The OppenheimerReport - 11/28/06

Did you ever have a song rumbling around in your head that you can’t seem to shake? Right now, I can’t get Elvin Bishop’s “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” out of my head. I recently bought a CD of Elvin’s greatest hits, and it’s a genuine toe-tapper. My favorite Elvin Bishop song, and there are quite a few, is “Travelin’ Shoes”. On my new blog site, there is a section for my profile (enough about me, what do YOU think of me?). The truth is, there is so much music I like, it’s hard to pick favorites … and in what category? Favorite songs? Favorite albums? Favorite songwriters, singers, musicians, style of music? “Yummy Yummy,Yummy (I’ve Got Love in My Tummy)” by Tommy Roe is my favorite vacuous pop song, but how many people even have a category for that?

Shauna and I saw a commercial for PetSmart pet stores the other day and it gave us both a belly laugh. In it, a Dachshund is obviously enamored of a special toy which looks like a long, furry, stuffed hot dog. The dog carries it everywhere, and it’s hilarious to see this little wiener dog trotting along furiously with this 18” long furry hotdog in its mouth. We, the presumably dog-loving-and-would-do-anything-for-our-beloved-pet consumers, are led to believe that the dog is inseparable from its toy, but when it’s time to replace the toy, the owner sneaks in while the dog is sleeping (upside down, I might add), extricates the ratty, saliva-saturated toy from the obsessed pet, and throws it in the trash can. The next scene is of the owner and her pet at PetSmart, procuring an exact replacement. The final scene is a rear-end shot of the happy pet, merrily trotting out of PetSmart, little tushy wiggling, carrying the replacement toy in its mouth. What a sales pitch that was! Of course, we had to get one of those hotdog toys (loofah dog toys I believe they’re called) for Jasper, and it was not false advertising; Jasper loves that thing and sleeps with one paw draped over it. If you’ve never been to one, and you need pet supplies, PetSmart is worth a visit. It’s not your average pet store. Whereas most pet stores probably allow you to bring your pet inside, PetSmart actually encourages it. I went on a Saturday, and there were dogs all over the place, some who were obviously not very well house-trained. In the middle of the store, there was a dog training class with a circle of hopeful dog owners and their disobedient pets. From what I could tell in my brief observation of the class, there was much to be learned, and the pupils seemed to be a bit attention-challenged. There was also a section where dogs were being groomed, and there was a lot of barking and howling going on in that store. In this petdamonium, I had a hard time finding my hotdog toys, so distracted was I by all the crazy animals and their owners. For people and pet-watching, it doesn’t get much funnier than a pet supermarket.

We are still at the Taylors' house, almost two weeks after Dr. Taylor fell ill. He is still in the hospital suffering from a bacterial infection known as “C-Difficile”. This illness is quite serious, and can, if left undiagnosed, be fatal. Apparently, we all have good and bad bacteria in our bowels. C-Difficile is one of the bad ones, and if allowed to flourish, it can cause all sorts of problems. Most of us are healthy enough to ward off the bad stuff, but in Dr. Taylor’s case, the combination of his age, his compromised immune system, and a dose of antibiotics he took for some dental work, allowed this opportunistic bacteria to grow and take hold. Right now, he is participating in a study designed to test a new polymer drug which essentially wraps itself around the bad bacteria and prevents it from releasing its damaging toxins. At present, the conventional therapy for C-Difficile is more antibiotics – the very treatment which can cause it in the first place! Dr. Taylor is in isolation and visitors must wear rubber gloves, a mask, and a gown each time they enter the room.

Once again, our lives are on hold as we attend to the needs of our parents. At present, we are arranging for health care and dealing with a myriad of deferred maintenance issues at the Taylor home. We were supposed to have our revised plans to the log home builders two weeks ago, but that will have to wait. One of my favorite quotes (I heard it in a John Lennon song), and I paraphrase: Life is what happens to you when you’re making other plans.

-Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c2006 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED