08.28.09
Travel
Am in Traverse City now. It has been a cool summer here. Tomatoes haven’t ripened yet! Everything is late. Personally I don’t mind the mild temperatures, but the cool weather hasn’t been good for tourism.
Music
I went to an open mic last night at a place called The Hayloft on M-72. They had several acts nearly all was blue grass and gospel! Everything we played would go good over well in NC. I was the only bass player, so I was invited to play most of the night Last night I sat in with a group of local musicians that were short a bass player for a local radio broadcast called The Round Up. It was spontaneous. Went well and I’m invited back for next week’s session. Might even do some sidebars with a few of the players.
Bucky
Not all good news though, the vet here has diagnosed Bucky with an aggressive cancer quite common with Boxers. I stopped in Ypsi and hung a couple French doors for my friend, Joe. While there, my dog suddenly didn’t want to do anything. She slept constantly and needed help doing everything, even getting up. I found I had to give her pain medication to even get her to go outside. The only thing normal was her appetite.
I’ve talked to other Boxer owners that told me about their dogs suddenly getting sick and being gone in a month. Good news is that the vet pumped her up with steroids so her last weeks will be happy. She went to sleep crying and woke up a new dog— dancing around and wagging her tail— wanting to do everything.
I took her to the beach. She went swimming a few times and played in the sand all day. Lucky Bucky— she doesn’t know it, but she’s getting an Indian Summer of her own.
Michigan often gets what’s called an Indian Summer. The first big blast of cold hits and then it warms again. Tradition has it that’s when the Indians would migrate south for the winter. Seems like the colors are all brighter, the smells stronger, and the rays of the sun reach more deeply. Knowing winter is next makes it easy to appreciate each of the last warm days in a way that is obscured by spring’s promise.
