite inspiring. Colleen writes about her recent trip to the Forks here in Winnipeg to celebrate Canada Day festivities there. Since it was written by a fellow Winnipegger, and as it touched upon a subject near and dear to my heart, I read it. I found her writing interesting, causing me to read more of her posts. This is a nice inspiring blog to read.

==========================

The flip side follows my encounter with a poster on Tom Brodbeck's blog Raise a Little Hell. It is not the first time I've run into such negative folk. It is the first time I've run into a poster that made it personal. My normal response to such a diatribe would be to unleash a verbal storm of invectives. But that would only fan the flames of this man's incredible anger. Unbelievably mind-boggling.

==========================

Other blogs and internet sites have provided me with some of the neat-o tools along the right hand side of my blog. The most recent was the Flickr badge (from Colleen's Corner) and the clock (from Felyne's blog). And here is a nice photo of the Canada Day fireworks from under the Norwood Bridge, expropriated from the Winnipeg Free Press - unh, thanks..

If anyone is reading this blog, and has interesting blogs you think I should read, or other neat-o tools, please let me know.

==========================

I recently accepted a new position with a small Winnipeg firm. The Winnipeg Free Press ran an announcement about it in today's edition. It's not everyday you get your name in the paper.

==========================

Lastly, today is my birthday.

cheers, jwh

Murdering Bambi

On Wednesday, June 27, the Winnipeg Sun ran a story about the brutal and senseless killing of a baby deer by an officious Manitoba government employee.

It seems this deer was illegally kidnapped and subsequently nursed back to health by the Stanbra family in Komarno, Manitoba. Rather than allow this family to raise this animal Manitoba Conservation officers felt killing it was more humane. Unbelievable!

Apparantly it would be too expensive to raise this animal. The cost did not seem to bother the Stanbra's. Why not allow them to continue raising the animal? And then let nature take its course.

I can't express strongly enough how completely idiotic this stance is. What could these complete and utter morons have been thinking?

An Open Letter to Jack Dubois,
Director, Conservation Department,
Wildlife & Ecosystem Protection Branch

The handling of the baby deer incident was deplorable and reprehensible. The behaviour of you and your staff was outrageous. Your personal attitude towards the killing of this animal "because of cost" and claim of "illegally kidnapped" is completely asinine.

I demand you apologize to the Stanbra family. I further demand you change your "rules" immediately. There is NEVER a time when killing an innocent otherwise healthy animal is okay.

How, in the name of god, is killing an animal better than allowing it to be raised on a farm? Even if the animal ran away and was otherwise killed it would be more humane than your actions.

You ought to be ashamed of yourself.

###

If you want to reach Dubois, give him a call @ 204 945-7761. Let him know how you feel.

cheers

Blogging Winnipeg

This sport called blogging is quite an interesting pastime. I look for Winnipeg-related posts in other blogs to see what is being said and spread around the cyber-world. It's interesting to say the least.

Several of the more interesting dynamics include rambling, going off topic, flawed logic, personal attacks, thin-skinned sensitive over-reaction and, frankly, extreme stupidity.

On the other hand there are those that can partake in this activity who provide solid reasoned commentary, who understand subtle nuances and innuendo. Who don't take valid rebuttal as a personal attack.

It pleases me that there are many Winnipeggers who are just as passionate about this city as I am. It is also interesting to hear from folks foreign to Winnipeg and their views, pro or con, on the daily happenings in my fair city.

In my search for "the rules of blogging" I found no hard and fast rules. Apropos to be sure. Rules don't really apply in blogging. There's an exception to everything and everything else is excepted. Having said that, and with zero credit to anyone, enjoy.

You're going to piss somebody off sometime. Different strokes for different folks. Others are going to get upset over the content of your posts and comments. So what? C'est la vie.

Don't get worried if somebody gets angry at you. It's not the end of the world and it's not the end of your blog. As long as you're writing and visiting/commenting/tracking honestly the vast majority of people out there are perfectly happy with you. Don't concern yourself about the ones with gentle sensibilities who can't overlook a mistake or simple lack of experience.

Keep on point. Nothing irritates more than a poster comparing apples to oranges when making a point on a topic. If'n you can't sustain your argument while staying on topic, move on.

Many bloggists and posters have little info-nuggets bouncing around in their noggins. Many post these nuggets as facts. I'm guilty of that little trap. When challenged just acknowledge the error of your ways and move on. To avoid that embarrassing problem, do a little research.

Remember. You can agree with me or you can be wrong.

cheers

Technorati Profile