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You Don't Know Jack Adkins

Editorial ----

8-31-04

Just an Aging Dog by the Pool

Finally someone has written an Op-Ed column from out there in the membership! I have been wanting this for a long time. Way to go! I have been actively encouraging people to do this.

One of the things about writing a column on the website that gets to me is that you rarely get any feedback for your articles. You have no idea if anyone reads your articles, much less gives two hoots whether you write one or not. I know we have a “Give Your Two Cents” section but that is a drop in the bucket as far as feedback goes. I liken it to talking to yourself all the time. Pretty soon you are not even interested in what you have to say. Please continue to volunteer and contribute articles for our online Fling Section.

My dog is laying at my feet as I write this editorial. His name is Freckles and he is a Dalmatian. In Sept. he will be 12 years old. That is pretty old for a dog, especially a full blooded one as they (or so I have been told) do not live as long as a mixed breed. Being an old guy, he is subject to being cantankerous and grumpy. I find he doesn’t want to listen to me half of the time and even pretends he doesn’t hear me at times. I have tested this out on occasion by wrinkling a piece of paper in the kitchen. All of a sudden his hearing seems to work remarkably well. He is beginning to drive me nuts though with his “senior moments”. He will go to the screen door and woof to get out. When I let him out he will just stand there like he forgot why he was out there in the first place and then will turn around and woof to get back just as I have gotten back into the house.

Another thing he does is not pay attention to what he is doing at times. I was cooking on the grill the other day and he was so intent on what was going on at the grill and getting closer to it that he slipped and fell into the pool. Of course it was the deep end and being a dog he tried to head straight to the edge to get out. The steps are at the other end. I had to laugh at the goofy look on his face. Maybe it was embarrassment that riddled his mug. Anyway, I reached down and pulled him out. He is more cautious near the grill now. I couldn’t help but wonder if that had happened when I wasn’t around, how long would he have treaded water at the deep end before he realized he needed to go to the steps at the shallow end? It’s a scary thought that he could have drowned had the situation been different and I wasn’t there.

I am starting to see similarities in the aging of my dog and myself. For instance, I must misplace my glasses at least five times a day. Or when I walk into a room and forget why I came in there in the first place.

Sometimes we need other people around to help us remember things we forget about. Reunions and the Blast From The Past are reminders of why we are here and what we are doing. It gives us chances to remember where we are coming from and what is important in life.

In the end, it is all about friends and people, which is why I started this website in the first place and it is beginning to grow way beyond Dan and myself and taking on a life of its own. That is what I wanted to happen. It needs to morph itself into something that will be self-sustaining in the future. Members need to take an active role and keep this going when Dan and I aren’t allowed to have computers any more in the old folks' home.

Just a thought to keep in mind.

Jack

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Anybody who wants to Know Jack Better can check out his earlier rants here:

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Baby-Boomers and Hip Hop Shorts >>>

Motorcycle Snubbings >>>

Year-End Blessings >>>

The RVs Return to Capistrano >>>

The '73 Reunion and the Blast are now past >>>

Class of 1973 30-Year Reunion Report >>>

What I've Learned In Thirty Years >>>

Pre-Reunion Spoutings >>>

May and Memories of Summer >>>

Taxes and Bikini Waxes >>>

Late March potpourri>>>

Winter Doldrums etc. >>>

Telemarketers, ATMs and Raider fans >>

It Only Seems I've Gotten Mellow >>

End of the year Potpourri >>

Scrooge arrives early this year >>

Lighting up is getting harder in South Florida >>

Living with Yankee neighbors>>

The Bug Got Me and Other Stuff >>

Lauderdale, Attack Show Dogs and Beanie Baby Millionaires >>

Driver Insanity, Cabinets and Typhoid Mary >>

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Conspiracy Theory >>

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