Archive for January, 2006

OLIVER DEGREE

May 10, 1997- January 12, 2006

I guess it seems like this DIARY is turning into an episode of Six Feet Under, and I am sorry for that. It just is the best way to get the information out to family and friends.

On the up note…my mom had a cat that nobody really wanted to take… so with Oliver gone our cat needed, and got, a new friend.

Some good cafe news is that the food sections in both the Pioneer Press and Star Tribune on Thursday (1/12) mentioned the cafe, and the Star Tribune will be doing a Signature article on the cafe in the Sunday (1/15) paper tomorrow….keep an eye out for that!

http://www.startribune.com/389/story/179459.html

“I struck a match to light my pipe. As I did, two beautiful cups gleamed from the mantle. I held the match up so I could get a better look. There they were, sitting side by side. One was large with long, upright handles that stood out like wings on a morning dove. The highly polished surface gleamed and glistened with a golden sheen. The other was smaller and made of silver. It was neat and trim, and sparkled like a white star.

I got up and took them down. There was a story in those cups- a story that went back more than a half century.

As I caressed the smooth surfaces, my mind drifted back through the years, back to my boyhood days. How wonderful the memories were. Piece by piece the story unfolded.”

Do you remember this book from your childhood? Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. Many remembers the story of Billy, Old Dan and Little Ann. Everyone has a story about their favorite pet, and I would like to thank the many people who shared with me those stories after reading about our dog Oliver.

We would also like to thank Dr. Baillie form the Cedar Pet Clinic for thinking of trying a new cancer medication on Oliver after the U of M told us the operation was his only answer. Oliver seems to be a new dog! We have to cath him every day, but other than that he is himself again.

Have you ever received hate mail? I don’t understand it. Today I came home and found a hand addressed letter from AMERICAN NEWS CENTER 55401. Inside the envelope were 4 articles cut out of some conservative press that were anti-gay: Homosexuals Rank Among Worst Serial Killers, Growing Homo Attacks On Children, Gay Lobby Scrambles to Hide Truth.

Wow! I am not sure how someone got my home address, or why they took the time to send me this letter. They obviously hate me for some reason.

We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. Martin Luther King Jr