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1966

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NOW

February 21, 2004 - Saturday

Like a kid who can't wait for Christmas, I've been rushing my retirement paperwork so I can get a head start.  On Monday I started using my excess vacation and only went in Tuesday to clear out my desk and have lunch with my co-workers for the last time.  So far, I haven't felt much like celebrating.  The fact that I'm no longer working hasn't really sunk in and I keep waiting for someone to pull the rug out from under me. I feel a bit like I did as a kid, looking forward to summer vacation.

After retirement my dental coverage will not be as comprehensive as it is now so on Thursday I went in to get a crown.  The tooth wasn't bothering me but it was chipped so they wanted to crown it anyway.  He ended up doing a root canal and I go back in two weeks for the permanent crown.  So far everything has gone smoothly. He prescribed Vicodin for pain and penicillin for possible infection.

Hoping for rain tonight though not too much.  With all the vegetation burned, we've been having mudslides.

First the chicken coop burned and now the remnants are being buried by mud washing down from the hill behind.  At least small patches of grass are beginning to sprout on the surrounding hillsides.

THEN

August 19, 1967 Saturday

I had a weird day at work with Ron and I don't think it's something I'll soon forget.  Because the summer is almost over, everybody in town is going on vacation and boarding their pet at the hospital.  We have 106 animals which is up from a normal 40.  Every last cage is used and we even had to keep some of the animals outside in the runs.  We had six baths and we had to stay till 6:30 instead of the normal 5:00 to get everything done.  We had no breaks and by the last hour neither of us cared anymore.  We ended up throwing food and water all over the place because we were running as fast as we could.  A couple of the girls from the store next door climbed up the fence and had fun watching us run all over the place acting like fools.  Tomorrow I work alone so it should be pretty interesting.

August 22, 1967 Tuesday

Today Barry took off for Philadelphia for a three week vacation.  If not for my job I would have gone. Oh well.  At least he left his car and I'm getting a lot of practice using a stick shift.

Today a cat tried to escape while I was giving it a bath.  He jumped out of the tub and was running for the gate door.  There is no way I could explain to the doctor that a cat escaped so I nearly killed myself chasing it and caught it just in time.  The cat was in a panic and bit through my leather glove and went clear through my thumb.  He was so afraid he actually passed out and the doctor had to resuscitate him.

I was really amazed when they told me that I would have to give baths to cats.  I don't think its necessary and I think they just do it to make extra money.  The cats go crazy with fear and I don't think the owners realize what they're putting their pets through.  They even make me clip their claws which seems really ridiculous.

Tomorrow is my day off.  I've been working 8 hours a day trying to get the most money I can before school.