Local Humane Society

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I did get a call back from my local Humane Society, responding to my request to volunteer some time.  I'll be attending their monthly meeting next Monday at the Eden library and find out what I can do to help.

I live in a rural, economically depressed county in North Carolina.  Many of the people here earned good money doing factory work.  Notice the past tense.   A lot of the plants have closed down or drastically reduced their work force and people are hurting.  Add in to that our county doesn't have a bus line and transportation is a huge issue.  It's at least a 30 minute drive to the bigger cities and with no car or no gas money for a car, finding work out of town is not an option.

But the people in this area are fantastic.  They give when they have nothing.  That neighbor-helping-neighbor thing really happens around here.  People know and greet you by name.  When friends come to visit and we maybe run some errands, such as dropping off clothes at the dry cleaners, they stare as I just hand my clothes over and drive away.  "Don't you need a ticket?" they ask.  "Don't you need to give your name?"  No, they know me.

When we first moved here, there was a historic home that had been converted into a gift shop.  We had browsed the store one day before X-mas, and wanted to come back and buy a few items but the shop would close before we could get there from work. So the owner left the items we wanted out on the back porch and told us to just leave the money in an envelope when we came back.  How often do you find that??

Getting back to the Humane Society, my point with all of this is that even though our county doesn't have much money, the spirit here is strong and I think great things can be done. People are always willing to help if you provide them with some passion and direction. Right now, abandoned animals taken in off the street are held an average of 3 days before they're put to sleep.  That's unconscionable.  We need a shelter where animals can be taken to and adopted from.

There was an article in today's paper that our county is trying to raise money for a homeless shelter.  Would it be farfetched to suggest the two groups -- the Humane Society and the Feed the Homeless society--combine forces for one large building vs. trying to run 2 separate campaigns to raise money for land, supplies, and labor?  The services could be run independently, but it seems to make more sense to work together and pool funds for one large building than to compete with one another.  And who knows what sort of cooperative agreements could be worked out with funding, volunteers, etc?

What do you think?  Am I missing something major for why that wouldn't work?  Or is it an idea with potential?

Missing Old Friends

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I was reading my friend Rachel's blog the other day in which she was discussing that, even though having moved to what is probably the cafe capital of the United States (Seattle), she rarely frequents coffee houses any more.  She attributes this partly to cost (how were we all suckered into thinking paying $4 for a cup of coffee was a reasonable expense??) and partly to not having her Greensboro coffee-house friends with her.

I'm sitting in a Panera right now, sipping hot orange ginger mint herbal tea and avoiding work on my networking article that's due at the end of the month and that I'm woefully behind on.  I'm also missing my friend Rachel because she was always one for hopping in the car at moment's notice and joining me at a Panera or Starbucks to while away 3 hours talking about work, husbands, goals, obstacles, dreams, and--if really pressed for topics--the latest fashions of the day or who was on Oprah.

I chase friends away.  Not intentionally, and the good news is they all go on to much better things, but the fact remains that if you live near me and are friends with me, you have maybe a 2-year shelf life with me before you move on to bigger and better things.

I moved to NC in 1992. Since then I've lost Anne, Teresa, Jennifer, Jennifer (yes, there were two), Heather, Robbyn, Rachel, and I'm soon to lose Melody as well. 

As I said, good for them, bad for me.  Everyone moved on due to promotions and following life dreams and are doing well.  I just miss them.

So, Bernie, Mariela, Joyce, Pam and crew...beware!  Being friends with me means many things but above all it means that at some point in the not too distance future, a moving van looms on your horizon.

Don't say you weren't warned.

Refusing to be Sick

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I can pinpoint the exact minute it struck.  I had a 5pm interview last night and hopped in my car at 4.  I was 2 blocks from my house, sitting at a stoplight, when I sneezed.  Nothing unusual there.  I sneeze all the time and had, in fact, been sneezing for most of the day.  But I'd chalked it up to cat hair, dust, and general allergies.  I certainly didn't feel sick.  But when I had that sneeze in my car, it hit me.  DANGER:  GERMS AFOOT.  Have you ever had a sneeze that you just know is a "sick" sneeze vs. a "something in the air tickled my nose" sneeze?  This was one of those.

Almost instantly I got that metallic sick taste at the back of my throat and felt chills set in.  "No," I told my body.  "I forbid you to be sick.  We've discussed this.  I can pencil you in to be sick the second week in January but we're completely booked until then."

I came home, drank 2 steaming cups of green tea and went to bed at 8:30.  I got up at 7:30 today (VERY late for me), stayed awake long enough to eat breakfast and then headed back to bed.  I then woke up at ELEVEN.  I haven't slept to 11 since I was a teenager.  But I know I must be fighting something off b/c if I sleep that long w/out being sick, I'll wake up to a raging headache.  Instead, I woke up feeling pretty darn good.  Had an extremely productive work day and feeling pretty much okay, so I'm hoping the sleep took care of it.  It usually does.  I could have measles, mumps, and chicken pox all at once but if you let me get 48 hours of rest, I'll get over them.

On a VERY bright note, my friend Bernie alerted me that Spooky--the adorable nose-licking cat from my book launch--no longer is listed on Happy Hills home page. So fingers crossed that he's found a home.  I've e-mailed Happy Hills to see if they can confirm that for me and, if so, I'll be sure to share with all of you. 

Spooky will make someone the greatest holiday present of all.