True Blue Sam the Travelin' Man: It Was A Long Good-Bye

Saturday, December 29, 2012

It Was A Long Good-Bye

"What's going on out here? You talking to Joe again??

"Oh No...I can't watch this."

Marvin Cat started showing up for meals many years ago, and soon became part of the family. This photo was taken in 1995.

This photo was taken in 2008, after we had learned that Marvin had melanoma. We figured he was a short-timer, but his cancer advanced slowly. He has been losing hair for a couple years; and a year ago his lungs began to wheeze, but he didn't show many signs of being ill.

He went off his feed Christmas Eve, and retreated to a little cat hut where he could curl up and stay warm. Yesterday he was sitting in front of the water bowl, unable to drink. We had a couple of long sessions with an eye dropper to give him water and a molasses mix. When I greeted him this morning he cried instead of purring, and I called the vet.

The vet gave him a muscle relaxer in his hip and I held him in my lap; Marvin purred until he went limp. They took him away to administer the IV to finish the job, and then I brought him home and buried him next to HeyJoe. Jack figured out that this was serious business. He was with Joe when he died, and watched me wrap him up and bury him. This was a tough way to end the holiday season, but on the positive side, this year Susan and I managed to to bring our mothers through some serious medical crises, and that is a real blessing...and we have more pets, thanks to our brother-in-law who gave us SEVEN feral cats that he caught and had neutered and vaccinated. We aren't about to run out of cats, and they have mostly tamed down so I can pick up most of them.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...: As I see it, our jobs as adopters of animals is to give them lives better than they would have had under their previous circumstances; to be their providers, their companions, and to protect them from pain and suffering as best we can. In return, they give what they can which, in my experience, has been most often more than I ever anticipated. It seems that you and Marvin both kept your sides of the bargain. My condolences to you and the True Blue Clan.

-gsc1039; December 30, 2012 at 12:51 AM

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Rules To Live By

Firearms; Col. Jeff Cooper's Rules
1. All guns are always loaded.
2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
4. Be sure of your target and what lies beyond it.

Knives
1. Never cut toward yourself.
2. Always cut away from yourself.
3. Never cut yourself.

AND
If you drop a knife or gun, let it fall!

Chainsaws

1. Always wear your safety gear when running your saw: hard hat, eye, face, hearing protection, cut resistant protection for your legs, heavy boots, gloves (depending on work conditions).

2. Safety devices on the saw must be in working order: front hand guard,chain brake, chain catcher, throttle lockout, and right hand guard.

3. Hold the saw on the ground or lock it between your knees for starting. No 'Drop Starts.' Set the chain brake before cranking.

4. The engine must idle reliably without turning the chain.

5. The chain must be sharpened properly, including properly set depth gauges.

6. The chain must be adjusted to remove slack and still run freely.

7. The operator must understand the forces on different parts of the bar as the saw runs: push, pull, kickback and attack.

8. Both hands must always be on the saw when the chain is running. The thumbs must be wrapped around the handles. Both feet should be firmly planted on the ground.

9. The operator must always know where the end of the bar is, and what it's doing.

10. Don't let the upper (kickback) corner of the bar contact anything when the chain is running unless the tip has been buried with the lower corner.

11. Let off of the throttle before pulling out of a pinch on the top part of the bar.

12. Make a plan for every tree you cut. Assess hazards, lean, escape routes, forward cuts, and back cuts. Evaluate the forward or backward lean, and the side lean of every tree you cut. Know your limits.

13. Clear your work area and your escape path of brush, vines, and other hazards that can trip you or catch your saw.

14. Escape from the bullseye when the tree tips. 90% of accidents happen within 12 feet of the stump. Go more than 15 feet, and stay out of the bullseye until things stop falling.

15. Keep spectators away more than twice the height of the tree in the direction it will fall.

16. Don't cut alone.

17. Keep your body and the swamper's out of the line of the bar in case of a kickback.

18. Set the brake when taking over two steps or when moving through tripping hazards. Keep your trigger finger off of the throttle when you are moving.

19. DO NOT operate a chainsaw from a ladder! Operating with your feet off the ground requires special training.

20. Do not cut above your shoulders.

21. Springpoles must be shaved on the inside of the apex between the ascending and descending sides. If the apex is higher than you shoulders, stand under the springpole and cut it low on the descending side. It will release upward, away from you.Leaning and heavily loaded poles that are too small to bore cut for a hinge should be shaved on the compressed side until they fold.

22. Do not cut a tree that is holding up a lodged tree. Do not work under a lodged tree. Think about a mouse trying to steal the cheese out of a trap.

23. Instruct your swampers and helpers to NEVER approach you from behind or the sides to within the reach of your saw when you are cutting. If you pull out of a cut with the chain running, or have a severe kickback, the swamper can be killed if he is coming up behind you!

24!! Quit When You Are Tired!

25!! Pause and review; reflect, when you are being pushed. You may be pushed into danger. Do not let pressure cause you to ignore safety rules!

Cutting dead and rotten trees is something I have had lots of practice doing, and it always comes down to basics and following the rules. Build a good hinge, even if there is just a thin shell to work with. Support the back side of the hinge with wedges if the tree is punky or hollow. Don't fight side lean or back lean. Release it quickly and get away from the stump. Tell your co-workers what your steps are before you crank your saw. You will live long.

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Saturday, December 29, 2012

It Was A Long Good-Bye

1 comment:

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