Had a scare

9/7/09 Monday
It’s labor day. Doesn’t mean anything to me other than the landfill and post office are closed. But Cherie does have the day off so that’s always nice. It gives her a chance to catch up on housework and stuff in the office.

We had a scare yesterday. Someone sent me an email asking for twenty pounds of blackeyed peas so I took Rascal and Trixie when I went to pick them. I’m getting peas from a different field so we had to drive to get there. On the way back we passed the Mennonite’s house that’s on the corner of our property and their dogs started running alongside the truck barking. This kind of thing always get Rascal and Trixie riled up and they go spastic barking out the truck window. I usually only roll the window down about four inches because they once broke the side mirror as they strained and bounced to reach whatever creature got them going. But this time I rolled it down a little more, not all the way, about twelve inches. Knowing the Mennonites dogs would be out there I was driving fast. Rascal jumped out the window in his enthusiasm. I’m guessing I was moving forty miles an hour or more. Suddenly he wasn’t there. I slammed on the brakes, sliding to a stop on the dirt road, and heard him yelping in pain. It was dark as I’d picked peas till I couldn’t see them anymore so I didn’t dare back up for fear of running him over. Jumping out I ran to where he was struggling to move in his pain. The other dogs ran away when they saw me coming. I picked Rascal up carefully and carried him back to the truck.

He’s skinned up pretty bad with several places where the skin was peeled back and the flesh underneath torn as well. Rascal has cuts around one eye too. What we’re worried about is possible internal injuries or broken bones. He has a hard time walking and one rear leg obviously hurts more than the others. We put him on the bed so he could be comfortable and close to me, consequently there are blood stains all over the bedspread. That’s not important to us compared to our concern for Rascal’s health. This morning he’s obviously stiff. He drank some water and pooped, which are both good signs despite the fact that he pooped in the house instead of outside. So we’re keeping an eye on him. There’s really no money to spare for a vet visit unless it’s urgent so we’ll watch and hope he’s ok. I’m pretty sure he’ll be fine, just pretty sore for a few days.

I talked to Robin yesterday after talking with my dad. She assured me that he didn’t think the only reason I was reaching out to him was for money and explained that he’s been deeply depressed for a week. That’s perfectly understandable all things considered. The chemotherapy shrunk his cancer but didn’t get rid of it and now he’s too weak to take any more treatments, at least for a while. Then there’s being bedridden, unable to eat real food, and not having your friends around. That by itself is demoralizing. But facing the real possibility of imminent death is the real demoralizer and the kind of thing that generates all kinds of thoughts. These are times most, or perhaps just many, people review their lives, think of their successes and failures. I let Robin know that anytime he wants or anytime she deems appropriate I can be there in a matter of hours. If I could I’d stay at his side every day. There’s nothing here that can’t be put off or delayed. It’s not like I’d lose my job or anything. I’m not worried about the cost of being there because our needs are always met, God is faithful even when I’m not, and has provided for us at every turn.

I ordered two of the old Jackie Gleason Honeymooner’s DVD’s, that I’ve been wanting to get for dad, yesterday. He should be getting them in a week. Of the good memories I can find of my childhood dad’s laughter as he watched these old shows stands out. So this should help his spirits during this time of turmoil. Picking the peas and selling them at the farmer’s market provided the funds for that.
It sure hurts a lot to pick the peas but that just makes it more valuable in my mind, makes it something earned and paid for with a price. Easy money is often bad money and brings more harm than good. I’ve seen it happen so many times in so many lives of people I’ve personally known over the last thirty years that there’s no question about it to me. Like it says in 1rst Timothy 6.6 - But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.