@texasaurus

Napping in the shade along the banks of the Trinity River. Probably best left alone- unless you have chocolate or bacon, in which case I love you.

[texasaurus]

SEVEN

[texasaurus]

Schnauzer love.

[texasaurus]

When all is said and done, the one sole condition that makes spiritual happiness and preserves it is the absence of doubt.

- Mark Twain in Eruption

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Burrito loves her moo-toy.

[texasaurus]

We are called the nation of inventors. And we are. We could still claim that title and wear its loftiest honors if we had stopped with the first thing we ever invented, which was human liberty.

Mark Twain - Foreign Critics speech, 1890

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History has tried hard to teach us that we can't have good government under politicians. Now, to go and stick one at the very head of the government couldn't be wise.

Mark Twain- New York Herald, 26 August 1876

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The Christmas holidays have this high value: that they remind Forgetters of the Forgotten, & repair damaged relationships.

Mark Twain - in a letter to Carlotte Welles, 30 December 1907

[texasaurus]

Burrito & Santa. It's love. Merry Christmas!

[texasaurus]

Happy Thanksgiving!!

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Communism is idiocy. They want to divide up the property. Suppose they did it -- it requires brains to keep money as well as make it. In a precious little while the money would be back in the former owner's hands and the communist would be poor again.

- Mark Twain, a Biography

[texasaurus]

The Month of Thanksgiving

Seems to be a trend on the facebooks this month for folks to post one thing everyday that they're thankful for. I can't drip out everything I'm thankful for over thirty days- I'm too OCD for that. So here's 30 things I'm grateful for all in one shot: (in no particular order) 1. Bacon. 2. My Family. All of them. Even the ones that don't call. 3. Grandmas that love to cook. 4. Dogs- both big and small. 5. Uncontrollable Laughter. (Especially when it's children) 6. Comfy Chairs. 7. A Good Haircut. 8. Having Elections Every Four Years. 9. Texas. 10. Finding clean restrooms on road trips. 11. Phillips head screws. (NOT Flat heads) 12. The Interwebs. 13. That idiots are usually loud and carrying signs, so they're easy to identify. 14. Anything made from, or containing Chocolate. 15. I mentioned Bacon, Right? 16. Warm Beds and Soft Comforters. 17. That God made women all curvy and soft / bewbs. 18. Barbequed Anything. 19. The 1st Warm Day of Spring. 20. The guy that invented the bikini. 21. Philo T. Farnsworth. (google it) 22. Anyone that loves to learn new things. 23. Waitresses that call me "Honey" or "Sweety" or "Sexypants", etc. 24. Spell Checkrrs. 25. Everyone that has served in the U.S. Military. 26. Cartoons. (Sit down and watch Phineas & Ferb and try not to laugh) 27. People that have the ability to think out of the box. 28. That our fingers are just the right size to get boogers out. 29. Things covered in Christmas lights. 30. People that aren't offended easily and have a sense of humor.

[texasaurus]

Burrito and I gave up a few hours at the Miniature Schnauzer Rescue of North Texas adoption event today at Petsmart in Fort Worth. It's hard to convince people she's a Schnauzer. (She's an honorary Schnauzer) She had a great time, as did I.

[texasaurus]

All Congresses and Parliaments have a kindly feeling for idiots, and a compassion for them, on account of personal experience and heredity.

- Mark Twain's Autobiography

[texasaurus]

"Death is the starlit strip between the companionship of yesterday and the reunion of tomorrow." - on monument erected to Mark Twain & Ossip Gabrilowitsch

for Steve Jobs. February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011

[texasaurus]

The Story of Burrito

A few months ago a woman went into her vet clinic with a Chihuahua/Jack Russell Terrier mix female from a litter born on May 1st, 2011. The pup was very sick and was having enormous trouble breathing. She also had an eye infection, and worms, and her belly was extremely distended- she was only a third the size of her siblings and weighed a mere 6/10ths of a pound- the 'runt' of the litter.  She was examined by the clinic and determined “unresponsive”. The decision was made to let nature take it’s course, and the woman left the puppy at the clinic. The pup was moved to the back of the clinic and crated, and left in God’s hands. After several hours she still was very sick and weak- but still alive. They gave her a bit of puppy formula and water. She perked up a bit. She responded to the extra calories, (or perhaps the affection) and although everyone thought the little girl would not last the day, she was still holding on at the time the clinic closed. One of the technicians didn’t want her to die in the night all alone and brought her to me. I was told straight out that the poor little pup would not live more than a day or two at best, probably not the night. Let me interrupt the Burrito saga for just a moment. I understand how things go with pets. I have volunteered my time and what very little talent I have, as well as my home for a pet rescue organization- I’ve fostered about 40 dogs (one at a time) in the past four years. I help where I can and sit at the event booths when they need me- and try not to step on any puppy toes or tails- with some degree of success. I've had dogs, cats, snakes, hamsters and probably a flea or two for pets in my life. We even have a few birds in the extended family. I saw a bumper sticker a long time ago that read “Think Global - Act Local”. I don’t think I fully understood what that really meant until I started volunteering for a local effort; in my case, the Miniature Schnauzer Rescue of North Texas. I know that I had NO idea what an enormous effect the actual practice has- MSRNT has found homes for THOUSANDS of dogs around the Dallas/Fort Worth area in its relatively short time in existence. There are MANY breed-specific rescue organizations around, as well as those that take in the less-specific breeds, (we used to call 'em ‘mutts') not to mention all the city pet services. (which we used to call 'the pound') Some of the nicest, brightest, and most caring people I’ve ever met have been the folks I’ve met in the past few years volunteering. They want nothing but to love their pets and make a little difference in something they really care about. These people DO make a difference. I have participated in and witnessed the direct effect. Try volunteering at something you care about and witness the difference when you put in a little effort into your own town or neighborhood, or church, or local pet rescue (I could go on...). If all you can do is give some money, then great- local efforts need more of that. (We always need doggie food and snacks!) But keep in mind that local organizations need warm bodies to do the work just around the corner- or to provide some shelter or space- or sit at a booth and spread the news-  or take care of a little furry butt or two for a spell as a foster.

Burrito is now five months old. We spent yesterday at Barktoberfest at Fort Woof (it's a big dog park in Fort Worth) meeting hundreds of other dogs and pet owners and had a ridiculously good time. By the way, she was already named “Burrito” the night she was brought to me (I would have named her something silly like 'Margaret Thatcher' or 'Jagrafess' which is short for 'The Mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe'). I also think 'Ampersand' is a funny name. You can clearly see why I don't get final approval for the foster pet names. She's been all fixed up, and I’ve been watching her grow and learn and develop the most adorable little personality. She's amazing. She’s doing just fine now. Not a bad start for a critter that was left behind to die.

[texasaurus]

Burrito's 2011 Halloween costume revealed!

She's a chunk of NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) that was lost when it fell to earth a few weeks ago..  (see this article)

We hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween this year!

God bless all you folks that rescue, foster and adopt!!

tex

[texasaurus]

Oh, dear, we are all like that. Each of us knows it all, and knows he knows it all--the rest, to a man, are fools and deluded. One man knows there is a hell, the next one knows there isn't; one man knows high tariff is right, the next man knows it isn't; one man knows monarchy is best, the next one knows it isn't; one age knows there are witches, the next one knows there aren't; one sect knows its religion is the only true one, there are sixty-four thousand five hundred million sects that know it isn't so. There is not a mind present among this multitude of verdict-deliverers that is the superior of the minds that persuade and represent the rest of the divisions of the multitude. Yet this sarcastic fact does not humble the arrogance nor diminish the know-it-all bulk of a single verdict-maker of the lot, by so much as a shade. Mind is plainly an ass, but it will be many ages before it finds it out, no doubt. Why do we respect the opinions of any man or any microbe that ever lived? I swear I don't know. Why do I respect my own? Well--that is different.

Mark Twain -from "Three Thousand Years among the Microbes"