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December 26, 2000
Illness, crime, and death
Okay, which of you put the hex on me? Huh? 'Fess up, already, because this is just getting silly.
The illness part we've already covered -- and my mom is still, slowly but surely, on the mend. She was up and moving around a lot more today, but, as we shall see, it wasn't really for anything good. She woke me up at around 7:30 this morning, because the dogs wanted walking -- Queenie, a lovely and sweet Border collie, and Misty, a 17-year-old, blind, deaf, stinking-like-you-wouldn't-believe, cranky little cocker spaniel. Misty has been in terribly poor health for a couple of years now -- the blindness and deafness, of course, plus a couple of strokes, and a series of other illnesses, all related to her very advanced age. Every few months, we say "She's not going to last much longer," and she just keeps on going... anyway. When I roused myself out of the nest I'd made on the couch, my mom told me that she had made a vet appointment for Misty, and that "It's time." That didn't really sink in until I got outside, (standing on the porch with my coat thrown on over my sheep pajamas, wearing my Doc Martens unlaced, with no socks, and scary, scary bedhead.) Time for what? Shots? A checkup? Jeez, you'd thinks she would have rescheduled... oh. Misty'd been in pain lately, and hadn't been able to get comfortable anywhere. She wasn't sleeping, and could barely eat, and my mom decided that she didn't want her to suffer anymore. It was just time to let her go. it's sad, but I agreed -- Misty was miserable. It was very quick, and painless -- the vet let both me and my mom stay in the room (though, since I am a wuss, I had to leave before it was over -- I was afraid I was going to be sick). They tranquilized her, and left us alone with her for a few minutes -- we petted and kissed her, and she went to sleep -- and, honestly, it was the first time she seemed comfortable in about a year. She sighed, and snuggled down on the table, and wagged her tail -- my mom said she kept on wagging, right up 'til the end. I stood out in the waiting room, furiously willing myself not to cry -- but hey, that dog had been around since I was about 10, so it's weird, not having her here. But it's better for her, and my mom still has Queenie.
And the crime -- well, while I was finishing getting ready to leave for the vet's this morning, my mom checked the mail, which included her phone bill. She opened it, and shouted "What the HELL?" It was almost $400 -- and her bill is normally around $50. She looked it over, and found two pages of calls made from pay phones, using her calling card -- which wouldn't have been so weird, except she doesn't have a calling card. She got one, but cut it up into teeny pieces and threw it away. All of the calls were to Vermont numbers, none of which we recognized. She called the phone company, and they agreed to investigate, and to remove the charges. While she was talking to them, I looked at the bill, and noticed that some of the calls weren't from pay phones -- there were at least a half dozen made from one residential number. With any luck, the person who stole the calling card number used it from their own home phone line, and will be caught soon. My mom figures it was a phone comany employee, since the calls started on the same date she switched her service from her old company, and they end right on the end of that month's billing cycle, according to the woman she spoke to.
So. We have illness, and death, and crime -- what next?!? Anybody know of any charms to reverse bad luck? Because right now, I'm waiting for the other anvil to drop...
Posted by Mary Ellen at December 26, 2000 09:28 PM
Comments
Thanks
Posted by: Alison at April 10, 2004 08:05 PM