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What We Do for Love: Animal Companions

6/25/2015

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I am very blessed and very fortunate.  I have had many wonderful animal companions over the years, going all the way back to when I was extremely young and had no sense of what it takes to care for an animal.  Dogs have always been my first choice, but I have had cats, birds, turtles, and more.  I remember the early times they broke my heart by running away.  Soon I learned it took more than an occasional pat on the head or walk around the block to care to be a true friend to them.  

It seems we always had mutts.  Mutts don't seem to require much care veternarian-wise anyway.  I think if they were lucky, they got their shots and licenses, basic bargain food at the supermarket and scraps from the table.  They seemed to do okay I guess.  I wonder now if their lives might have been "better" had we pampered them more.  Years passed and as an adult I had a wonderful collie, several cockers, a couple shiz-tzus and mixed breeds and more.  I now have three little friends, Tater Totte, Ching Ching and Miquelito.  There is also a ten year old cat named Nina who enjoys a life of her own in our house.

Recently Tater and Ching have both had some very serious health challenges.  Tater has anal tumors which are presumed malignant.  Ching has a disgestive disorder that causes him to stop eating and drinking become dehydrated and malnourished.  Now I am fortunate.  I have insurance that pays some toward these illnesses.  But there are still many out-of-pocket expenses that cannot be recovered.  Yet I am compelled to do what I can to make their lives (and by association, mine) better.  Yes, I am fortunate, blessed, even privileged  to be able to bear the expense.  And, yes, some other things are sacrificed...but ultimately it seems worth it, at least to me.

I know they are "just dogs", getting older, maybe not anything more than Pavlovian creatures motivated by food and comfort.  But whose to say we humans aren't basically the same?   So I make decisions based on what facilitates health and well being while not being extravagant and wasteful.  I could have done surgery for Tater, but that would have cost as much as a small Mazda, put her through lots of pain and discomfort and probably not have extended her life much anyway.  So mild chemo is the option and right now she is doing well.  And Ching has been getting intravenous fluids, anti-biotics and tender care for a week now at the vet's.  He is coming back to life.  Both are about nine.  Where do you draw the line?  And sadly, money is a strong influence.  Again, I am fortunate to be able to meet the costs without going without.

So what is the price of love?   That is the question I answer every day these days.  It seems to me that what we do for love ultimately defines who we are and the quality of ovr lives.  God bless the animals who depend on us.  And God guide our decisions in what we do for them.

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Artist's Date: Downtown Riverside Museums & More

6/6/2015

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Picturehttp://www.thingstodoinlandempire.com
I asked my inner Artist out on a date again.  Surprisingly, he said "yes" without too much resistance.   I wanted to go on a museum crawl in downtown Riverside...perfect place to take your artistic self.  It was well worth it...yup...I think my inner Artist and I are going steady now.

We, (really, it was just me, but an artist's date is when you take go in pursuit of food for the soul, alone), made a list a of the museums in downtown Riverside near my home that we would check out.  Of course I took along my camera...just in case.  A true artist always has their tools nearby.

It was lovely just meandering through a couple museums at my own pace, soaking up culture and inspiration.  I think I fed my inner Artist quite well.  Right now I feel awake, alert, alive and enthusiastic, like that old song goes.  Whether one calls it your inner artist, your inner child or just nurturing yourself, one must do it.  Boy, I do need to listen to my sage wisdom and advice more often!

***********************************

Here is a bit about the exhibits:

First we went to the Riverside Art Museum where there is currently an exhibit by sculptor Lois Sloan.   Amazing woman.  Oh, before you ask if I have pictures to share, I don't.  I left my smart phone at home, not intentionally, but fortuitously.  It cut off all communications for a while.  And I don't like to take my Canon 50D into museums. It seems inappropriate.  Anyway, I was able to enjoy this exhibit by a modern pioneer, one of the first women in a male dominated area, who was able to support herself as she started out mid 20th century.  Here is a link about the exhibit:
http://www.riversideartmuseum.org/exhibits/lois-sloan-sculptor/


After that we went to the Farmers' Market and Main Street where I did take my camera and I did capture some images that I will be working on soon.  After that, we went to the California Museum of Photography at UCR ARTSblock.  There were exhibits  by Massimiliano Gatti with images of the people and their possessions that escape modern day Lampedusa, Syria and Irag.  Marvelous.  On another floor was a collection of photographs taken in 1942 at Manzanar, the Japanese American Internment Camps by renowned photographers Ansel Adams, Clem Albers, Dorothea Lange and Toyo Miyatake.  What they captured will give you pause.  

As both museums there were other exhibits, most not to be missed, like "Posing Japan" at CMPUatUCRARTSblock and RAM's "California Dream: An International Portrait of Southern California".  Something for everyone.  Something for the inner artist in you.

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The Time Has Come

6/4/2015

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I have been on that famous road paved with those proverbial "good intentions".  Or maybe it was just a bit of waiting for the musings to percolate into something wonderful.  I do have some things to say, especially my recent pilgrimage to Santa Barbara with Tater Totte.  Somehow it just hasn't been the right moment to sit down and pound out a decent blog.  But it is at hand!  I do have thoughts and musings to share!

So as this picture says, "the time has come".  This picture was taken in the Mission Inn Gift Shoppe some time ago.  I knew it would come in hand one day.  The time has come.  I guess what I'm trying to say here, now, is that its not always the right time to write down and share my thoughts and musings.  So stand by.  Or not.  I'll do it anyway.  Back on track.  All percolated and ready to sip.

Happy day!

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    Rob McMurray,
    Muser  

    I think of myself as a Muser Extraordinaire.  :)
    I am also a Writer, photographer and garden designer.  Friend, poet, paternal companion to my animal companions. And surely more.  This is my blog and my website where I share my musings and thoughts with anyone who cares to read them.
                                       Rob

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