Angles and Other Stories by Orson Scott Card

An excellent collection of short stories by the prolific and talented Mr. Card. Stories include tales detailing the following:

God becomes complicit with St Nick to make a heaven of hell
Nixon finds forgiveness
The horrific birth of a starship
Juvenile stupidity gets its just reward
A suicide who writes his final note AFTER committing the dread deed
Humanity as virus
The best of wishes (among my favorites)
Parenting aspiring authors
Life and death and death and death in the United Soviet Socialist Republic of America
The angels at the end of the world

Meet Charlie, aka His Dudeness

This is Charlie (formerly Charleston, formerly ???). We got him from the marvelous Homeless Pet Placement League yesterday  via the Petsmart location in Webster. He's a Lhasa Apso mix (probably with some Shih Tzu). A more gentle-hearted, laid back individual you'll never meet. In fact, he spends a good bit of time almost comatose, just collapsing, all fours akimbo, in the floor with a sigh of relief and a gently wiggle of his bushy tail. I call him "His Dudeness." He doesn't like to walk very far, but just lays down when you stop and gets up again when you resume. Verrrry laid back. His Dudeness, indeed.

He loves to be brushed and we even gave him a little grooming (just a little "off the top") and a little trim around the eyes. He loves belly rubs and has already chosen one toy as his own. He's taken to all of us.

He and Oscar (our Shih Tzu) are still adjusting. He's at least three times Oscar's size, but it's mostly fur. He and Oscar had a little dust-up this morning and each grabbed a bite of hair, but no fur flew and they just as quickly stepped back to allow the Alpha pack members (us!) to clear the air. Five minutes later, they were touring the front yard together like old war buddies swapping tall tails (ah...) tales. Charlie has a lot to adjust to: three people, a new house, front and back yards, and another young male dog. Considering how well they are handling it after even one day and night, I think things are going to be just fine in no time. We have a large, very open-barred kennel, and had Charlie sleep in it last night just to ensure him some downtime while we slept. His new pal Oscar slept just outside the door, giving Charlie a little wag of his tail each time we heard him stirring. Incidentally, this photo is not of Charlie and Oscar but Charlie and a toy.

The HPPL are a great organization of caring folks. Charlie came bathed, neutered, dewormed, vaccinated, and micro-chipped. The staff told me a great deal of his history and personality and is was obvious their care for each of their fuzzy charges is genuine. If you need a new furry friend, or just want to help, please visit their website at http://www.hppl.org/. Any number of great dogs and cats will appreciate it.

Squeaky toys and gentle reminders

We've been blessed with a Shih Tzu named Oscar for about two years now. I was bringing him in from his walk early this morning, had gotten us into the studio and was leaning over to unhook the leash from his harness. My ear was near the door into the living room and I distinctly heard Oscar's little fuzzy donut toy squeak three times rapidly. I assumed Mom or Dad was up, had heard us at the door and was encouraging Oscar to come in. 

I opened the door quickly since Oscar was jumping to play with the toy as soon as he heard it. We saw the toy lying where it had been when we left out: in front of the piano, next to his bed, about four feet from the door. The room was still and dark, with no one standing anywhere. Oscar danced in, looking for Mom or Dad, stared at the toy without touching it and ran to the hall. He was disappointed to find their door shut and no lights on. 

He stepped back into the living room, eyeing the toy and then me, then the toy, warily. He's smart enough to know that the thing couldn't squeak itself! I told him it was okay. Maybe Kissie Bear was keeping it company for him while he went on his walk. Kissie is my dear little Maltese who died back in June. The toy had originally been hers, but she had graciously surrendered it to him on his first day with us and it has remained his favorite. 

I think, maybe, Kissie was letting us know she's still thinking about us. Sweet baby. I think of her every day and probably always will. She taught me a lot of precious things I never want to forget.