What a Tuesday

Trying to not do much physically since the ramp because I believe I strained some oblique muscle on my right side... Surely it's the same one Albert Pujols pulled this summer. If so, I see why he laid out some games. It feels like a knife both in my chest and back. Advil is helping, but.... Monday, Georgia's birthday, we met Barb, Gary, Bart and Lindsey for lunch at the local Cracker Barrel. We agree... Lindsey seems to be a keeper. We gave them a hard drive with mom and dad's old movies so they can copy what they want and Barb gave us a bunch of mom's diaries. That will be interesting reading. I planned to leave early Tuesday morning to come home, but didn't get up til about 7:30. We needed to get another grab bar for Nan's bathroom, so I decided to wait around til the Home Health store opened to pick one up. Now I hadn't taken a shower 'cause I thought I'd be going home by myself, so was feeling a bit "gamey". Gabe's 8-year-old Rottweiler, "Snoop", who lived with Nan had been limping since I'd been there (and apparently a bit before that). He got to where he didn't want to get up. Gabe and Mandy came to get him Tuesday morning while I was picking up the grab bar. They took him to one vet practice which was severely busy, then went to another practice on Western Avenue. I told them that if the vet wanted me to look at x-rays, I wouldn't charge for it. By the time I got the last bar installed, they called back and said there was something in Snoop's elbow and a large mass in his chest. That of course changed the picture. After discussing it, I asked if the veterinarian minded if I came out to look at them. In the meantime, I had looked him up on the internet to find that he graduated from Purdue 3 years after we did and practiced for a short time in North Manchester where we had interviewed at graduation. In addition, he knew the Sommers brothers who had been dad's vets while he had livestock in his latter years. As another addition, another veterinary radiologist who I know pretty well had actually practiced at the very place where we were standing. The vet, Dr. Durkes is a widely known practitioner of gold bead implant, acupuncture, and other homeopathic veterinary medicine. While I was looking him up, I checked my e-mail to find that the business office at Purdue still didn't have a form I had signed... (so I could be paid). I answered by saying that I was coming home from Gas City, so I would stop by their office to sign another one. Off to Western Avenue. Dr. Durkes was correct, there was at least one big mass in the chest and some abnormalities in the elbow. I found however that there was also a problem with the shoulder. Not to brag (OK, to brag) the average veterinarian (including Dr. Durkes) wouldn't have noticed it, but after I pointed it out, Dr. Durkes completely agreed with my diagnosis. Snoop had a bone tumor in his shoulder. That is why he was limping. The tumor is called an osteosarcoma. Veterinary Oncologists all over the world are working on treatment for canine osteosarcoma. The best they can do is hold it off for a few months. Here is a radiograph (x-ray) of a shoulder that looks very much like Snoop's and one of a normal dog. Although very difficult, Gabe made the best decision for Snoop, himself, and his family. I stayed to help, allowing Gabe and his family to leave.

That done, I went back to Nan's to report in and say my goodbyes. In the back of my head, I was thinking... "I hope Sharon (at Purdue) is still there, but I'll bet she leaves at 4". So I headed out toward West Lafayette, arriving in the business office about 4:05. The lady said, "Can I help you?". I need to interject here that the AC isn't working in the old green Explorer. Remember, I was feeling "gamey" earlier in the day. The quart of iced tea I was sipping on from Gas City to Lafayette, kicked in just east of Lafayette. I did manage to find a men's room when I hit the vet school, but still didn't feel very "social".. I explained that I had worked there in July and needed to sign a form for "Sharon". She said, "Sharon just left for the day..." AAARRRGGGHHH!!! "but I'm her boss". Whew! She got out another form which I signed and was on my way home. All I had to do was to drive another 90 miles in 90 degree weather and stay away from people. Did stop at the Lindy Freeze to get a chocolate covered cherry flurry... mmmm good. (Oh yes, the rest stop just west of Danville.) Came home, watered the flowers (everything looked good except the new wisteria I had planted for the copper arch and forgot to tell the Pattersons about), came in, took a shower and crashed. While on my way back into Gas City in the morning, I had stopped to take a picture of the sign commemorating the "heros" of Gas City. Y'all know about nearby Fairmount and the famous people from there. http://www.jamesdean.com/community/festival/index.htm

Well just a few miles from Fairmount, is Gas City. As you enter Gas City from any direction, you can see this sign. Who are these people? Larry Heddon was a basketball star in the early 50's. Jack Colescot in the late 40's . http://www.hoopshall.com/inductees/1998/hedden.html http://www.hoopshall.com/inductees/1997/colescott.html You might notice that the website spells his name differently than the sign.... hmmmm. Don Foreman is in the Indiana baseball hall of fame as a reknown high school coach from the 60's to 90/s in the Indianapolis area. http://www.indbaseballhalloffame.org/inductees/foreman.htm

and Rick Atkinson also as a baseball coach , though they didn't mention the year. http://www.indbaseballhalloffame.org/inductees/ratkinson.html

So who is this Paul McPherson? He achieved basketball hall of fame status with his small college championship team in 1940 at Tarkio University in Northwest Missouri. He is number 99 in the photo at: http://www.tarkioalumni.org/AHoF.html. Oh! He is Georgia's dad who left us in 1985. I'm not sure why it isn't up now, but there used to be a sign entering Gas City acknowledging Jack Courtney, a world reknown figure skater (ice skating and roller skating). You will see him listed in both men's combined and pairs in 1968 at this site. http://www.usarollersports.org/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/11/26/4388ec658b69f . Let's see, Champaign, Illinois boasts Bonnie Blair and Urbana, Miss America Erika Harold. I'm sure there are some famous people from Mahomet, Illinois, but I'll have to check. I wonder if there is anyone famous from Silver Lake, Indiana. Guess it depends on what you mean by famous. I know that I thought David Kinsey, Dallas Fingerlee, Larry Caudill and Norman Roberts were pretty special along with Emory Brandenburg and Jim Haney, but then I guess my perspective was pretty limited. They were fun to watch play basketball. (Back in the days of short pants and duck tails).