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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Late Night Open Thread

Late Night Open Thread

by John Cole|  December 13, 20132:07 am| 47 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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Nothing that a couple bites of cookie dough, some ice cold skim milk, and a little bit of Steve lap therapy while watching the opening monologues of past Daily Show episodes can’t cure.

I hope the car is ok, but if not, what really matters is my kid was ok.

Gotta have the right priorities in this shit. It’s funny how much easier that perspective comes the older you get. Or after holding a lifeless pet in your arms as his broken neck flops around in the nook of your elbow. I’d trash a car every fucking day to have Tunch back.

Stuff can be replaced. People and pets can’t.

*** Update ***

Can’t sleep. Here’s a shot I took of Steve not five minutes ago:

thelion

I just can’t get over how magnificent his mane is in the winter. I really hit the cat lottery again. And I just love the crazy whisker.

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Reader Interactions

47Comments

  1. 1.

    Yatsuno

    December 13, 2013 at 2:20 am

    Stuff can be replaced. People and pets can’t.

    Amen to that.

  2. 2.

    Jerzy Russian

    December 13, 2013 at 2:24 am

    Gotta have the right priorities in this shit. It’s funny how much easier that perspective comes the older you get.

    Yup. And as others have pointed out in the previous thread, the car may have only minor damage.

    Well, those Broncos lost at home to the Chargers. On the one hand, I am bummed. On the other hand, they have only three losses and two more very winnable games to go. Perspective is important here also.

  3. 3.

    Gex

    December 13, 2013 at 2:25 am

    @Yatsuno: The exact response that came to my mind.

    Jesus, that sudden, blunt description hit me hard. But then fall/winter, holidays, and the impending anniversary have me in tears pretty often these days, so it wouldn’t have taken much.

    I’d give up everything to have Kate back.

  4. 4.

    Jewish Steel

    December 13, 2013 at 2:25 am

    I think you’ve used up your share of rum luck now. Take ’14 off.

  5. 5.

    Jerzy Russian

    December 13, 2013 at 2:30 am

    I am grading final exams now, and I am reminded of something Jesus said while hanging from the cross: “Forgive them Father for they know not what they do.”

  6. 6.

    eemom

    December 13, 2013 at 2:39 am

    People and pets can’t.

    Yeah. After another evening of weeping over my lost doggie and contemplating the mortality of everything else dear to me, I’m pretty much on board with that.

  7. 7.

    kdaug

    December 13, 2013 at 2:39 am

    Middle of a storm.
    Not that kind, the real kind.
    Been through worse, though not by much.

  8. 8.

    Time Travelin

    December 13, 2013 at 2:40 am

    Amen. You’re not wrong, brother.

  9. 9.

    Jerzy Russian

    December 13, 2013 at 2:56 am

    I am surprised Steve is still awake. I thought cats slept all of the time.

  10. 10.

    fuckwit

    December 13, 2013 at 3:08 am

    @Jerzy Russian: Cats sleep in the daytime, work in the nighttime. They might not ever get home.

    Whelp, finally done with signing up for Obamacare. Supposedly it’ll cost me $50/mo, and pretty much everything is covered with no deductible. Sounds too good to be true, and I am just waiting for the insurance companies to find some damn way to take my every last cent. We’ll see. I need a bunch of stuff done…. some of which is deferred maintenance from not having insurance for so long.

    If I can get healthy again, maybe I’ll make enough money to afford whatever the unsubsidized retail cost of this, which is like 10x what I’ll be paying. That’d be a good problem to have, if I end up having it. If not, this’ll be a year to finally get my broken-ass self in working order, maybe, anyway.

    I really wish I could stop paying so damn much attention to politics. It’s not really helpful, I think. I feel like, if I’m not campaigning, I should be just not paying attention. Reading all this shit and then blathering on about it can’t really be a good use of time.

    I remain cautiously optimistic.

  11. 11.

    wasabi gasp

    December 13, 2013 at 3:12 am

    Nice shot of Steve. Looks like a 70s sears portrait.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqJn3X04okQ

  12. 12.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    December 13, 2013 at 3:19 am

    I mourn every time I find that a Scoob has died. I lost two myself, both to the dreaded Timing Belt Syndrome. They weren’t perfect- I never planned on getting up steep grades quickly- but they kept me safe and warm through a few nasty Michigan winters.

  13. 13.

    Suffern ACE

    December 13, 2013 at 3:22 am

    Late night squee.

  14. 14.

    wasabi gasp

    December 13, 2013 at 3:40 am

    I’ve already thrown this one up, but whatever. There’s a lonely stick of salami in the fridge and I wanna be friends.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhgHH4UeXPY

  15. 15.

    wasabi gasp

    December 13, 2013 at 4:07 am

    WP ate my last link. No biggie, it’s a repeat, anyway. WP ate it the previous time, too.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbcAzvaznpE

  16. 16.

    Linda Featheringill

    December 13, 2013 at 4:17 am

    Sorry about the Suburu, John, but glad no one was hurt.

    I’m also sorry that I’m awake but here I am. Bah.

  17. 17.

    Linda Featheringill

    December 13, 2013 at 4:19 am

    @fuckwit:

    Nice that you now have health insurance. Good for you! Getting caught up on deferred maintenance should make you feel better, at least. Good luck all around.

  18. 18.

    Tommy

    December 13, 2013 at 4:27 am

    @Jerzy Russian: LOL. You might just have waked my cat and now need to give her “love” for the next hour or so. My cat hates my parents. Well anybody not me. But come into my house for more then an day or so, and she wants to be petted and loved. I like that about her!

  19. 19.

    Biscuits

    December 13, 2013 at 4:36 am

    I come home after just spending two hours at the emergency vet and see this post with Steve! This must be a sign. Our beloved little kitty, Flash, had to be put down. He just collapsed, vet stabilized him but said he was extremely ill. He had a good run and we are the kind of people who don’t take extraordinary measures when these things come down, plus vet said its what she would have done. Still, it’s hard to let go of a critter who has been part of the family for 11 years. But thank you for these pics of handsome guy. Strangely, they help. ;)

  20. 20.

    Dee Loralei IPhone

    December 13, 2013 at 4:50 am

    @Biscuits: so sorry about your loss of Flash. My heart goes with you.

  21. 21.

    Schlemizel

    December 13, 2013 at 6:30 am

    @Jerzy Russian:

    Did you see the Frontline episode the other night on CTEs? Perspective.

  22. 22.

    JPL

    December 13, 2013 at 6:37 am

    @Biscuits: I’m so sorry.

  23. 23.

    WereBear

    December 13, 2013 at 6:41 am

    @Biscuits: So sorry to hear. But you did the right thing. On cat terms a happy ending.

  24. 24.

    Just One More Canuck

    December 13, 2013 at 7:38 am

    @Biscuits: I went through the same thing with my cat (Scully) a few weeks ago. She was 17 but very active. Something happened while I was out, and she wasnt able to stand and when I picked her up she didnt meow, but just looked at me. I wrote about her in a thread when it happened but couldn’t hit the submit button. But seeing pictures of Steve and others and reading all the comments is like you say, helpful. Doesn’t make me miss her any less, but it does help.

  25. 25.

    Violet

    December 13, 2013 at 8:30 am

    Sorry to hear about your Subaru, but glad the kid is okay. Love the photo of Steve. You’re definitely getting better with the camera!

    Keep us posted on your car. Hopefully it’s not that bad.

  26. 26.

    skyweaver

    December 13, 2013 at 9:06 am

    John – I love the political posts here, but I extra love stuff you say in your ‘this is the shit going on in my life’ posts. You are a regular zen master, dude. I’m glad your kid was okay as well. And you are right, you get more perspective as you get older and with enough for-real bad stuff happening.

  27. 27.

    Carnacki

    December 13, 2013 at 9:25 am

    If I am correct, Ken Ward Jr., the exemplary reporter who covers coal for the Charleston Gazette, lost his father in a crash with a coal truck driving in an unsafe manner. I suggest you email him about the incidents with the fracking trucks. The trucks also do terrible damage to the roads so they have to be constantly repaved, another way we socialize the expenses of the extraction industries. BTW, here’swhat I got when I tried to google. That’s some heartbreaking shit right there.

  28. 28.

    fidelio

    December 13, 2013 at 9:25 am

    @Biscuits: I’m sorry. It’s hard to part.

  29. 29.

    WaterGIrl

    December 13, 2013 at 9:27 am

    Tears for tunch, tears for gex, tears for biscuits and flash. Tears for my sweet quiver who died 4 years ago this week.

    There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They are messengers of overwhelming grief and of unspeakable love.

    – Washington Irving

  30. 30.

    TaMara (BHF)

    December 13, 2013 at 9:27 am

    @Biscuits:
    @Just One More Canuck:

    I am stunned by this news, because this is what basically just happened to perfectly healthy Harley, too. They stabilized him, decided diabetes, but it wasn’t and as the weeks went on, couldn’t stand, was just limp and deteriorated every day. It only took 3 weeks from first vet visit to his death. They have no idea why.

    You both have my deepest sympathies. Now I’m going to go cry again.

  31. 31.

    fidelio

    December 13, 2013 at 9:27 am

    John, I’m glad the kid is OK and I hope you can get the car sorted out. Good luck filing a complaint on the #&#%_)#%_@#(^*#(%*^#@%^@#*%&^@#*)%& frackers.

  32. 32.

    Just One More Canuck

    December 13, 2013 at 9:36 am

    @TaMara (BHF): Thanks TaMara. My sympathies to you too.

  33. 33.

    WaterGIrl

    December 13, 2013 at 9:44 am

    @TaMara (BHF): I am so sorry. Just heartbreaking. I saw that you had a new guy but I had completely missed what happened to your beloved harley, and I didn’t want to ask.

    @Just One More Canuck: So very sorry.

    Same thing happened with my dog, bailey. Leave for a meeting at 8:30, everything peachy; return home at 10:30, bailey is trembling and won’t get up, obviously something very bad. Vet didn’t know what it was but he said it was the end.

    I took bailey for an ultrasound at the university vet school and they found a very fast spreading cancer of the blood vessels; once it hits one major organ it’s a matter of days and it’s everywhere and they are gone. At least I had the peace of mind of knowing what it was and the certainty that there was nothing that could be done.

    So much loss in this life, but where there is loss there is love.

  34. 34.

    Elizabelle

    December 13, 2013 at 9:50 am

    @Biscuits:

    So sorry about Flash. Sounds like you did the loving thing.

    Love the name, too. Was she a little Flash?

    May a Steve cat be in your future, whatever cat clothes it wears.

  35. 35.

    Paul in KY

    December 13, 2013 at 10:22 am

    @Biscuits: Very sorry to hear of Flash’s demise. 11 years of a happy cat, though. Also, ‘Flash’ is a pretty cool cat name.

  36. 36.

    Robert Sneddon

    December 13, 2013 at 10:47 am

    A friend has just been inducted into Minionship under a new-to-him Feline Overlord. Menhit, the Egyptian Lion Goddess of Massacre, is a calico tweenager about a year old, kitten one minute and cat the next, skittish around strangers who move too quickly in her line of sight, prone to investigate fingers and offers of scritches — he’s working on training her out of a biting and clawing habit but it’s not skin-break serious. The Little Green Bug (ignore the man with the laser pointer) Must Die!

    He’s still not quite re-catproofed the flat — his previous two Feline Overlords were old-lady cats (acquired from an old lady, not suprisingly) and not prone to, for example, jumping up on shelves and gobbling tubs of cat treats. She’s training him well though.

  37. 37.

    J R in WV

    December 13, 2013 at 10:58 am

    @Biscuits:

    So sorry for your loss. We all share, because we all have lost someone we loved unconditionally.

    Take care of yourself, and as soon as you feel able, go find another great little fuzzy guy to rescue into your home and heart.

    Sometimes we’re ready in a few days to a couple of weeks, other times we’ve waited until the need for rescue hit us upside the face. It just depends upon how your feelings evolve.

    Best of luck!

  38. 38.

    chopper

    December 13, 2013 at 11:00 am

    dammit, I miss my old dog.

  39. 39.

    Biscuits

    December 13, 2013 at 11:09 am

    Thank you all for sharing and condolences. Balloon juicers are the best around.

  40. 40.

    fidelio

    December 13, 2013 at 12:13 pm

    @Robert Sneddon: I have seen Menhit via the Twitters; she looks like she’ll keep them on their toes all right.

  41. 41.

    Jane2

    December 13, 2013 at 12:15 pm

    @Biscuits: So sorry to hear this….it’s such a shock when you have a seemingly-healthy pet and then a seriously ill one in a flash. And now Flash can be playing at the Rainbow Bridge with my Trixie and all the other BJ pets that live on in our hearts.

  42. 42.

    LanceThruster

    December 13, 2013 at 12:27 pm

    My roommates cat (soon to be my cat as he’s moving to a place where keeping his pet is unfortunately impractical) treats me like a water buffalo. When she gets all hyper from string play in the morning, she’ll do a bump and run on my calf as I try to walk away to go to work. She’s come close to killing me (the literal truth) racing me down the stairs. I gave a neighbor a spare key to come collect my remains if necessary.

  43. 43.

    LanceThruster

    December 13, 2013 at 12:30 pm

    @Biscuits: So sorry to hear. You took good care of him for the too short time he spent here. Thanks from all of us animal lovers. We’re all the collective keepers of these loving creatures and we share your loss.

  44. 44.

    LanceThruster

    December 13, 2013 at 12:39 pm

    @WaterGIrl: Love that quote.

    A Beautiful Sadness

  45. 45.

    The Other Chuck

    December 13, 2013 at 1:42 pm

    I thought for a moment you’d figured out photoshop and hipstamatic filters to matte a head-only shot of Steve then crumble the border away, then realized it was just him poking out of a cubby hole and the fact that your house is apparently lit only by candles.

    Good to hear everyone’s okay. You stay that way too.

  46. 46.

    Medicine Man

    December 13, 2013 at 3:16 pm

    Steve’s a handsome cat, John. Is he as mellow as he looks?

  47. 47.

    Mnemosyne

    December 13, 2013 at 8:16 pm

    @Biscuits:
    @TaMara (BHF):

    Okay, I almost hate to raise this specter, but what food were each of your cats eating? Because this sounds a lot like what happened to my late great Boris, except that the melamine scandal had already broken so they knew what treatment to give him so that we were able to keep him going for another four months after Natural Balance dry food poisoned him.

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