When Charlie and I travel, we see the both the good and the not so good. New Mexico is one of our favorite states, if not our very favorite, especially the northern section around Taos, Chama, Cimarron, basically anywhere along Hwy 64. This is also an area populated by various Native American reservations, and these towns have not been treated kindly by the passage of time. Unemployment is high; if you don't have the good…

It's a rainy Charlie Bravo Day at the Casa del Whackos, but as it has been a long, dry spell, having some rain is a good thing. I'm wadded up with dad in the recliner, and the other inmates are sprawled out on the remaining furniture like they were dropped from the sky. The only signs of life are the occasional leg kick and "WHUFF!" of a dreaming Claire, or the raspy snores of Titus…

Sometimes a matter arises at the Casa del Whackos that I'm sure is never an issue in other more "normal" households; tonight one of those matters arose. Mom had just about finished adjusting Ajax's coiffure, and had to take a break due the trusty Wahl clippers were beginning to smoke. As dad was about to take a shower anyway, she(he was not consulted) decided to throw the freshly-shorn sheep/dog into the wash, hit "regular cycle",…

...but we still have the best of everything. I'm the Casa del Whackos, and I'm a decidely weird place. A modest house that is beginning to show the wear and tear that only a constant parade of kids, dogs, ducks, chickens, hamsters, mice, etc, can inflict. My exterior doors bear mute testimony to the thousands of canine fingernails that have scratched at my jambs demanding entry. The length of my hallway wallpaper stained approx 15"…

Dad here; throughout my life, I have suffered some pretty disgusting and demeaning actions performed upon my person. Colostomy bag, ruptured Achilles tendon, barium enema, I've even slept with a CAT! I am no stranger to utter debasement. But lately, things have taken even a more drastic turn south. Because of this (technical medical term coming up, pay attention)chronic painful rib thingy I've been dealing with for the last few weeks, I've been soaking in…

How can the powers that be discriminate against that which they cannot even properly define? When we found Charlie huddled in her crate, she weighed less than eighteen pounds. Due to her thin face, slender build, and tan feet, we initially thought that she was some type of hound mix. Then mom's concoction of puppy chow, condensed milk and raw eggs began to take effect and she began to fill out(Charlie, not mom); that thin…

Over the years, "not so good" things have happened at the Casa. Breast cancer, depression, job loss, near death experiences, all those things that make up the other side of life, all of which leave us thinking, "why us?" Then, when we somehow inevitably make it through, the eternal question: did I learn what I was supposed to learn from that experience? Because I sure dont want to have to go through that again! Sometimes…