:Questions and the Travelin’ Man

Susan and I have exchanged lots of posts, along with a phone call, in the past few days. I prefer to keep the following, sent on Sunday in the forefront of my mind.

Susan wrote…You’d never think from looking at them that there was anything amiss,
now would you?

The news from yesterday’s vet appointment wasn’t surprising:

During our phone conversation Sunday morning, I tried to ‘ask the questions’. The questions that would help guide Susan’s decisions with her own answers. To arrive at the right questions is simply an ability I have, including the Big Question. In Champ’s case, the Big Question was ‘if Champ could be back to how he was last Wednesday before the tentative diagnosis, would you and he want that?’ The answer to that guides the next questions. Susan said other than sneezing when he ate, he was fine. The sneezing, while annoying to both of them, wasn’t that big of a deal.

To me, then it was clear that the dental extractions and tumor removal were causing his extreme discomfort, never mind the pain of getting the anti-inflammatory, pain-killer and antibiotic through his sore mouth and into his system. And if Susan and Champ could get him back to last Wednesday’s status quo, then he very well could have quality time left. It is very, very hard emotionally to cause further pain giving medication. The words from a song come to mind. “You’ve got to be cruel to be kind.” One might ask if meds were needed. In this case, there’s no question in my mind. Yes! I’m fairly conservative when it comes to drugs, but the body often heals faster with some assistance from western medicine. Take advantage of drugs if appropriate!

In the early dawn this morning, two things were floating around in my mind. What has really changed for Champ with the knowledge of the neoplasm…  My ability to ask The Questions – will it come back to haunt me.

A year ago last Christmas holiday, I received a phone call from Faye at 2:30 in the morning. When the caller ID on the phone lite up, I knew something was very, very wrong. It was too early for Allie’s puppies to come into this world. Faye was at the emergency clinic with a comatose Allie. I asked Faye if they had her hooked to fluids. She replied not yet, I need to sign for treatment. Hang up the phone now! Go sign the forms! Call me back when that’s done! And so the night and into the next morning it went. I was clinical. I asked the questions. I was there for Faye. I boxed away my own emotions. Inside my heart was dying. Not only was Allie in very grave danger, but her puppies, her Manny puppies were most likely dead. I was looking forward to those puppies, to sharing the trials, tribulations and triumphs of those puppies with Faye. I kept that all to myself. My emotions weren’t going to help Faye. She needed a rock, not a puddle.

A day or three later it occurred to me that my approach had previously gotten me into big trouble, was one of the building blocks – or would that be wrecking crane – of a long-ago relationship with another dog person. My ability to be clinical, to ask the right questions for decision making, to be a rock was misinterpreted. I was accused of being uncaring, cold.

It is the ability to accept each other for who we are that ultimately decides who our friends are.

Allie survived an emergency ovariohysterectomy. Her uterus contained two dead, rotting puppies. I’d asked the right questions. Faye made the right decisions. I hope my questions continue to guide Susan down the path she’s travelin’ right now with our Travelin’ Man.

:Saving on gas

Yesterday I received an email from Ceese…one of those forwards actually. The very kind of thing I was writing about yesterday, the blurriness of copyright in cyberspace. Saving on Gas was intended to make the cyberspace rounds, so I post without compunction. There’s great tips from someone-in-know about how to get the most from your gasoline buck.

Speaking of gas and bucks… Ah! You knew I’d have something else to say! I drove a 1963 Ford Futura until Rick and I married. Orville Falcon was his name. Orville wasn’t just a Ford Falcon. He was a fancy Falcon, complete with chrome detail that qualified him to be a Futura. He had a three-on-the tree, red interior and cost $200 used. Orville knew the way to dog shows. Once every week or so, I’d pull into Ralph McCain’s Conoco station and buy $1.00 worth of gas. Gas was usually 23 cents a gallon, but once in a while would drop to 19 cents a gallon. A gas station attendant pumped the gas, checked the oil and cleaned the windshield. The really cute attendant once told me if I pulled in and and said fill-er-up, he’d buy me a steak dinner. Never did do that…probably never had enough money to fill-er-up.

A few weeks ago, sorting and sifting for that Library of Memories class, I came upon a group of photos in an envelope. The first photo I pulled out was significant in a totally different way than expected when the photo was taken. I noticed the price of gas immediately. And started drooling! Then I wondered why on earth there was a photo of a gas sign. The price of gas would have held no significance at the time. The sign is like lots of other gas signs. What was its significance?

As I flipped through the rest of photos, I knew. See the cloud in the background? That’s not a cloud. That’s smoke from the Black Mountain Fire. This photo was taken the beginning of May 2002. Black Mountain Fire. We live on Black Mountain. That fire is the reason I’m an Animal Evac Volunteer, but that’s a story for another day.

I am going to change the way I keep my car filled, which I’ve bolded below. The major thing I’m going to do is buy gas from companies that don’t import Middle Eastern oil. Conoco’s on that list, the list that doesn’t import Middle Eastern oil. Whoops! Am I letting my political beliefs be known?! Where I come from people don’t talk about politics. Or religion. Maybe that’s why I moved away! Orville Falcon and I left Nebraska and headed west over 30 years ago…probably on a full tank of Conoco gas.

TIPS ON PUMPING GAS

I don’t know what you guys are paying for gasoline…. but here in
California we are paying up to $3.75 to $4.10 per gallon. My line of
work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some tricks to
get more of your money’s worth for every gallon:l

Here at the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where I work in San Jose, CA, we
deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline.
One day is diesel, the next day is jet fuel and gasoline, regular and
premium grades. We have 34 storage tanks here with a total capacity of
16,800,000 gallons.

Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the
ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations
have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder< BR> the
ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline
expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening….your gallon is
not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity
and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and
other petroleum products plays an important role.

A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the
service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.
When you’re filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a
fast mode. If you look you will see that the trigger has 3 stages: low,
middle, and high. You should be pumping on low mode, thereby minimizing
the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the
pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of
the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being
sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you’re getting
less worth for your money.

One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF
FULL. The reason for this is the more gas you have in your tank the
less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you
can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof.
This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere,
so it minimizes the evaporation.

Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is
temperature compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact
amount. Another reminder, if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the
storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up; most likely the
gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you
might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

WHERE TO BUY USA GAS – THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW. READ ON:
Gas rationing in the 80’s worked even though we grumbled about it. It
might even be good for us!
The Saudis are boycotting American goods. We should return the favor.
An interesting thought is to boycott their GAS. Every time you fill up
the car, you can avoid putting more money into the coffers of Saudi
Arabia. Just buy from gas companies that don’t import their oil from
the Saudis.  I thought it might be interesting for you to know which oil
companies are the best to buy gas
from and which major companies import Middle Eastern oil.

Companies that import Middle Eastern oil:
Shell……………………… 205,742,000 barrels
Chevron/Texaco……… 144,332,000 barrels
Exxon /Mobil………….. 130,082,000 barrels
Marathon/Speedway… 117,740,000 barrels
Amoco……………………….62,231,000 barrels
Citgo gas is from South America, from a Dictator who hates our president.

Companies that DO NOT import Middle Eastern oil:
Sunoco……………0 barrels
Conoco……………0 barrels
Sinclair……………0 barrels
BP/Phillips……….0 barrels
Hess……………….0 barrels
ARC0………………0 barrels

If you go to Sunoco.com, you will get a list of the station locations
near you.
All of this information is available from the Department of Energy and
each is required to state where they get their oil and how much they
are importing.