As we approach the seventh anniversary of Charlie's emancipation from the crate, I think that it's a good time to address some of the questions that we get asked time and again. So here we go... #1: how old is Charlie? We honestly don't know. We initially thought that she was approximately a year old when she came out of the crate, as her teeth, jaws, and bone structure where fully developed. However, this was…

Corona comes to the Casa... Three days ago, I started feeling a bit under the weather. Cramps, chills, having to run around the toilet just so I could hit the water; probably just a cold, I thought. But I NEVER get sick; if something happens to me, it's usually the result of some sort of trauma, not a germ. Besides, I've been vaccinated, and to the very best of my knowledge, have not been around…

I have a disease. Sometimes that disease goes into remission for a time, but still it's always there, lurking just beneath the surface. But this is a strange disease, as it usually chooses to manifest itself at the most inappropriate of times, periods where I am least prepared to deal with it's awful symptoms... Disease, thy name is wanderlust. And I am experiencing an extreme flare up right now, in the dead of winter with…

Happy Charlie Bravo Day! The Casa del Whackos is somewhat of a conundrum; we strive to be a chaotic retreat from the barrage of negativity that constantly assaults us all daily. And it is chaotic; the addition of the Jude Bear and Woodrow F. MacDuff to the mix make Friday posts an almost impossibility, as they demand constant attention and will NOT be denied. Then there's Oba. For many weeks Mom and I were convinced…

Dad here; anyone remember Victor? Victor was the deadbeat neighbor's dog, a 140# mix of collie and water buffalo. The idiots kept him fed, but that was about it; mainly they offered him the worse type of abuse that can be afflicted on a pack animal: Loneliness. But they sure didn't like it when Big Vic would hear my motorcycle or car coming up the road, and he would come lumbering towards the Casa as…

After a dreary, rainy Saturday at the Casa, Sunday morning breaks through clear and cold. This means that the inmates are in no hurry to go outside, content to stay piled up on the bed in a state of partial hibernation. For a while, peace reigns supreme, broken only by the snores of the older critters, until suddenly it doesn't... ...as Hurricane MacDuff decides to make landfall. Due to his gimpy hind leg, the Duff…

Y'all can all thank Ruth Thorton Thayer for what you're about to receive... I watched "Darkest Hour" last night, the story of Winston Churchill and his experiences at the beginning of WWII. One of the reasons that I am such a fan of Churchill was his wit, his command of the English language, and his forthrightness about his own shortcomings. He is one of the first to ever publicly describe his chronic depression as "the…