You Might be a Redneck if.............

My Girl

My Girl

    

    I recently heard a talk show host encourage his listeners to forgive Michael Vick for his crimes. Up until now I could count on one hand the number of times I have been moved to write a letter to a public servant, a newspaper, or a talk show host.  This is one of those times. As relaxing as it is to watch Kira sleeping after a hard day of playing I knew I could not sleep until I wrote the following.

Clark,

I am a veterinarian who read Jim Gorant's book "The Lost Dogs". I read it not because I wanted to, but because I felt it was my duty.

I would like to share some things from the book with you.

One dog that was hanged did not die. "As that dog lay on the ground fighting for air, Quantis Phillips grabbed it by its front legs and Michael Vick grabbed its hind legs. They swung the dog over their head like a jump rope then slammed it to the ground. The first impact didn't kill it. So Phillips and Vick slammed it again. The two men kept at it, alternating back and forth, pounding the creature against the ground, until at last, the little red dog was dead." (page 93)

On the day Michael Vick turned himself in at the county jail to begin serving his sentence he "….had woken up that morning and bought a $99,000 Mercedes and paid $23,000 to a PR firm…." (page 151)

Go home tonight. Pet your dog and look into her beautiful brown eyes and remember. That's what I do.

Thank you for allowing me to comment.

Dr. Liz Cotton

Fuquay Varina, NC

    

Eat Mor Chikin

    In my area there are numerous chicken farms and chicken processing plants. Occasionally while traveling from one location to the other a chicken escapes from the truck and drops to the road. This must be universally fatal for the chickens as I have never seen one walking along the roadside.

    This Turkey Vulture has discovered a dead chicken and is enjoying a meal. He was very persistent and would only leave his lunch if a vehicle got a little too close for comfort. While I was watching the passing vehicles were very considerate of him and gave him extra room.

    Turkey Vultures use their eyesight to find dead animals. They also use their sense of smell. When dead animals decay they produce a gas called mercaptan. Turkey Vultures have a very well developed area of their brain that is responsible for detecting this odor.

    In spite of their size and unpleasant appearance Turkey Vultures are not aggressive if approached. If you frighten one by approaching too closely he may spit up a little of his foul smelling meal in your direction. If you come close to a nesting vulture it may pretend to be dead.

    Groups of vultures circling in the air aren't always over a dead animal. This is especially true of the Turkey Vulture because they usually hunt alone. The circling group may be playing or they may be circling in order to gain higher altitude before a long trip (Disney World, perhaps?)  I thought it amusing that a group circling in the air is called a "kettle."

See Saw

    Two weeks ago I visited a collection of items from old country stores. These four saws were hanging high on the back wall. In the early half of this century two men would grab each end of the saw and cut a large tree. Notice how the teeth are a little different on each saw. 

    When I commented that it took a strong man to use those saws the owner of the collection told me that he and his brother had used one last year to cut a log in two, just to see if they could. It was then that I noticed that even though he was an older man his arms were quite muscular.

    In another area of the "store" I found an 1880 almanac. It had a checklist for modest women who might have trouble discussing feminine problems with their doctors. There was also an advertisement directed at men who might be suffering from decreased sexual energy. I would have loved to have spent more time reading each page but I was scared to handle something so fragile.

    Below is an almanac and a ledger book from 1935 in which we read that Mr. Hooks bought two cans of salmon for thirty cents and two gallons of gas for forty cents.

    In next week's blog I'll leave the past for a new take on fast food. 

Hi Ho Silver

    The drive to the barn where my daughter used to keep her horse was a long pleasant one through the country side. This building would often catch my eye as it obviously was not an actual store, but some sort of hobby or collection.

   Last week I put Crazy Kira (our puppy) in the car and drove over to ask permission to take photos. It turns out that we were more than welcome!

    The owner is a very nice retired farmer in his seventies who was happy to unlock his "store" and show me around. I told him that I imagined he had bought one sign and then just couldn't stop. He laughed and said, "That's just about right!"

    Inside were hundreds of items from country stores of the past. The owner has spent years going to auctions and especially loves it when an old country store closes and its merchandise goes on the auction block. 

    One thing that caught my eye was an old radio that appeared to be from the nineteen-forties. I commented, "I bet a family gathered around that every night to hear news of the war." He replied, "My parents had one just like that. Every night The Lone Ranger came on at 7:00 pm. My brother and I would rush to finish our chores so that we could get home in time to listen to it."

    Be sure to tune in next week to my blog for the exciting episode, "See-Saw."