__________________ "Today, war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids."
Definitely Sir Toosie… it’s not the same around here without him…
__________________
The ultimate test of man's conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today
for future generations... whose words of thanks will not be heard.
~ Gaylord Nelson ~
Maybe he's in a hole somewhere shedding skin and transforming into Reporter67.
__________________ The novelist does not long to see the lion eat grass. He realizes that one and the same God created the wolf and the lamb, then smiled, "seeing that his work was good".
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They had temporarily escaped the factories, the warehouses, the slaughterhouses, the car washes - they'd be back in captivity the next day but now they were out - they were wild with freedom. They weren't thinking about the slavery of poverty. Or the slavery of welfare and food stamps. The rest of us would be all right until the poor learned how to make atom bombs in their basements.
Oh, you guys. This is really nice. I'm very touched, thanks. And I promise from now on I won't leave for long periods without letting you know.
I hate to bore you with details about my life, but for those of you who are interested here goes(for those of you who are not, please skip to the last 2 lines of this reply):
After high school, I joined the Army. After 2 years there, I was kicked out because in 1987 the "Don't ask don't tell" policy was not around.
I moved back to my hometown: San Francisco, where I was discovered by a modeling agent. I modeled for him, traveling around the country--sometimes abroad--doing fashion shows(mostly runway). Then I got into print modeling. I signed a contract with a major fashion designer, then got "discovered" by a TV show producer who wanted me to participate in his San Francisco TV news show as a fashion reporter. Well, I did that for a while, becoming the travel reporter too while I was there. Suddenly I realized that I wanted to go to college. I decided that journalism was a good major because I had already been doing it
for 5 years (sort of like putting the internship before the education, if you get my drift). Well, in school I discovered print journalism--not as flashy, but hey, I'd be writing--another one of my passions. So I was doing 3 things; going to school, doing a TV show, and writing for a journal under the guidence of the editor of the Oakland Tribune.
Okay--Bored Yet?--So, I'm doing all of this stuff--keep in mind I'm still under contract with my agent--and suddenly a young film director wants me to play a small part in his Indy film. I couldn't pass up the opportunity so I do it. Whew!!!!
Anyway, to make a loooooooooong story short, I wasn't really following my heart. Sure, I made plenty of money. I was partying with people in Hollywood, I was getting recognized when I went places in San Francisco, but what I really wanted to do was---okay here it comes---work with animals!!
I bought a house in San Diego, left my life in San Francisco behind. I rent out my home (a historic cottage) to people during the summer and (used to) freelance for a local paper.
Well last month I decided to go back to school to get that veteranary technician degree I always wanted. I'll be starting school in the fall. But since I have no real experience with animals I decided to take a job at the local PETsMART as a cashier/stocker and get to know things about animals and their owners(doing the whole personal internship thing again).
So, last month I quit my job. Signed up for school. Got another job--and you know what? I'm having the time of my life!!
So anyway, that's my whole life changing story. You can choose to believe me or not. Some people think I'm bragging when I tell them all of that, unless they know me of course. To them, I just say, " Hey, you asked."
You guys have become like family to me here. I look forward to your support while I'm in school again. Imagine, 35 and in college!!!
Lots of love to all of you, and thanks again.
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I have been formatted to fit this screen.
35 and in college sounds like a total blast, frankly. I'm 42 and only got halfway done with my writing degree from Carnegie-Mellon (and had a hankering to switch majors to directing anyway), but started having babies (a.k.a. Yoda et al.) and never got around to going back.
At this point, a writing degree would do me less good than just writing, and I'm nothing if not pragmatic about spending money, so I doubt I'll ever finish. More's the pity: My folks would have burst with pride if I had gotten a college degree.
Maybe someday ... just not now.
Again, congrats.
Linda
(who, despite the above, is having the time of her life too!)
Ah… there you are… welcome back r66! You were missed around here... That’s a great story and I am very happy for you… So how do you like Pet Smart so far? I take my "beasties" to the one here all the time…
I'm with Toose: I'd like to hear more of this story. You've my interest...as well as my admiration for what seems to be a remarkable ability to embrace change.
It's a relief to see you're coming back, man. This place certainly would not be the same without you. I'm also really happy for you that you've been grounded enough to realize what's really important to you, and do it.
It feels really good to "hear" all of your voices again. Sure, I'll keep you posted as to my adventures, well, the ones that are interesting of course.
So far Cait' PETsMART, is actually fun. I'm learning that working in retail is slightly less stressful than that of a newsroom--way less money too! I think of my co-workers, especially the one's with families, and wonder how they survive on $7.00 an hour. You'd think I would be surrounded by teenagers working their way through school, or taking a crack at their first job, but surprisingly, there are a lot of people in their 30's doing it as their primary source of income. Between us, I don't tell them about my situation because I don't want there to be any resentment toward me.
I'm also surprised at how much people love their pets. People will do just about anything for them. Including buying them expensive things such as food, toys and beds. What concerns me since I've been there(about a month now), is that some customers think that they can find inexpensive cures or remedies for their pets problems. Instead of shelling out the pricey fee of a vet visitation, they think that PETsMART associates can answer all their concerns. I sympathize with them. My dog's last visit to the vet cost me $300!! Hah! The funny thing here is that I'm still close to my last boss. He thinks a story about people and their pets would make a great story for the paper! I told him I'd think about it.
My sister used to dress up her dog (often he was crossdressed) Buster, a pomeranian, and take him with her to her public access TV show that she used to do. Not to mention take the endless amount of professional photos of him in costume (all for free). However, Buster is near death now. She has another dog, Tony, and she's getting a new poodle puppy soon, a girl. So am I -- mine will be a boy, a little red poodle. What should I name him?
And does anyone want a ferret? I am trying to find a nice home for this ferret we found last year in our backyard, on the loose! I call him Freddy.
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