This is a test of Windows Live Writer with Blogger

This is a test, this is only a test.......

September 11, 2001 - Repost

Talking about September 11, 2001

This is a repost from last Saeptember 11. What can I really say differently for the fifth anniversary of the horrific attack in NYC?

It started for me at 1 am. Maverick, my faithful minpin was ill. Having just returned from God knows where, I found Maverick acting strange and listless. Figuring that the little bugger was a little under the weather I picked him up and carried him to bed.

After barely falling asleep I felt the bed move and heard a thud. Forcing myself awake I find Maverick on his back on the floor. His eyes are rolled back in his head and his whole body is shaking uncontrollably. I called Kathy, waking her up and and told her what was happening. She rushed out to see what was wrong. Our only thought was to take him to the all night veterinary clinic in downtown Edmonton. Off we went. We dropped him off and then called his breeder to let her know that something was terribly wrong with him. Everything went through my head from his having eaten something, or even having been abused in our absence (we didn't much trust the border living in the house).

Several times through the night we called the vet. They kept saying that there was little or no improvement. We decided that, should there be no improvement by the the time the emergency clinic closed at 8 am we would have him euthanized. I spoke to the breeder and she agreed that this would be the best decision to keep him from suffering. She would also provide another minpin to replace him (God bless her heart). At around 7:30 am we went to pick him up, or put him down. Fully prepared to consent to his demise I walked into the clinic to see him standing, though shaky, and he came right to me. The vet said he just seemed to improve, but he should go to our regular veterinarian for observation. Placing Mavie in the backseat of the car, in his cage (yes he loves his cage) I turn on the radio.

The morning show dj's are not on the air. All that is on is the newscaster talking about how a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City. At this point they are still thinking it is a terrible accident. I remember thinking that accidents like that may happen with small aircraft piloted by inexperienced pilots. These things don't happen to seasoned commercial pilots. There has to be more to it than that.

With about an hour to go until our regular vet's office opened we took Mavie home. I am curious about the WTC situation so I turned on CNN. Just as i turned it on the second aircraft crashed into the second tower. I now knew I was right. America was under attack. I sat there stunned, a tear coming to my eye. I know I was exhausted, having been up for over 24 hours and having just about lost my best bud overnight. But the tears were genuine. The world as we know it was about to change in ways that only my grandparents would have understood. We were on the brink or war with an as yet unknown enemy.

I had to tear myself away from the television and the horrible video to take the "Mavinator" to the vet. He was shaky again, but lucid. After dropping him with Dr. Lee I drove to work to give them the bad news that I wouldn't be working that day, due to having been up so long. Home I went. Back to CNN. I did now sleep all day, or most of that night as I was glued to the repetitive broadcasting of the fateful news of the day. This was the first time I had been so glued to the television news since the Columbia Shuttle disaster. Canadians and Americans are not all that different. We share a somewhat common lifestyle with all the same likes and dislikes. Unlike other disasters and terrorist acts that hadn't affected me to such an extent, this one was happening to a neighbour on the SAME continent.

By 5 pm the vet had called and Mav was eating, standing, clear eyed, and pretty much back to his old self. I picked him up, called the breeder and gave her the news. He still wasn't out of the woods but for the time being he was ok! It would be two years of sporadic seizures and trial and error diagnosis before we figured out that we just don't know what was wrong with him. He went to the breeder for several weeks (damn I missed the little bugger) and was watched through several seizures by her veterinarian. He was returned to me with a prescription for Phenobarbital (epilepsy medication). I gave him the meds as prescribed and after a few days he got even worse. I stopped the meds and he has not had a seizure in three years..... He is a miracle.

September 11, 2001 is a day that I will never forget. I can almost relate to the surviving friends and family of the victims. Though, not on quite the same level, I almost lost a friend that day. On a larger level we all lost something that day. The friends and relatives of the victims of terrorism lost loved ones. The United States suffered a corporate and personal loss second to none (until Katrina), and peace loving people everywhere lost their complete sense of security and comfort all in one day.

So as I sit here, with Maverick curled up beside me sleeping soundly, I remember that day and pray that nothing like it touches any of us again.

Here I am!

So here I am. Yup, you found me. I am off work a few days this week, so I will spend some time adding stuff here. It is my intention to post some of the better posts from my Windows Live Spaces blog over here.

Hopefully this will prove to be a faster and more reliable platform for me to share my life with all of the wonderful friends I have made over at WLS.

Please feel free to give me ideas and such. I will listen to you if I feel like. Chances are I will ignore you too. Nothing personal. LoL

See ya in the funny pages.