That photo is of a tired Marie and an excited So-Co!! She saw her daddy in the back ground and was pulling to see him!! She did wonderful on our trip considering this was her very first ever flight. Of course we had to make things a little rough on both of us by having delays, but the good thing is we got there safe and sound and my sister was happily awaiting our arrival at the airport in Philly. I had forgotten that just because it's May it doesn't mean it's warm in NJ! Oh man oh man did I freeze my butt off, (well not really but it was chilly). We did lots of visiting and lots of chilling two of my most favorite things to do in the world. We took TWO, not one but TWO trips to the Jersey shore and oh was it most fabo! I so miss the "shore", as we call it up there. I know my southern friends call it the "beach" but not us northern people. I had lots of yummy food while there, my sister called for me several times, we ate REAL pizza, REAL cheese subs, Real chase steak subs oh man the food was most fabo as well. The bread up there, the pizza crust oh man oh man is it so good!!!!! Even though it was much chillier than So-Co and I are used to a good time was had by all, that's for sure. I'm really ready to go back this second! I was gone for a little over two weeks and if it weren't for me missing my hubby I'd have stayed longer, if my sister could have dealt with us there any longer! She was a most fabo hostess, fed me lots of yummy food. Took me on a "take your baby sister to work with you day". HA, well not exactly that but I did go to work with her a time or two and it was very entertaining to say the least. I could say a whole lot about it but since she needs her J-O-B, I'll keep my comments to myself. You might be wondering what type of job she has that would keep me truly entertained and the desire for more? Well, I'll tell you, she is a transit bus driver, and as far as I'm concerned doesn't get paid even close enough to what she should get for all of the stupid people and the stupid crap and comments that come out of her passenger mouths. It's takes a lot to render me speechless, and let me tell you listening to some of her passengers I was exactly that speechless, big time!! I also did learn a thing or two, most weren't legal but if I'm ever in need of free bus passes and the like I sure do know what to do or where to go to get said passes. I got to visit with other family members as well. As I said So-Co did most fabo on the plane she was a very good working dog. I was slightly surprised that so many TSA employees as well as airline staff have no clue what a "service dog" is and its purpose. Truly sad, but no fear I had So-Co's business cards on hand so that I could educate those people lacking in that department. I was a little concerned that So-Co would get a little freaked by the noise the plan makes as it's getting ready for takeoff, but not my smart little working beagle So-Co she did great!!!! Even the Capt. of that flight told me that she was a very well behaved service dog. I said thank you, we've worked hard with her as has her trainer. Now fast forward to our flight from Philly to Atlanta, that was a very, very, very small plane, to begin with. I was supposed to be upgraded to first class due to my service animal, the airlines policy, not my request, I'm too cheap! This leg of the flight there were no business class/first class seats open. I informed the head attendant that the airlines policy states I'm only to be seated in those areas. She didn't appear to care very much at all nor did she appear to enjoy her job, not sure which of the following made me feel this way, me over hearing her telling a co-worker that SO didn't want to deal with this stupid service animal that would be boarding the plane any second, (I had just walked onto the plane as she was bitching this to said co-worker, I assured her she'd not have to deal with my stupid service animal that I was very capable and that no service animal is stupid to being with and they go through major amounts of training!) So I get to my seat and what do I find but a young male in the aisle seat and an extremely large lady in the middle seat. Now let me back up and say I could stand to lose a few pounds myself and I know there are all kinds of issues surrounding why one maybe so large, I'm in no way making an issue of that. I am making an issue of the fact that, she was so large she truly needed to have purchased a second seat as most airlines require. She couldn't even use the seat belt with the extension on it. She took up as much room as she wanted to and didn't care for one second about how the young man sitting to her left felt nor how myself or So-Co felt. She moved around picked up her purse from the floor numerous times and just plain did as much as she could to make this an unpleasant trip for all four of us, yes So-Co counts too!!! She also smelled as if she hadn't had a shower in many, many weeks and trust me this is no exaggeration in the least and the more she moved the more we could smell her, and sorry maybe TMI but she smelled like pure dirty nasty ass that needed a good scrubbing and then some. She bitched to the attendant that my dog was getting fur all over her clothes and they were clean when she put them on, and now after the dog hair she'd have to have those dry cleaned now. Dry clean hell maybe bleach clean, maybe just toss them, truly that's how bad she smelled, horrible doesn't even come close. So she bitched to the attendant enough that they came by and asked me if I’d mind putting So-Co on the floor in front of my seat. That even though she was a "service dog" she wasn't providing me any service in the plane, therefore she'd be fine on the floor. To make things go as easy as possible for Miss
stinky pants, I agreed to put her in front of me, So-Co that is. After a few minutes So-Co is getting wound up and crying out and trying to jump up on my lap, very unlike her for sure. I happened to see why So-Co was trying to get off the floor and on my lap was because Miss Stinky pants was not only stomping on So-Co's little paw, she was smashing it as well, just like you'd drop a cig, step on it and then smash it out for sure. Oh by this time I was tears, and I asked Miss Stinky pants to stop doing that, she refused and in her broken English said, "oh hell no you bitch, this is bull shit, I have dog hair all over my new clothes and I'll have to have them cleaned, um OK you wore them, that's what normal people do, you know? Anyway she goes one step further to tell me that, "in her country" they eat dogs like mine. That was it I lost it, I called for the attendant as did people in the seats in front and in back of us, and said something had to be done, this couldn't keep going on. So they take Miss Stinky pants to the front of the plane and talk to her. They bring her back a few minutes later and asked the young man to trade places with Miss Stinky pants, so he'd sit next to me. He agreed, I apologized for him having to have dealt with that and he was fine with it, no worries from him. The people behind me didn't take it that easy and bitched at the attendants any time they came by about how unfair Miss Stinky pants was. Very nice of total strangers to come to you in your time of need!!! The flight finally got to Atlanta, the first thing I did was go speak to someone about how horrible the attendants handled my issue. They informed me they'd check into it and get back to me, I truly hope they will, because if I don't hear from them soon, I'll be calling them. So that's the scoop on our vacation, it truly was a most fabo vacation I loved being there, visiting, chilling, walking on the boardwalk at the shore, smelling the yummy salty sea air, oh man does that do a body good!!! Let's see now that brings me up until the day I got back from New Jersey, I had a follow up appointment about my dog bitten finger, it wasn't looking good the entire time I was on vacation but it also didn't look infected so we kept it clean and watched it. Much to my sorrow the thumb never did reattach as we wanted it to do. I had to have it removed down to just above the first knuckle, the entire nail is gone as well. It's healing very well, except in one place in which the skin was torn from the original bit. He told me before surgery he planned to remove as little as possible, the good thing there was I'd have most of my thumb left, the bad thing I may need to go back in and have a little more removed depending on how it healed. So we are presently at the "depending how it heals part", it sort of looks like it will need to be derided a bit since there is a part of my thumb tip that just isn't healing. He said if anything he'd just go in and cut that portion out and sew the two "clean" edges together. So we'll see what happens on that front on 7/7. He said that since it's not looking infected at the time he feels safe giving it a little more time to heal. Anything to save me from having to go back and have more thumb removed is good with me. So that pretty much brings you up to date with me, I know it's been a long time since I posted, I promise I'm going to try to do a better job of posting more. I have to say it does make me feel better to get stuff off of my chest her instead of letting it build up inside me. Still no for sure date for our son to be back from Iraq but we are hoping and praying that it'll be sooner, rather than later!! If you made it to the end of this post, congrats I owe you one. Maybe if I post more often I'd not have marathon posts! Enjoy the weekend my friends, life is way too short not too!!!
Labels: life, So-Co, thumb, vacation
