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| I don't know if I was in Heaven or the other place... |
The one thing I don't miss
about playing the piano at church are the pats on my head when I'm pulled into a
big busted blue-haired lady along with a kiss on the cheek after I play, and that Eau de
Toilette Parfum. Now that I think about it, maybe this is why I have OCD, and I
may need therapy. I can see it now, "Tell me Kenny, how do you
feel?" "I can still see her, coming straight at me smelling like
Lavender, and I won't be able to see anything as my breath is cut off for what
seems like an eternity." "HElP, I'm drowning in breasts."
"Well, times up, I will see you next week."
Many times during the week, I
get that call from someone needing help. Sometimes, it's about a dog in a kill
shelter with only one day left or an injured dog, and no one can pay. Sometimes
it's about a dog tied to a chain. Sometimes it's about a dog that has cancer,
and they are scared. Sometimes we
don't have any fosters, and I get many calls for help because they don't know where to turn to for help.
Just this week, I got a call
with one of our fosters, and they needed some help with a situation. We talked several times, and I researched the issue. But while I'm not an expert and don't give advice, the veterinarian is the expert and should always be consulted and was. In this
case, like many others, I buried my face and rubbed my temples and wondered how
this could happen and how to fix it "Please, Lord, let this workout and give them an answer
and make this better." Of course, I worry about it and hope and pray
everything works out, and it usually will, usually.
It is truly a curse to be so
concerned about everything and want everything to work out, and it's hard to
see a positive outcome when your glass is always half empty. While I see dogs
in situations where help and immediate responses are necessary, I try to
respond as fast as we can, but I always want to fix the problem "right now."
Sometimes this is not always possible or the right way to do things. At times,
time is needed to correct the problem, but I always have a soft spot for the
ones that can't help themselves.
In high school, there are
always some bullies and creeps. I was only in two quarrels, one I'm ashamed of
and one I'm proud of. In my days, we had a Physical Education class in Junior High. Most of
the boys loved it, but the girls hated it. Once while I was standing in line, the
class bully started picking on another kid. Of course, the kid was intimidated
and started to cry. Something happened, and I jumped from the line and grabbed
the thug around the neck with one arm. I wrestled him around and started
punching him in the face with my free hand until he begged me to stop through tears. A bloody
nose and hand resulted, but it was worth it, and the thug never did it again, I
didn't even know the kid's name but he needed help and no one else would. Thank God, a teacher did not see it, but I
don't think it would have changed a thing, something needed to be done. I have
always had a special place for the unloved, unwanted, and helpless, and always pull for the underdog and some
Border Collie situations fit right into this spot.
As I got off the phone the other day after talking about the dog with the issue, I thought of
the many times I have said those exact words through grief and tears.
Please, let us get there before it's too late!
Please, help me understand!
Please let us find a foster,
no two fosters!
Please let us find a home!
Please let us get them out of
there!
Please help us pay for
this!
Please take care of the ones
I left behind!
Please let me sleep!
Please help us fix this!
Please let the dogs understand!
Please let the dogs understand!
Please let them get better!
And the hardest one is;
Please let them leave this world in peace and let them know we tried everything,
please!
While I have always loved playing the piano and can play the dickens out of it, I learned many lessons. It's not about you, it's about others and how you can serve them. I promise that if you focus your life on the ones that need you, not only will you help them, you too will be rewarded. Like the kid in Junior High, although he was not a friend and I never saw him again, he will never forget that day and after 50 years, I have not either, nor will the dog you save. This life is not about us... Ken
While I have always loved playing the piano and can play the dickens out of it, I learned many lessons. It's not about you, it's about others and how you can serve them. I promise that if you focus your life on the ones that need you, not only will you help them, you too will be rewarded. Like the kid in Junior High, although he was not a friend and I never saw him again, he will never forget that day and after 50 years, I have not either, nor will the dog you save. This life is not about us... Ken
