Don't Get Me Started with Linda Sharp

Asher's In The Wind...

Many months back I wrote about my sister's beloved Keeshond, Soleil, passing away suddenly - the cause was determined to be a tumor on his heart which ruptured.

Time has moved on, the way time does.  I know my sister still grieves his passing, still misses his smiling face, but the sharpness of the initial loss has softened and I know she is doing better.

As for me, I keep my favorite picture of Soleil on my desk - the one of him dressed in an orange t-shirt and Halloween mask.  :O)

Well, the sadness of his death was revisited again today.  A week ago Kim had shared with me the medical crisis of Soleil's father, Asher - also a Champion with more ribbons and wins to his name than some entire kennels accrue.

It was discovered that Asher had a tumor sitting at the base of his brain - the prognosis not great - they could operate, but it would grow back.

Beth, Asher's "Mom", and the owner of the breeding facility where my sister found both Soleil and Suki, decided on the surgery, which he underwent Wednesday evening. 

He handled the surgery well, vitals strong, brain functioning, but he would not start breathing on his own - they had him on the ventilator used during surgery.  The hope was that his brain stem was simply swelled from the surgery and once that swelling abated, he would begin breathing on his own again.

The best hoped for plans...

Asher lost brain function last night.  He was peacefully put to sleep this morning.

And I am sad. For Beth, who loved him dearly.  For Kim, who is feeling the scar of losing Soleil reopened.  For Culley, who had the pleasure of meeting him at Beth's kennel in Tennessee on a trip with her Aunt.

I never met him, but I have heard the stories of Asher - a dog who charmed every person who had the honor of coming into contact with him.  A dog who loved life, whose disposition was more than a breed standard, it was gift.  Culley told me that all you had to do was look in his eyes and you melted.

I know, I know - come on Linda, it's just a dog.  Well, no it's not.  I know better.  Asher was a blessing, a leader, a giver, a lover, a cuddler - everything he passed on through his genes to his son Soleil.

And I take heart in knowing that as sad as is his death, father and son have been reunited, and Heaven is a happier place for the reunion.

Rest in peace, Asher.

For Chicky Chick

He's now on a t-shirt in the DGMS Store...

The Travel Gnome Embraces Change At Obama Rally

Natala rocks. 

She took the DGMS Travel Gnome to a Barack Obama speech today in Fairfax, Virginia and managed to snap a few pictures!

As he spoke, Natala said she tried to decide when the right time would be for the little guy to make an appearance.  She decided to wait till the speech was over.

The speech.  You just know she was itching to pull him out of her pocket...

... which she did as Obama was doing the handshaking walk...

...and then she thought it fitting that our little world traveler got to pose with the podium where Barack spoke.

   

Who Nose Why?

Testosterone. 

The main ingredient in male stupidity.

(No, I'm not saying women don't have their moments, we do.  But for right now, I am concentrating on the group of people with the third leg.)

Like dogs, men fight.  It's a territorial thing - their house, their car, their woman, their stuff.  Don't touch it.

The fights are largely assinine and come down to too much testosterone overpowering too little common sense and an even lesser amount of brains.

Case in point, this buttwad:

Meet Gary Neal Eastwood, 38, of South Carolina.  This past Tuesday, Eastwood got angry and certainly did not make someone's day -  that someone being Tommy Easterling, 32.

In the drive thru lane of a Burger King, Eastwood rammed his car into the back of Easterling's.  Of course, an Octagon worthy fight then erupted when the two got out of their vehicles.

By the time the police arrived, some serious damage had been done, and I do not mean to the cars, or the timeliness of the burger orders being placed.

They found Easterling's face covered in blood, and Eastwood's mouth decorated with it as well.

Upon further investigation they realized that Gary had bitten the nose off Easterling and spit the proboscis out onto the ground.

Yes, you could say Gary bit off Tommy's nose to spite his face.

Eastwood was taken into custody and not only talked about how the blood tasted, he also bragged about the desnouting in the police car.

Easterling was transported to the hospital - no word on whether doctors were able to reattach his beak and enjoy the sweet smell of success. 

I'll keep my nose to the grindstone and try to find out more for you, but if I can't, please forgive me.

Unlike these guys, I'm not the nosey type.

You've God To Be Kidding Me

Well, since the high heel hell piece has had people waxing litigious all day, why stop now?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Following on the, well, heels of the award given to Sophie Price across the pond, comes this new lawsuit back here at home...

Meet Matt Lincoln, 57, of Tennessee.  Like millions of Americans, Matt enjoys worshipping with the congregation at his church.  He sings, he sways, he feels the uplifting power of belief - all good things.

Seriously.  I have no problem with how a person worships, the intensity of their physicality when they worship, or even what they worship.  If it makes you happy to throw your hands up, speak in tongues, or praise mung beans - go for it.

Don't ask me to join you.  But go for it.

Well, Matt does go for it - full throttle.  The swaying, the closed eyes, the "spirit" of the proceedings often making him lose his balance, but he is usually caught by some Good Samaritan nearby who doesn't want to see him hit the floor, or who doesn't want Matt to fall on top of them.

Apparently back in June of 2007, during a particularly intense worship session, in which he was praying to "have a real experience", Matt says he was so "consumed by the spirit of God"  that he fell and hit his head.

And no one caught him this time.  (Go figure, Matt.  Maybe they were all praying, too.)

So, what's a good Christian to do?  Turn the other cheek?  Pray for healing?  Love thy neighbor?

Um, love thy neighbor's wallet.

Yes, Matt is suing Lakewind Church for $2.5 million for medical bills (two surgeries), lost income, and of course, pain and suffering.

Because he's an idiot who lost his balance.

An idiot who other congregants say was laughing while on the floor when it happened.

I swear, if he so much as gets a dime from the collection plate, there is no God. 

He Gets Around ... In The Nonconjugal Sense, Of Course

How about these amazing pictures of the Travel Gnome?  More pics from Debbie's and Martha's cruise!

House of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus, Turkey

Inside the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul

At the windmills in Mykonos, Greece

Outside of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul

Take Your VitaMENs

Omega-3, anyone? 

More Fun For The Travel Gnome

Enjoy these newest additions to the DGMS Travel Gnome Photo Album!

Steph took him on a recent outing to Friday's

Steph and her "date"

The Little Guy enjoying some art in Steph's workplace. 

Goody Two Sues

I know I give America a lot of grief for being litigious.  We sue over everything, nothing is ever our fault.  If it is possible, remotely possible, or heck, sometimes no-way-in-hell possible to blame another person or company for a mishap, we will.

Typically, the scenario is one of make-enough-publicly-heard-noise-and-money-will-be-thrown-at-you-to-shut-you-up.

Southwest just demonstrated this principle earlier this week when they refunded the Slaughter family's entire ticket price even though the Slaughters were unruly, disruptive misfits who brought their deplaning on themselves.  I still think the airline ought to now have to pony up the cash to every passenger on that flight who had to endure the Detroit to Phoenix leg with the Headaches On A Plane.

Well, apparently the urge to litigate is not confined to these amber waves of grain and purple mountain's majesty.  In fact, the latest frivilous lawsuit was brought by one of Her Majesty's citizens.

Sophie King was today awarded $14,400 in a judgment against Dolcis shoe store in London because ... ladies, are you ready? ... her stiletto heel broke off her shoe while she was out on the town with friends.

Go figure.  A strappy, skinny, high heeled shoe broke.  Gee, Sophie, I don't believe that's one for the history books, much less the legal ledgers.

Heels break.  They just do.  And the skinnier and higher the heel, the more likely they are to give way at some point.

It's happened to me.  It happened to just about every person I know.

I completely sympathize with her frustration, and I certainly am sorry she broke her ankle when she fell, but this one needed filed under "shit happens", not under Price vs Dolcis Shoes.

I'm sure the store would have been happy to refund her purchase price, replace the shoes, or fix the broken one.  But to hold them responsible for her accident? 

Oh well, I guess it's only fair that this type of lawsuit show up over there.  After all, we've been importing their TV show ideas for years, it's about time we gave something back. 

And anyway, people are people everywhere you go, sooooo, if the sue fits...

Oh Craps! Man BUSted in Vegas

I love Las Vegas. 

I love the casinos, the architectural fantasies come to life, the neon, the 24 hour excitement (although I rarely make it past 1am when I'm there.  Then again, being the morning person I am, I'm usually back in the casino by 630am...).

I love the fine dining, the shows, the pools, the endless options of what to do.

But most of all, above and before everything else, I love the people.

Yes, the people.

I promise, should we finally get this DGMS Vegas Get Together, well, together, we will spend an afternoon in a prime viewing spot where I will offer commentary on the choice human beings who walk by.  If you think I'm funny in print...

Vegas attracts folks from every walk of life, every layer of the economic strata, from every city, state, country on the globe.  And those are just the people who live there.

The tourists rachet up the fun viewing factor to sublime.

Drunken college kids, King Kong sized men in Hawaiian shirts, Spongebob shorts, orange socks and sandals (I actually saw that once), women who obviously look in the mirror and see Christina Aguilara, when in reality they are Christina Hagularga, call girls with grandpas, call boys with grandmas, it's all there.

Honestly, I often fear my brain synapses are going to send smoke out my ears from working overtime processing the visions and the accompanying inner monologues they inspire.

OK, ok - they are not ALL inner monologues.  Rudy has always worried he is going to get beaten up because I say things out loud, but I SWEAR I say them sotto voce.

Needless to say, I am very much looking forward to hitting the strip again this Sunday.  Yes, I get to see Rudy sans pneumonia, and let's be frank, hopefully sans clothing, but when we do venture out I also get to embrace the visual tapestry provided by my fellow man (and woman).

One guy I won't be able to see, however, is this one:

Meet Charles Sell. 

Charles got himself in a tad of trouble today in Vegas. 

You see, around 730am, Charles decided he was thirsty, so he bopped into a 7-11 for a beer.

In the nude.

Now, obviously having no pocket money because, well, come on, the dude had no pockets, he stole the beer.

He then flopped his way to a handicapped bus at the corner, began banging on the back door, but the driver began to drive away.

At which point Charles hung on.  Yes, imagine a naked man clutching a beer hanging off the back of a bus at 730am.   

He then bashed in a rear door window, climbed aboard, kicked off the driver, and drove away...

...roughly 200 yards before he decided he had reached his stop, opened the front door, and jumped off - while the bus was still moving.  A police officer jumped aboard and brought the bus to a stop.

Charles was then apprehended, arrested, charged with Grand Lunacy - er, LARCENY Auto and Robbery, and is currently in the Clark County Detention Center.

They plan on doing a mental evaluation.

After all, it was the short bus that he hijacked.

I love Las Vegas.

(P.S.  If Rudy or I get drunk enough to hijack a bus in the nude, I promise we'll have the Travel Gnome with us.)