Key and the Blond

I've wondered if dogs really understand more that we give them credit? I think they do. Case in point: Our two dogs, Key, a black and tan mixed Black Lab and Juliet, an older black and white Whippet,  have been together through thick and thin for over 5 years. A trip of over 10,000 miles to Alaska and back in 2008, a trip to the 2009 Good Sam Rally in Albuquerque where we encountered over 2500 RVs and about half as many dogs for a few interesting days. Then we continued on to San Diego, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City before coming back home to Fort Worth. In 2010, we made a trip to New York City, then to Key West and back to Fort Worth. Everyone weathered all this, including me. Since that time we have stayed close to home with local short trips around Texas. I could see the wear and tear on both of our dogs....none of us are as young as we use to be......but Juliet who is older than Key, began to have difficulties and developed muscle and stability problems. She began having problems jumping up on the bed, (her normal sleeping spot) and jumping down out of our SUV. It finally got to where she would wait to see if I was going to come around and lift her down. Linda and I noticed she was losing her appetite and seemed to be losing weight. We decided to make a appointment to see Dr. Blue.

That same weekend, some very good friends and avid dog lovers called us and ask if we could possibility take in another dog; something that Linda and I have discussed many times. Left up to my loving wife, there would not be a stray dog on this side of town. However, the story of how this new dog became lost, or abandoned, was too compelling to reject out of hand, so we decided to meet them at the local Pet Mart store to look at her. It seems that this dog was seen hanging around a home in the neighborhood that appeared to be vacant. Our friends believed that the people moved out and left their dog there. I can't understand how anyone could do that. Anyway, this was no ordinary dog. She is a beautiful white Siberian Husky with a hint of amber coloring across the back. Key was mesmerized and also sensed that he was in love. The attention from Key was not rejected at all. They played and did the normal doggy things that dogs do. Juliet stood by with a certain amount of disdain but she would not interfere. That's just the way she was. Key and Juliet took a running jump into the back of the Tahoe and Linda and our new dog got in the back seat. As soon as we got moving, Key started barking like I had never heard him bark before. Linda said "What in the world is he barking at"? I looked at Key in the rear view mirror. He had wide open eyes and ears pointed high and his barking seemed to be saying "Hey, I just wanted to have some fun. I didn't know we were taking this girl home" I laugh every time I think of that look on his face.

So....we did it.....added another dog to our family. She was easily named Amber and it was not long before she had learned  her name...it seemed like it was only a few days. Even Juliet seemed OK with the addition. Juliet got along with all dogs or at least she never  reacted aggressively toward other dogs. So it seemed that all was well. It would be a threesome, so to speak. Juliet, in her own way,

would just acknowledge the presence of Amber by just touching her with the nose and then find a comfortable place to observe while Key tried to keep up with the rough house playing that Amber brought to the activity. Juliet never was one to rough house, and by the looks of things, Key had his paws full trying to match Amber's energy. So far all is well. We learned some things that we didn't know, or at least forgot about Huskies. They howl and very seldom bark. Amber will just walk right up to you, look straight at your face and howl a long, long sound, moving  her mouth to shape each note to form the words she wants to say. We do think she was crate trained because she loves to isolate herself in the large wire cage, in the corner of the living room. We call it "her safe house". Key won't go in there unless you put him in there; nether  will Juliet. The spent plenty of time in that thing on the several long RV trips we have made when we had to leave them at the RV for a while.  So Amber has it pretty much to herself. All is good.

From the CONSUMERIST

By Mary Beth Quirk

(1-12-2012)



Check out our trip to the
Dublin Dr. Pepper Plant in: Dublin Dr. Pepper

It's So Hard To Say Goodbye: Dublin Dr Pepper Is Now Just A Collector's Item

It's a sad day for Dublin Dr Pepper aficionados, unless they happen to have a stockpile of the stuff ready for eBay. The fallout of a legal battle between Dr Pepper Snapple Group and the Dublin Dr Pepper Bottling Company, both based in Texas, means no more neat throwback bottles with Dublin on the label will ever be made again.

The Dallas Observer says the Dublin Dr Pepper Bottling Company will now be known as Dublin Bottling Works, according to the settlement in the case. The company will still produce other pure cane sugar drinks like Triple XXX Root Beer, NuGrape and SunCrest.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group bought out the Dublin company's assets related to Dr Pepper, and will now have the right to distribute it in the Texas counties previously marked as Dublin territory. The bottles and cans will still be in nostalgic packaging, just minus the Dublin part.
Starting back in 1891, Dublin had a good relationship with the corporate honchos, until the big guys went rogue and started selling their own version of the throwback beverage that looked like Dublin's product.

"We want to thank our many customers for their support of our family-owned business during the past 120 years, and we want them to know that Dr Pepper is still a big part of Dublin," says Dublin Bottling Works vice president Jeff Kloster in a statement. "We hope customers will continue to visit our town, the W.P. Kloster Museum and Old Doc's Soda Shop, where they can still enjoy Dr Pepper sweetened with cane sugar."


[Dallas Observer]

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• farewell old friend,
• dublin dr pepper,
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BETHELL: Why humans are unique - Washington Times#pagebreak

BETHELL: Why humans are unique - Washington Times#pagebreak

We Were Soldiers Once......... and Young

One of the best visits on an RVing excursion I have had was the trip down to Harwood, Texas at the end of last year, with my son, also an Air Force veteran. This was to the Tactical Paintball field for the scenario of the battle for “Landing Zone XRAY”, one of the earliest and hardest fought battles of the Vietnam War. In November 1965, the 7th Cav landed in the Ia Drang Valley with 450 soldiers to begin a search for

North Vietnam regulars and shortly after hitting the ground, found out that they were surrounded by an enemy force 4 or 5 times their size. Last year there were honored guest that attended the paint-ball scenario: actual veterans of the battle in 1965. Each year the LZ Xray survivors of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry met somewhere and last year about 25 members, some of who were mentioned in the book, attended the event. Also attending was Joseph L. Galloway, co-author of the book, shown at the right speaking to all that attended.

This year, Tactical Paintball, once again, is presenting this special program and have planned to recognize all veterans that can attend. I am asking all of my old buddies to make an effort to get down there and do alittle camping or RVing right on the property. They have several RV sites set up with electricity.

For more info, see their web site: http://www.tacticalpaintball.com/

or the page for this event: http://www.tacticalpaintball.com/schedule.htm

Key's Visit To Dr. Blue

Every year both Key and Juliet get a chance to see old and new friends at the Vet's office when they get their annual checkup. What a great staff at the “Harris Parkway Animal Hospital” and our most favorite vet in the whole wide world, Dr. Ann Blue DVM. Last year it was a big deal because we were dealing with the recovery of Key's injuries....minor as they were.......when in his enthusiasm to meet some cattle got the best of him and decided to sail out of a window on our motor home along the Sam Houston Toll Road in Houston.
That little trick resulted in a broken tooth repaired by (the world’s most expensive root canal) (done at a wonderful animal surgery hospital in next door Arlington) as opposed to having the tooth extracted. We opted for the root canal because we were leaving on a trip to the west coast and an extraction would have required more recovery time before traveling. We didn’t have the time. We had a schedule to meet.
So, as we planned for this year’s exams I expected both dogs to speed through their exams and we just finish whatever else we have to do to make sure we have all of the tags and records required for travel.
Not so fast, old RV driving boy! This dog has another tooth problem! “What” I said.” I can’t believe it. The same thing as last year. ” Let me see” Sure enough, there was a smaller tooth next to a larger canine tooth wacked off at about a 45 degree angle. Well, something has to be done. “So, what’s our options?” I said. As it turns out it would be better to just pull the tooth because they can do it there at the Vet’s office…………and it cost about half of what a root canal does. We have plenty of time this year, but we will schedule this pretty soon anyway. The bigger problem is how it happened. Key is a good dog but he has a couple of bad habits that probably is the reason he has this broken tooth. For one thing, he hates to see squirrels running around his trees on the patio like they own the place. So since he can’t get to the squirrels he takes it out on the tree. The Bradford Pear is holding its own though. The other problem happens every time the postman drives up in front of the house to the mail box. Key can’t get to him because of the gate, so he takes it out on the gate. Unfortunately for me, the gate isn’t fairing too well. I am pretty sure one of these two things is the cause of the broken tooth. I wonder how I could get “The Dog Whisperer” Cesar Millan to my house for a free coaching visit.

Home

Home: "We are touring all the states in the lower 48 plus Alaska."

This summer it's been so hot around the old homestead that the wear and tear is sure showing on Key. The last 12 months have been hard for that ole dog. A trip to Alaska and back, a nose dive out on the freeway in Houston, and then being lost for 10 days wondering where the heck he was, and then when he finally gets back home, he gets operated on for a root canal. But, Key is such a good, friendly dog that I just like having him around. Over the years, he has developed a sense of responsibility not only for the property (territory), but also to Linda and me and especially Juliet. This is demonstrated quite clearly every morning when I hear a little chirping sound in my ear about 7AM. As I turn over to see Key sitting there with his mouth half open breathing a gentle "pant", which is a smile (to me), I know he's telling me it's time to open the back door. Somewhere close by is Juliet. She chooses to stand either close to the back door or just out of sight and let Key do the task of getting me out of bed. As I get out of bed and move to the back door, Key always stops and lets me exit the bedroom first and follows me to the back door. Many times, most of the time, Key follows Juliet out and will just stands or sits on the patio, watching Juliet scamper into the back yard and when she is finished and heads back into the house through the dogie door on the storm door, Key will slowly get up and follows her back into the house. I would love to know the communication that goes on between those two dogs.

I know that someday this will end. It has before. It's the way that it is and we can't change it. We have had many dogs, loyal and devoted ones that loved and was loved the same way that Key and Juliet are. We have to learn and be ready to accept the fact that someday they (or we) won't be around anymore. So the devotion and love they give to us I want to return to them. I want our time together to be as much as possible.

As some may know, Baxter Black is one of my favorite Cowboy Poets and I was particular moved by a video he did when he lost his dog. I hope you will take a look at it:

Baxter Black's "Just A Dog"

Planning 2009-2010

We have plans for more travel this year and the really big trip next year.....which will be kinda a history lesson for both of us through the usual historic places most people go to in and around the Washington, DC area. But, the really big thing about next year will be attending the graduation of class 2010 at the United States Military Academy....West Point. My nephew, Joel Harris, will be graduating and his dad, retired from the U.S. Army will be pinning those 2nd Lt. bars on him. Below is an article that appeared in the West Point news letter posted on their web site.

Heading Home After CLDTCadets Ben Salvito, right, from Princeton, N.J., and Joel Harris from Gonzales, Texas, load their gear into their truck in Central Area June 17. The Company H-2 cadets are headed back to their hometowns for some well-deserved rest after enduring the first phase of Cadet Leader Development Training, a three-week test of first class cadets’ leadership abilities in the field. (Photo by Sgt. Vincent Fusco/DComm

Final Change To Computer Monitor

When I started this project the one thing I wanted to adopt as our guide was to keep everything as simple as possible. Everything! As it was pointed out to me last night, when it came to making some sort of cover for the monitor, I allowed myself to think in terms of matching the base rather than just doing what it would take to accomplish the goal, which is just to have some sort of protection for the monitor. So....we went back to the basics and the most logical answer is just to cut out a piece of fiberboard, glue a handle on it, tape the edges to make it smooth and that's it. This is much better. No one, especially me, was very satisfied with the cover I made. It was too big....bulky and took up too much room.

Now some might think that when the monitor is positioned upright, it would obstruct my vision to the right. As it turns out, the thickness of the monitor is thin enough and is directly in line with the post on that side of the dash, so it doesn't change any vision on that side.

This is probably the last change to the computer instal, ........unless I get any more suggestions.

Cheers,

Jack

Coach Modifications

Almost complete on the installation of the new computer we built and installed in the coach. The monitor is mounted in a wood base which in turn is mounted on a computer swing arm and stabilized by legs. The use of sliders mounted underneath the legs allows the monitor to be moved forward and rearward with out any problem. The arm, shown in its stowed position, is held by a clevis (hitch) pin that goes through the swing arm (not shown) and inserts into the base. That prevents any forward or rearward movement of the monitor while in motion. With the hitch pin removed the monitor will swing forward about 10 inches. The keyboard is a wireless Logitech diNovo Edge and the computer is an Asus motherboard with a medium priced Intel DDR3 processor, a Seagate SATA drive, a NVIDA 5200 video card for two monitors, one that is shown and the other one is a 7” monitor that is mounted at the driver’s side.

All that is left to do on the installation is sand the cover, apply sanding sealer and finish sanding. Then a couple of coats of oil base enamel, install the hinge and handle, and install the brass guide for the lid.

The program running is DeLome’s Navigation software that we are using. The trip shown is our next one, starting next Thursday to Dublin, Texas for the 118th birthday party for the Dr Pepper Bottling Plant.

Everybody pepper up!!

Cheers, Jack