DEDICATION TO RUFFY

Yesterday, my mother found our golden retriever, Ruffy, hit by a car off of Rt 148. Of course the bastard took off, evading responsibility. Probably because he or she is a worthless sociopath that rapes children in his or her past time. Regardless, other people with a conscience actually stopped (thank you).

Mom took Ruffy to the vet that night and there was basically nothing they could do, so they put him to sleep. Mom did stay by his side as he drifted off, which I am grateful for. Though the whole situation really sucks..

Ruffy was always a really good dog. Actually, he was probably more than a dog when it comes down to it. He was the 8th Jansma of the immediate family. Even though sometimes he might not have been treated the best, he always kept a chipper attitude. There was no holding him down, ever. Though it was a very long time ago that we got Ruffy, there are many memories of rough housing with him all over the place. Wrestling in the living room, racing around the whole house, watching Shebus and Alix run around with him in the back yard, the many trips we took out to New Hampshire with him, taking him for walks out in the woods while we explored, the list goes on. Even when he started to have minor health problems, he was still down for anything.


Ruffy, we'll all miss you, and thanks for guarding the gates for the rest of us. We'll all be there shortly.

From Eve Des Jardins: Fourteen years ago a golden bundle of fur joined our family. He was the third in a line of golden retrievers, all with their unique personalities. Max, the first, a leggy bundle of go get 'um energy, Flurry, an aristocratic intelligent beauty who carried himself with proud self possessed confidence. Ruffy had a hard act to follow but like kids you expect that they will all have their unique personalities.

I found him at a breeder in Torrington Connecticut and she recommended him to me because I had experience with Goldens. He was quirky from the start. She had done puppy testing to gauge their temperaments. What stood out with Ruffy was that he was easily startled by new things. And until the day he died, if I even parked the tractor, a piece of equipment with which he was very familiar, in a different place he would bark at it as if an alien had just landed in the back yard.

He was beautiful but he would never be quietly self possessed and would always have a slight look of confusion in his eyes. And fetch was a word he took literally. He would fetch a stick or a ball but somehow didn't believe that the definition included the concept of returning the item. Maybe he was smarter than I thought and knew that if he did return it he would only have to run after it again and what was the point of that if he already had it to enjoy?

But of all the dogs he was he most patient and loving. He grew up with kids who would rough and tumble with him and he began his life here with a human baby with which he was always gentle even when she was not always with him.

His soul purpose in life seemed to be to love and be loved. One look from his human companions would be seen as an invitation to come over and be petted and be petted some more and if it was allowed I am sure he would have jumped up and curled up in your lap.

He and I had a quiet understanding. He knew that I wanted a more arms length relationship. And that was not to say that I didn’t love him and give him affection. But he seemed to respect that I needed the space. And we would often find ourselves in each other’s company while I smoked at the swing chair or on the terrace and he would sit quietly not far from me looking up with questioning eyes that seemed to ask me, “is it alright if I come over and get petted now?”

Life gets busy. There are errands to do, kids to take care of, studying to be done, friends to see, issues to deal with. Sometimes the quiet ones get taken for granted. And sadly it was easy to take him for granted as he never asked for much and would seem so content to be by himself. He seemed to know that when life’s other pressing issues were taken care of he would be noticed. As long as he was fed and watered and let out he was content to wait for when we had more time for him. He was enduringly patient. He was enduringly and unconditionally loving.

And it’s not until they are gone that we realize how patient our animal companions are with us. How much they end up understanding us as much as we believe we understand them. And then we are left with should have hads. Should have had spent more time, should have had been more careful, should have had been more patient. And then we think to ourselves and wonder, "do I do that with everything". And for a moment we vow not to again.

He was sick for that last few months. His belly getting bigger and his frame getting thinner. I felt he had a tumor but at fourteen he was an old dog. He was still happy, still content, still enjoying sitting out on the terrace soaking in the sunshine. It would have been cruel to do anything more than to let him live out his life.

I thought that he would die quietly at home. It could have happened that way. It should have happened that way. But I was careless and let him out and didn’t watch him and I could alibi myself and say that he was not prone to wandering down to the road but that would be a cop out. I didn’t watch and he was hit by a car.

He limped to the house, his left hind foot severely injured. The driver had taken off. Other by standers had stayed to lend their support. I forgive the driver. It wasn’t his fault. The dog shouldn’t have been on the road. And I know that the driver will think of this for a long time to come.

I couldn’t find a local vet who was available. Ruffy was stable enough and I wrapped his wound and put him to bed with a powerful pain med. He slept one last night at home.

In the morning I brought him to his regular vet and it was as I had feared. The kindest thing was to let him go.

I asked if I could stay and be with him. The vet was kind and understanding and gentle.

I held Ruffy’s head and cried. He must have been in pain and yet he didn’t show it. He thumped his tail and looked at me as I was crying and nuzzled my hand more this time as if he was making me feel better and forgiving me for what I had put him through. Maybe we want to see what we need to see. I thought he was telling me it was all going to be fine.

The vet injected the drug slowly. Ruffy just quietly closed his eyes and went peacefully into that last sleep.

Ruffy: Always patient. Always of good nature. Always full of tail wagging affection. You will be missed.

And Jon. Thank you for your tribute especially the video. I read it in the wee hours and was so moved that words could not be found to comment.

THE EASTERN EXPERIENCE

So my sister, Shebus, started going to Eastern University a couple weeks. We decided it was time to go and visit her and get some of the good ol' college experience going. Of course, we didn't know is that things would turn out so gruesome near the end. What's that supposed to mean?? Oh, you'll see...

We arrive at the college dorms around 8:15 pm on Wednesday night. Since Shebus is still in class we go to our friend Heather's dorm to wait for Shebus, and drink some beverages (it's a dry school, so I can't get into details). Anyway, we're having fun just joking around and telling stories of past experiences that Heather used to have with us (since we haven't hung out with her for like 2 years). Shebus arrives at Heather's dorm, and we leave to hit up a well spoken of bar just down the road. I believe it was called something like... "something something brewing co.", I can't remember.

We decide to walk there so that Heather and Shebus can show us some of the campus and all that. When we arrive at the bar, we still down at a table and get practically immediate service. Me and Amanda get our beers while everyone else hits the bathrooms. When everyone else returns the waitress comes back and proceeds to card everyone. Scatty Do Do, who is also with us, gives the lady his ID and is actually declined service because of a crack in his ID. Needless to say, it was a pretty aggravating moment. So, I decide that this bar is stupid, and we immediately cash out. Scat had asked for the manager, but the waitress refused. So, we cut our losses and got the fuck out of there.

Completely discouraged by our first bar experience at Eastern, we decide to suck it up and try a different Irish bar right down the road from the brewing co. As soon as we got in there was a pretty good vibe going on. We actually had a blast during our whole visit to that bar. The bouncers even let Heather and Amanda bring pizzas in. It was great! The people there were very nice, and there were no problems in sight.

After an awesome time at that bar, we finally got kicked out at last call and started walking back to Heather and Amanda's dorm. As we left, Heather, Shebus, and Amanda seemed to make new friends and basically made all of us stand on a street corner while they conversed with them. Me and Q the Muse just wanted to get back to the dorms to drink more beverages, but everyone was pretty drunk from the bar, and no one was listening to anyone.

So, as we're standing there a black eclipse stops at the stop sign and the passenger says "Hey ladies!" The blond kid that we didn't know says back... "1, 2, 3, alright move along". For some reason this pissed the passenger off something rotten. He steps out of the car, gets all up in this kids face and is basically trying to get the kid to hit him. After a couple minutes of the rest of us saying "calm down dude, we're not trying to fight anyone, we just wanted the driver to burn up the tires, that's all..." he finally gets in his car and they all drove off. Situation over, right?? Well, that's what I thought...

After that whole escapade Q the Muse and I are trying to get people to go up the hill so we can get back to the dorms to continue the night. Of course, no one is listening and we continue to wait. So I turn my back and look down the street. What do I see?? The fucking guys from the car walking up. I'm thinking to myself, oh... fuck... here we go... The original kid that got out of the car walks directly to the blond kid and starts talking shit again. His two friends are standing right by me and Q while all this is going on. We're trying to mediate the situation cause we don't want to see anyone get fucked up by some hot head jock fag! But, things started getting out of control and there was nothing we could do about it. They kept asking us to leave, which is fine, that's what we were trying to do the whole time. So, me, Shebus, Q the Muse, and two girls I didn't know proceed to walk up the hill. We don't even make it 20 feet and fists start flying... From the angel we were it was hard to see who was involved, who was getting their asses kicked, and who was beating some ass. All you could really see is that a big ass dude was punching the shit out of everyone. Now me and Shebus are starting to panic because we can't find Scat and we can't find Heather, and you can't put it past a faggy jock to hit a woman. We start yelling both of their names as we start walking back, because if either of them are involved, then I HAVE to get involved. It's completely fine if people I don't know are getting beat, but not if Scat, Heather, or anyone else I know are. Shebus spots them both hanging out by a fence practically in the middle of all the action, but it turned out they were just spectating. Shebus screams "Heather! Scat! Get the fuck over here!!" After a couple of those, we finally get everyone walking back up the hill. Turns out that the bigger dude was on our side, and fucked them all up pretty well. Which is funny, because they started it, but that kid finished it, haha.

Situation FINALLY over... right??? Nope, we we're walking up the hill, the kids that got the shit beat of them start back up again! Like, for real guys?? If you got beat, just give it up! But no, they start slowly stepping up the hill, yelling things about our style or something, haha. I think one said something about the chains I wear and how I was emo?? Haha, alright dude, talking about what I wear is definitely going to make me fight you! If that's how kids get down now a days, alright, here ya go... you're a polo wearing, mommy issued, daddy funded jock with a small penis, haha. Uh oh, did I go to far?!?! haha, anyway. Now Scat's actually getting pissed and is starting to walk back talk shit to these kids. Though I give him props for wanting to go down the hill and take on the three dudes, it just wasn't a good idea, and either way we've all had enough of this scene. The cops are going to show up and people are going to start getting arrested. So, me Shebus start pushing him back up the hill, telling him to calm down. As luck would have it, as soon as we get Scat to the sidewalk and walking our way, the cops come rolling down the street. As soon as the other kids saw that they ran away. Situation, finally, over!

The walk back was full of rantings about the fight and all that. When we got back to Heather and Amanda's dorm, we continued with the night, and basically just had a lot of fun. I ended up passing out on the floor after puking in the toilet. Oh, and I think I bumped my head on shelf at some point... Either way, it was a great time and I would like to thank Heather, Amanda, and Shebus for having us down :)

DISH SOAP IN THE DISHWASHER

Apparently, you aren't supposed to put regular dish soap, that you would use to wash your dishes manually, in a dishwasher. How did I find this out? First off, I'm an idiot. Secondly, I did it. All I ended up with is a huge sudsy mess all over my floor and inside the washing machine.

Right after I found everything covered in bubbles, I thought to myself, maybe I can just remove all the bubbles with my hands and put them in the sink. Then everything would be fine, right?? So I did that and started up the washing machine again, thinking that I had fixed this problem. Nope! It did it once again.

Upon discovering the bubbles reborn on my kitchen floor, I realized that the soap was probably still in the water lines of the actual machine. Then I thought, wonderful, I broke this stupid thing. That's when I started getting smart about the situation and figured that science would prevale! So I looked up what chemicals actually neutralize dish soap and what would make the bubbles die.

Turns out, this is what you are supposed to do if you ever find yourself in this situation...

1: Use a bucket or other container and take out as much water and suds from the dishwasher as you can and dump it into the sink. Dry the inside of the dishwasher with a towel. You can also use a wet-dry vacuum (such as a Shop Vac) if you have one, but make sure it is rated for wet pickup, and make sure to use only the wet filter.

2: Select either cooking oil or white vinegar. Pour 1/2 to 1 cup of it directly into the bottom of the dishwasher. These substances are proven bubble-killers. On top of the oil/vinegar, add a layer of table salt. No need to be stingy; add a couple handfuls.

3: Start the dishwasher again and let it run for a minute.

4: Check the status of the suds. If there are still huge amounts, add more oil or vinegar and start the dishwasher again.

5: Repeat this process until the suds have died down and the dishwasher pipes have had a chance to clear out.

6: Wash out the soap dispenser thoroughly, if that's where you put the offending dish soap.

And TADA! It worked out pretty well. The only thing that I wasn't sure on was if Canola Oil was the same as cooking oil, because that's all I had in my house and I am pretty lazy. But, it turns out that Canola Oil is pretty much cooking oil.

So, now my kitchen is back to normal, and I wasted a couple hours of my life on something I shouldn't have done in the first place. What a great day this is turning out to be :)