Prepper's Blind Alley

I went to the reunion of our guide dog school, the Seeing Eye of Morristown,
New Jersey which was our eightieth. It went well and the grads I think all
in all had a good time. The hotel was difficult to get around, but there was
plenty of staff help from both the volunteers and the Seeing eye staff.
Friday was the banquet and we had plenty of workshops plus a catered lunch
under a large tent Friday afternoon. The weather was sort of bad with the
hurricane going by but we survived. There were 170 dogs present. During the
banquet we had awards given to trainers who had been with the school for
twenty to forty-two years and the history of those awards was told to us.
After that dinner and each grad could introduce themselves and their dogs
and where they came from what state they were from. The third segment was a
country singer who had witnessed one of our classes as a special favor and
then written two songs about the relationship between us and our dogs which
appears on a new CD…and her name is Sarah Boch. Or last name forget how to
spell that. She is from Nashville and had met our president, his wife, and a
friend of mine who has a company that makes gps for the blind and he’s been
appointed to our board too so he was at the head table with our president
and his wife. That ended Friday. Saturday was trivia games about the history
of the school, and other workshops and a walking tour I didn’t do as the
weather was getting nasty. Sunday I came home. This week we have realtors
again in this house which is a pain, and I think I have the weekend to
myself. I’m still searching for somewhere to go, and that is hard with low
income. Almost found a mobile but found lot rental was too much for the
lowered social security thing we’re subjected to in other states other than
Massachusetts or other states getting good checks. I wouldn’t care except no
job. Anyway, I spent most of the afternoon trying to teach Harpo about a new
carrier I bought for him and beginning to train him to it so he has
somewhere to go when strangers are in the house…this consists of trying to
make it pleasant such as throwing toys, and treats into the carrier and
praising him like crazy. If this is done over time, he will think it’s a
good place to be…He already volunteered to go in himself looking for
treats and tried his new bed a cushioned thing in there so it is off to a
good start. I don’t think it will be hard after a week or two to ask him to
go into his new “bed”. I have also taken him to my vet, and speaking of
survival, got another lump looked at and tested on him. But it turned out to
be benign, thank goodness. Meanwhile, I am considering an early retirement
for my boy and will keep him as a pet since this trip was very stressful for
him, other dogs did better than him since he’s not used to other dogs and
barked some. The trainers were on his neck all weekend and that was
stressful for me too. He doesn’t like long trips away from here apparently,
something I didn’t know about him before…and besides that I would be
retiring him as a kindness to him at age eleven and hope he gets time to
just be a dog before he goes. I’d like it if I were accepted for a class at
the school soon so this could happen but one never knows as there is a huge
waiting list and they are already scheduled for January but was told if I
hurried maybe get accepted for the January class. I won’t know until the
paperwork is done, need to get a medical off to the school once the
paperwork arrives to fill out. The new Seeing Eye class will soon begin for
September after a couple of weeks off for the staff down there and continue
until a brief break at Christmas and then January class begins and onward
through the winter into spring, and summer again.Then, will I have two dogs
in this house plus sixteen pigs. Stay tuned to find out. After the medical
reports go to the school on me, then I hold my breath and await to see if
I’m going to be accepted for class. This will be my fifth dog….if this
happens. Karen and Harpo who may retire soon and become a couch potato being
spoiled. with the piggies!! (the gray alley cat curls up on the bed, and
looks at two dogs lying on the floor beside the bed) “Gee, a cat is
outnumbered around here” she says with a sigh.

I’m going away for a few days to celebrate my guide dog school’s eightieth
year in business…since 1929. This is a great affair, and there are about
three hundred registered…and registration closed on July 31st. So this is
the final count, with about 150 guide dogs in attendance. There will be
several workshops for us to attend, plus city tours. Friday we all go to the
banquet where there will be entertainment, a musician has written songs
about our school. There will be demonstrations in the front parking lot of
hybrid cars used to train our dogs due to the silence of those and that is a
concern for the blind community, bills going through Congress about adding
noise not just for the blind, but for other pedestrians as well. Then
workshops for hints for travel from a friend of mine who runs the computer
company who writes software for our gps for the blind, and he has been all
over the world with his guide dog. . Another meeting is a trivia game for
questions about our guide dog school and we will be divided onto teams.
Wonder if there is a prize. Saturday night is karaoke. That session is
called, “howling hounds”. It all sounds like a blast…and this is my second
family since I have been a grad for over thirty years. I’m looking forward
to the whole thing and meeting some people I have corresponded with for the
last months on a list. The hiking pack is all packed, and heavy as I didn’t
have cash to pre-order dog food so that adds weight, but will get Red Caps
in Amtrack stations to help me. After that going to take couple of limos to
get me to and from the school and from where I live…been saving for months
for this whole thing. So hope my transportation works well. Finally, there
has been one bite on the present house, and that was too low in cash, so
figure maybe if this lady wants it, there will be some negotiating. If not,
well, the market is slow, but the realtor feels it will sell sooner or
later. And I haven’t found a place to go yet, and continuously looking for
that even if it’s a mobile home. The problem my own limited income makes it
hard. Well that is all until my return since I’m not dragging this computer
down there although it would be fun…not going to do it…the pack is
enough on a train and through stations since my left hand is occupied by the
harness handle while walking around. I like to have my right hand free for
doors and so forth so the pack is the perfect thing…used to use this one a
large pack, for carrying groceries a couple of miles, or for carrying
laundry back and forth to Laundromat…very handy but heavy once packed for
me.. Well wish us luck…It will take us about six hours to get from here to
New Jersey where the reunion will take place. Bye for now, friends, and keep
cool….(picture of Alleycat packing a hiking pack in front of an air
conditioner, and a wolf looking on sitting by looking on) P. S. put Harpo as
the wolf since all German shepherds are descended from wolves and I call
them my little wolves joking of course since all of mine have been gentle
souls.

Hello friends. This is not my favorite month..August the curse of my life
usually. This means, having plenty of cold drinks in my house, no time on
the beach, and plenty of time in front of my air conditioner. It also
explains partially, why I have not posted for a week or more much. Several
crisis rule my life right now. I am still in search of my next residence,
which is an ongoing battle. I practically spend 24/7 looking on the web for
somewhere to go. The battle began when my dear mother went into the nursing
home due to Alzheimer’s disease, and I got involved with some lousy lawyers
and a trustee I can’t get along with, (we always disagree on everything),
which is why I’m just begging to leave this place…or at least part of it.
The other part is, the lawyers involved have let my mother’s house
deteriorate giving me no cash to renovate anything, so repairs remain undone
as I have no money at all to do it…and I just about make it through every
month due to the fact Medicaid laws will not allow me to have my mother’s
money, a crock as far as I’m concerned. But anyway, I remain grateful I have
done some preparation here for my own disaster, but what I will do when
these preps run out? That is the question isn’t it. I can tell you, I will
never go to a government camp…they can chase me all across the globe until
I drop before this happens. Anyway, what have you done to prepare for the
oncoming problems? I was reading a site earlier today, where folks seem to
be calling for a revolution…what will happen especially to the elderly and
disabled?? I don’t know, except I do know that the worst can happen to the
most vulnerable in our population. At one point, my friend and I discussed
seriously, getting out of the country, but recently, I was advised that
maybe it was better to remain here due to the fact that as an American I
might receive worse treatment abroad if things break down. I don’t know if
this was the correct analysis or not…as I haven’t had cash to travel
outside the U. S., although many blind friends have done this with their
Seeing Eye dogs who make all possible. Well, in case you decide to stay
here, I am not sure it will make a difference as I have seen that the
government is using gps to mark residences here. What happened to the old
concept of privacy?? Gone forever?? Who knows. Unless folks jump up finally,
and say, “I have had enough” we will head down the road in the same
direction I fear. Meanwhile, back to my six bottles of Gator Aid, my
lemonade, my tall ice cream soda…so much for nutrition in a month I just
can’t tolerate. I used to live in California, Sacramento, where the temps
range from thirty or less to 120 degrees, and this is why I don’t live there
any more. When August goes, for us in the northeast, there is another worry
on the front of our battles, the hurricane season which, in the past has
done us no favors beginning in September until November, and then winter. So
for those in the northeast, prepare. Remember just because we haven’t
experienced a real hurricane for a good while, it can still happen again.
Then, those on the site, if you will and everyone out there, pray for me.
This old house with no repairs can sustain nothing if it gets worse. What is
the answer to my current circumstances? Perhaps to wax philosophical,
religious, I need the Lord to come. That is the answer these days I believe
as a Christian. Otherwise, I have no answers as this is the worst situation
I have ever had the displeasure to be involved in after many conflicts
throughout my life. I have always been able to get myself out of a fix, but
not this time. The other time I couldn’t happened when I was a kid. The
teacher I had in public school was a hired Braille teacher, and her pleasure
was to constantly scream at her class and verbally abuse us daily. I got to
the point, I wondered if I really was stupid which she spared no words, each
and every day. This time of entrapment, lasted from age nine to twelve, when
this witch was discovered by someone I think, because one day she was there,
and the next, she was placed with a nondisabled classroom, who she continued
to similarly torture…I was next door and heard her yelling. I received
thankfully, a new teacher after years of torture, but by that time, it was
too late, the damage was done. I went for years afraid of adult correction
of any kind, and had completely shut down talking to teachers…but slowly
over a year’s time, she did improve on my circumstances, and I finally
learned to read…something the former witch didn’t teach me. You will be
glad to know, I went on to become a high honor student in my public high
school, and on the Dean’s list for my college career…so I had conquered
that early battle. Honestly, I cannot see an end to my present battles. That
is unfortunate as if I could just jump into a car, and drive away?? Believe
me, if I could do that, it would have happened a year ago or more leaving
this old house and estate in the trustee’s lap since her name remains on
the property not mine. Well friends, back to that nice tall lemonade…Until
then realtors keep coming into this house keeping me busy cleaning up the
place on a daily basis. Also we have the battle of the realtors’ complaints
about my pets, something I told them to “shove it” and “Don’t talk about me,
my dog, or my pets any more”. So wish me luck. It is time to clear the deck
of medical problems my small friends have as two guinea pig boys had a nasty
fight this weekend, and are on meds for the next two weeks…wish us luck.
My dog has been on meds for itchy problems for the last two weeks, and I’m
climbing further into debt with these things going on. I also have few
groceries for this month too…is this the end times? You bet…but if I get
hungry I can break into those supplies I was hoping to have for
awhile…hey didn’t I say, “the disabled get it in the mouth first?” see the
current plans the government has for us, health plan?? Okay bye for
now…and I’m yours, the sleepy Alleycat who gets no rest over the keyboard
in search of new digs” The alley isn’t enough…there must be a place
somewhere?? Right?? Take care until my next blog…and prep on.