a day of mourning

my mom had to put our first dog, murphy, to sleep. murph was a bichon and a mamma's boy, and a terrible whiny baby who begged at the table, loudly, which drove me crazy. but he also sometimes looked like a little harp seal. he had such separation anxiety from my mom that she'd have to put a doggy life vest on him so that he could come into the hot tub with her, as the 2 ft. distance was too much to bear. he's had pretty bad hips and has been on pain meds daily for years. he would have been 14 this year and i think he had a pretty good life but it doesn't make it any less sad.

My favorite professor also passed this week. I knew he'd been sick for a couple years but I wasn't ready for him to go.

he spoke several languages, studied a dozen cultures and he shared that knowledge and open mindedness with us in order to make us better people. I've often thought that if I had had a father, or when I have a son, I would want him to be like professor Magnetti. I've known few men with as much strength, grace, sensitivity, class, honesty and wisdom as he had shown us. So professor, thank you for being such a truly wonderful example of what we all, as human beings, should strive to be.