Your 'Do Is You

Barb got a haircut the other day, and we really had a bit of a disagreement about  the chosen style. Haircuts should telegraph character and personality.

I mean, really, when you think of Barb (at least through my descriptions), what do you see...this...

...or this?

I lost the argument, but have to say, the Mohawk does look pretty good on her.

The choice to take the trouble for styling hair, even when working remotely and seeing almost no-one, is important. It bespeaks self-care, and the resolve to do the right thing, even when no-one is watching.

Do it in one part of your life, and it spills over into other areas. When discipline becoes a habit, the whole world spins a bit more smoothly.

It's the same when you are terminally ill. Dying is not an excuse for slacking; it's a call to even greater discipline.

You don't slop around in a dressing-gown; you dress for the work you're doing (in this case, caring for a multitude of ogs, and writing to witness God's grace.

You don't abandon the dreams you had; you work on them,d aily, in the faith that a miracle may yet come.

And most of all, you don't give voice to despair. Though no-one may be listening, and even if they listen, they condescend, you speak hope always.

And you never, ever give up.

You may ask...what kind of haircut do I have? I've let it grow out to my shoulders (no, I will not post a picture), for two reasons.

First, that it keep my neck from keeping sunburned while I am caring for the dogs.

Second, that there's a massive tumour on the right side of my neck; the long hair keeps it in shadow, if I look in a mirror. Otherwise it would really be discouraging.

I do avoid mirrors.

Barb got a haircut yesterday,

and it pleases her

to have it cut just that way,

like short retriever-fur.

It is her head after all,

but haircut is assertion,

and for boldness there’s a call

to define the inner person.

She’s vocally quite confident,

and she’s really cool;

kind but never hesitant

to slap down, hard, a fool

so if it had been up to me,

she’d have hair cut like Mr. T.

And if you touch Barb's truck, she, too, will gladly feed you your socks.

I do try to answer each comment in a timely fashion, but with Internet providers really stretched, I have only about half of the access I once did. Please bear with me!

Thanks to Carol Ashby, Blessed Are The Pure Of Heart is back on Kindle, and will be available in paperback soon.

Friends are everything. I couldn't have done it.

Below are my recent releases on Kindle -please excuse their presence in the body of the blog. I haven't the energy to get them up as 'buttons' in the sidebar. You can click on the covers to go to the Amazon links.

Career Change

 It's worthwhile, this 'witnessing God's grace while dying of cancer' gig, but sometimes...

...when I start with the dry heaves and can't catch my breath...

...when 'death in the dunny' is a BM that clearly shows my systems failing (sorry, but I promised to be honest)...

...and the nausea (well, honesty has its limits)...

...and when a single night seems longer than a year...

...I think maybe I need a career change.

The night was black, black as the pit,

but when I woke, ‘twas fancy free,

and now that death comes down to it

I’ll live my days in piracy.

I’ll run my soul before the wind,

in search of loot, and golden plunder,

and yes, Peccavi!, I have sinned,

but I’ll have my share ere I go under,

and revel in the debauched days

of wild abandon, wilder sun,

and sing a jaunty hymn of praise;

‘Ere, mate, would ye like some rum?

Cancer may my soul yet harrow

but I shall fly like Captain Sparrow.

The obvious music (please click here if Blogger doesn't load the video)...

And here, as a bonus, perhaps the best scene from Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. (And click here if Blogger doesn't load the video...sheesh.)

I do try to answer each comment in a timely fashion, but with Internet providers really stretched, I have only about half of the access I once did. Please bear with me!

Thanks to Carol Ashby, Blessed Are The Pure Of Heart is back on Kindle, and will be available in paperback soon.

Friends are everything. I couldn't have done it.

Below are my recent releases on Kindle -please excuse their presence in the body of the blog. I haven't the energy to get them up as 'buttons' in the sidebar. You can click on the covers to go to the Amazon links.

For Ever, And Be Strong

 First off, sorry for the double-spacing in the poem below; Blogger no longer allows for line spacing control. Hopefully, this will be fixed, or I'm off to Wordpress.org

We're still looking for a home for Sadie the Catahoula; if you're interested, please email catahoula_sadie@outlook.com

It's getting really hard to uphold the 'never say die' thing in the cancer fight; I have to force myself to drink as well as eat (and cold beer is a cherished memory); nausea and pain are beat-head-against-wall-bad.

Like just about everyone on God's Green Earth, I use Bible verses and moto slogans to buck myself up.

And as things got worse, they failed me. "Fear not!" when you're terrified? "Be strong!" when you take out a dog and can't get back to your front door?

So it's easy to take a jaundiced view of motivational 'materials', but is it right?

Well, yes and no. What people write represent individual experience, and that experience may not be analogous to yours. I am not Paul the Apostle; I am not Tony Robbins. Paul is more likely to speak to my life now, but even so, boasting of weakness when I have to crawl to the dunny just doesn't seem to do it, y'know?

However...if I try to look past current circumstance, there is a meaning behind the meaning. My weakness now is not disgrace; it's something of a liberation. I can't do this! acquires a coda: But with God's help, maybe I can.

Or maybe I can't, and have to call for aid, or...sorry...use a bedpan. The saving grace of Paul's words...the grace that saves my heart...is acceptance.

Likewise with my favourite motivational saying, Ake ake kia kaha, which is often translated from the Maori as 'forever strong', but is more accurately forever, and be strong. The first is a boast, and that's not a bad thing, but the latter is more a benediction and a gentle wish.

To me, this says that life is legacy; this moment, even though it may be one of my last on earth, has a lasting effect both on those let behind, and on me. Taking the strength to smile (and right now, smiling hurts, not emotionally but physically!) adds something to eternity.

I'm smiling.

"Ake ake kia kaha -

for ever, and be strong!"

Is it truth or is it blather?

Is it right, or wrong?

Slogans are not definition,

war cries hold no lease

as bulwark against perdition

in the belly of the beast.

And yet, and yet,

in gather'd gloom

when I am sore beset

the words are proof against my doom

and in haka's fearsome roar

I perceive a golden door.

As a special treat, here are two videos. The first is perhaps the greatest haka ever, before the All Blacks played France in the 2011 Rugby World Cup final...which the All Blacks won 8-7, in the lowest-scoring World Cup final ever. (Blogger is, I'm told, being weird. If you can't see the video click here.)

Next, here's Kiri te Kaanawa singing Now Is The Hour. (Likewise, if the video's not visible, click here.)

I do try to answer each comment in a timely fashion, but with Internet providers really stretched, I have only about half of the access I once did. Please bear with me!

Thanks to Carol Ashby, Blessed Are The Pure Of Heart is back on Kindle, and will be available in paperback soon.

Friends are everything. I couldn't have done it.

Below are my recent releases on Kindle -please excuse their presence in the body of the blog. I haven't the energy to get them up as 'buttons' in the sidebar. You can click on the covers to go to the Amazon links.

A Hope For Sadie?

Enough about cancer, and a fracturing country...this is way more important.

Sadie needs a home.

Sadie is a ten-year-old Catahoula, spayed, with all her shots up to date. Her mom can't keep her any more.

She's a sweet and mellow dog who loves to nap on the couch, and go for rides...just jumps into the truck, "Let's go! Can we stop at the Mconald's drive-through?". She gets on well with other dogs.

All very well, you might say, but what in blazes is a Catahoula?

I'm glad you asked!

The Catahoula Leopard Dog (so named because the prevailing brinle coat does look vaguely leopard-ish) is Louisian's only native dog breed. It's thought to be a mix of native American dogs and Beaucerons brought to the New World by French settlers.

They're very close to the 'original'; the breed was only recognied by the American Kennel Club in 1996, an so were bred for strength and stamina; they love to work (though Sadie may be an exception!).

They're also free of almost all congential problems, though deafness and hip dysplasia can occer ("Not me!" says Sadie).

They also have some remarkable skills...they've mastered the Catahoula Lean...

...which means, "You belong to me." (And no, that isn't Sadie, and isn;t me.)

They're smart, and know it...

...and, yes...

...Catahoulas can walk on water.

You may ask, since I'm a dog person and seem (!) to have a soft spot for the breed, why don't we take Sadie?

First, 'terminal cancer'...kind of bad to bond with a dog and then die. A bit unfair, yes?

Second, she's an older dog who is used to being in a quiet household. Here she'd be in a pack. a lot o dogs with various opinions on all topics, expressed very vocally (especially at mealtime). This place has the ambience of a group home for professional wrestlers...and Sadie, at this point in life, deserves a bit less stress.

Will we take her if she runs out of time and options?

What do you think?

But it's truly not the best option for Sadie, or for us, so if you would like to consider adopting her, or know someone who could give her a good home, please let me know, at <catahoula_sadie@outlook.com>.

In honour of the Catahoula Lean, the musical selection is...wait or it...Lean On Me.

Usually there's be a disclaimer apologising for slow response to comments, but this is time-sensitive...even if I am ill there will be other sets of eyes on this.

Thanks to Carol Ashby, Blessed Are The Pure Of Heart is back on Kindle, and will be available in paperback soon.

Friends are everything. I couldn't have done it.

Below are my recent releases on Kindle -please excuse their presence in the body of the blog. I haven't the energy to get them up as 'buttons' in the sidebar. You can click on the covers to go to the Amazon links.