Sophie's Story

   I was talking with some friends after Toastmasters the other day. We were sharing some childhood stories. I shared one about a guy I knew growing up named Jon. Jon has always been a mystery to me. Starting from about second grade on we really disliked each other. It was so bad that the school district made sure that we were never in the same class together. The mysterious part of it is that I have vague memories of us being friends at one point in time. For a long time I didn't know what happened to change that. About 15 years or so ago I was talking to my mother about it. She said that Jon had been teased by his older brother for having a "girlfriend" and that is what started it.   After  finished my story I explained that Jon were more or less enemies all through our school days. I also said that I felt bad for him, I'm sure he was bullied in school too, probably worse than I was. Someone remarked that we could have  helped each other.   That was a thought I

   I wasn't going to write about Miley Cyrus and her performance at the Video Music Awards a few weeks ago. Way too much ink both real and electronic have been used on this matter. However, I'm finding it hard to keep my mouth shut about this. I know that I sound like a middle aged grump and I don't care.     I am part of the group that did not like, appreciate or approve of that talked about performance at the VMA. I didn't see the whole thing and I'm glad I didn't. The "costume" in and of itself was enough to make me cringe and the still photos I saw were enough to make my stomach turn. I completely and totally reject the idea that it was artistic, groundbreaking or praise worthy. I consider it crass, crude and deplorable. There was only one reason and one reason only why she did what she did. It was to get attention.   That it something I've noticed the last few years. Once upon a time a performing artist became popular because of talent. Pe

   Scamp had to to the vet this morning. He was past due for his annual exam and shots. Time just got away from me. He doesn't handle these appointments very well, so they need to knock him out in order to examine him and give him his vaccines.   I thought this was going to be an all day process so I planning on returning for him about lunchtime. The vet tech told me that it would be about 15 minutes. There was a coffee shop not too far away from the vet's office. I told the vet tech that I would have a little breakfast and then return when Scamp was ready to come home.   There was only one patron in the shop when I got there. The man behind the counter said he would be with me shortly. He needed to make more coffee. That was fine with me. I wasn't ready to order. I needed to see what was on the menu. There were a couple of sandwiches, a hash platter, oatmeal and pastries. I chose an egg, bacon and cheese sandwich and some herb tea to drink. I pulled out my card to pay

   Bishop Nealy and I have been emailing back and forth. I'm not sure why I said it, but in one of my notes I wrote that I was unlikely to change much now.   He replied that it was funny that I had brought up the subject of change. He recently had a conversation with someone who told him that most people are the way they are going to be at age 18 and don't change much after that.   This bothered him and I can understand why. A big part of our faith is being able to change. I would venture to say that a big part of Christianity in general is the ability to change. The ability to change the way we act, talk and treat ourselves and others. The ability to turn away from destructive behavior and turn to better ways.    I'm baffled as to why anyone would think that a person is fully formed at age 18 and doesn't change. It doesn't make sense. Eighteen years is only about  a fourth of the usual life span. To say that some one is going to be mostly the same for 3/4 of

   C and I were looking over my vacation time in preparation for our annual vacation when I realized that I had not heard about the two extra days I requested off. When I contacted the scheduler she told me that there was no coverage available and that I should try to work out the schedule with my boss.    I felt sick. I told C that maybe he should drive to our destination alone and I would drive up there myself two days later when my vacation started. C didn't think that was practical. It wasn't a good idea to take two cars, especially if we ran into bad weather. The trip there is part of the fun and he didn't want to miss out on that. It was a trip that we had made every year for nine years together and he didn't want to go there without me.    I tried to explain to him that it was really best to do what I suggested. I didn't want him to miss out on two days of the trip. He stood firm. No. He told me to talk to my boss.    I didn't want to do that. It'

  Hi! This is Colby. I decided that I wanted to write the column today because I want to talk about what is going on at my house.   A week ago Sophie and C started moving furniture out of the dining room. They took all the glasses out of the cabinet and all of the teacups out of the display case. Then they moved the dining room table. I didn't like that. I like the dining room table. I like to lay under it and take naps.   All of the furniture was moved around. Our cat  trees were moved downstairs. Why did they move them downstairs. We can't see out of the windows with the cat trees downstairs! What were they thinking?! They moved my little spare bed, our toy box and all of our stuff into the basement. I didn't know what was going on.    Sophie explained to us that we were going to have a wood floor put in and that everything needed to be moved. I wasn't sure I liked that. The carpet is soft and fun to dig into with my claws. We can't do that with wood.    Sop