GinohnNews

G: I recently turned 39 (for real, first time!) and have other proof that I'm getting old. I've got BPPV - benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. I get dizzy when I lie down or move my head in certain ways. I'm trying the maneuvers to get rid of it, and it may clear up on it's own. But it's annoying.

Mango is getting old and her body is starting to break down. A while back she started drinking a lot of water, and it turned out her kidneys are not functioning 100%. She's on a special diet for that, which is supposed to help - but it's not really natural for cats - it's high carbohydrate (more protein puts strain on the kidneys). Recently a condition she gets periodically flared up - an ulcer on her lip, and she usually gets a cortisone shot (or two) for it and it clears up. She's been getting these shots since she was less than a year old, and she's 13 now. And they've always carried the risk of diabetes. I noticed she was eating and drinking a LOT, and her stomach was distended. I took her in to the vet again and her glucose was way up - she'd been eating a lot because the food was not satisfying her body since it couldn't process the glucose. So she'll be starting insulin shots soon. It may be temporary, but I think a lot of things are breaking down and she's probably near the end.

Katy is doing great. She is the sweetiest and she makes me so happy.

I completely finished the desk - John and I bought nice handles for it and he and Kory carried it up to the bedroom. I want to line the drawers with fabric before putting my jewelry in there.

Today was the last day that you could visit a Kwik-E-Mart— and TVTom and I went to the one near here. It was fun to see. I was tempted to get a sprinkalicious donut, even though I don't like donuts! Just to partake of the fun. But I didn't. Tom bought a six pack of buzz cola for a party, though.

J: Here's a crazy extrapolation I've thought of lately: Just as people who kill and torture animals are more likely to be mean to other people, so whole societies that torture and kill animals on a large scale become more likely to do the same to people.

In hindsight it hardly surprises me that our horrible methods of factory farming (e.g. the overcrowding and painful deaths of animals) are echoed by overcrowded prisons and "interrogation techniques." And just as parts of the mind of a psychopath ignore his own acts of depravity, so parts of our society choose to ignore the sources of their own food. From there it is only a small step to put the blinders on when, for example, human beings are taken to other countries, where they are tortured and killed.

It is easy to point out that pigs and people are not the same, but I argue that no matter how different they are from us, the ways we treat our animals modify the ways we treat each other. And when we dismiss the non-human animals' plight for so long, we form habits that, as our society "matures", enable us to disregard the egregious treatments of human animals.