Laughing Wolf
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Anyone Ever See T1G and Jason Together?
Flipping through programs last night, I stopped on AMC showing Friday the 13th part unknown with a start. Not at the horror (such as it is), but in recognition. Seen from the front, and a bit from below, I knew who that was. The look, the walk, the anger, the determiantion: Jason my fuzzy rump, that was T1G in that mask.
LW
Into The Light: Hank Reinhart
Not a lot of information yet, but Hank Reinhart has passed into the light today. If you know weapons, particularly edged weapons, then you know about Hank. I’ve heard him described any number of ways, but he was always courteous to me and was helpful in many ways and on many occasions. He freely shared some of his hard-won knowledge with me, saved me from some bad decisions in regards weapons, and his knowledge of history (not to mention the technological history of weapons and the impact of same on the history of the time) was amazing. I lift a glass to you, and I ask you to keep his wife Toni in your thoughts in the days ahead.
LW
NOTE: Mourn him? No. Miss him? Yes. Celebrate his life and be glad that I knew him even briefly? Hell Yes!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Never Rains But…
Add to the unexpected the loss of some dental work this evening… Do hope my dentist isn’t too busy.
LW
Iraq Stories and Photos Starting To Get Up
I still have a lot to write, process, and do, but there is a start here, here, here, here, and here.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Hey, Sgt. Gus!
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Jenny’s Choice
When I was preparing to go on the embed, the one thing I did not have to worry about was Jenny. Monty Sloan, the nature photographer, stepped up and offered immediately to keep her. Most canids seem to regard Monty as a deity, and he can do things to and with them that would get anyone else severely hurt. Canids fawn over him, and seem to delight in having him work with them—and Jenny had already benefited from his willingness to teach and train. Alicia, who shares the house with him, was a little less enthusiastic, but I also knew that she liked Jenny and had faith that Jenny would charm her. It also didn’t hurt that Alicia is not what I would call a slouch when it comes to working with animals either.
I’m not implying that Jenny was socially inept with other canids; nor do I hint that she needed some work in regards people either—I’m flat out stating it. I don’t know for sure what life she had before she was tossed out the car, but from watching and studying her body language and behaviors, it was what I would think was lacking. She is a compulsive kisser-upper, her minding behaviors have interesting gaps, throwing motions make her tuck and cringe, and getting in the car brought about what I will simply term extreme reluctance behaviors.
Over this last year, primarily with Monty, the social issues with canids and some of the other behaviors (or lack thereof) have been worked. Using suggestions from Monty and Pat, I worked on other things at home, with some positive results. One thing I decided early on was to take her in the car just on random errands, so that she would eventually realize that car trips didn’t mean getting tossed out, taken to the vet, or—worse yet from her viewpoint—the groomers (ICK!).
Jenny did adapt, and got where she loved to do certain things very much. Despite her previous life and some diffidence in displaying some emotions/behaviors, she also was quite willing to show certain things. Some of our earliest trips together, especially to the vet and groomers, resulted in her pointedly sitting in the passenger seat with her back to me, positively radiating waves of “I am NOT! happy with you!”
One other area where she didn’t hesitate to show how she felt was when it came to leaving somewhere. When it came to the vet and groomers, not even reinforced pressure-formed ferroconcrete could stand up to her. She had a range of behaviors, major and minor, that clearly indicated when she wanted to leave somewhere. From greeting, to response to the leash, they were clear as if sending up flares. Once displayed, that was the final word. I still laugh at the night when I went to pick her up from spending the day out with her boyfriend at Monty’s, and said boyfriend threw himself down in front of the front door in an effort to prevent her leaving (I should mention that Jenny is roughly 35 lbs and Chumley is roughly 125 lbs), and Jenny walked right over him with almost disdain as he had failed to keep the door from opening.
When I returned from Iraq earlier this week, I had asked Monty if Jenny could stay until the weekend as there were a number of things I needed to do (including rest a bit). It wasn’t a problem, so we waited. I knew Jenny had charmed them, and that things were going extremely well on several fronts for her and them.
I went out yesterday, and went in to see Jenny. She was happy to see me, but not her usual frantic “"get me out of here” mode. She loved on me a bit, but not heavily. Most importantly, she displayed none of her major ready-to-leave behaviors, and only one minor one—and that for a very brief time.
Yes, dogs can’t really understand questions and such, but I talked anyway. I told her that the choice was hers, and that it would be respected. I asked her what she wanted to do in as neutral a voice as I could manage, and after a moment she went and beat up on Chumley. The humans talked a bit, the dogs visited us and talked amongst themselves. I watched and observed her body language and behaviors. The dogs went into Monty’s room, and when Monty left soon after to go do Howl Night at Wolf Park, I too left and left Jenny to her new home.
There, she has two other dogs with whom to play and socialize, and two full-time humans who will love on her and give her attention when she wants and needs it. That house is also social central for much of the Wolf Park crowd, which means she will have a lot of interaction with other people and other animals (not just canids). The part of me that loves her and only wants the best for her is happy. That part knows that I can visit anytime and that she will remain a part of my life.
But I would be lying if I didn’t say that for the rest of me, it hurts.
LW
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Home
I am back safely from Iraq, but things will continue to be a bit slow for a while. I do now have power for the laptop, and a gig or so of photos to go through, lots of audio to sort and edit, and more. Regretfully, I also came home to a death in the family, unexpected yard work, and car repairs, all of which are claiming time. Please stand by…
LW
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
I Am Alive
Just have had very limited com or no com, and that is likely to continue for a while. Please stand by…
LW
Monday, October 01, 2007
Rip It
Rip it good! Old song, but the drink is good. In fact, it is very good—esp. after you’ve been out doing in full gear ("Battle Rattle") and hit a period where things slow down. Not sure yet which flavor I like best, but may decide here soon.
First up, let me thank those responsible for my vest. The essential components are good, and seem to have gotten the stamp of approval of those who examined them—and they have reason to know armor. They, and I, hope that it never gets the ultimate test. The carrier is something else, and I may change it out later for a somewhat different configuration so that I can get a bit more flexibility, and add-ons. A couple of add-ons are additional bits of armor (always good to have options) and a couple are to tie in better with the systems the troops carry. That is a very good thing if you are going to be spending time in the field with them, not to mention being able to place identifiers in the same place, etc.
When you are actually moving and doing, the armor is not that bad in terms of weight. When you stop… Rip It makes it light again (or at least tolerable, there isn’t anything that will take out the kink I get in the center of my back when I stop moving).
Don’t think rear echelons are a good place for me in terms of “fit” 
My helmet is good, though the liner system could be improved. My thanks to Sgt. Gus who showed me how to change it out and offered some good suggestions on what should go in. The current system is very much like a spec ops liner, but does not stay adjusted and pins, staples, etc. are not what I consider a good option. As with the vest, I am looking at a couple of “add ons” for the helmet so that I can put some things in good places. Think those who saw it were amused by the paw print on the back of the helmet…
If my language slips in post, e-mail, or in person, please forgive for I am at heart a barbarian. Lapsing back into such language is in no way the fault of Easy Company, who are a most civilized and erudite group who, when not out on patrol and such, have refined discussions whilst sipping tea. They are killer at chess too (no, serious about that).
Have I been missing some sleep again? What? What makes you ask that? Hmmmmm????
LW
Content copyright C. Blake Powers and the individual authors. Comments become the property of C. Blake Powers and may be altered, edited, deleted, and used by C. Blake Powers or the individual authors without restriction or recompense.
