Good days and Bad

The last 24 hours have been some of the best, and worst I've had in a long, long time!

I had to renew my Commercial Drivers License (CDL) and the law requires me to re-take the Hazardous Materials test every time I renew to keep that endorsement.
Every time I renew, I flunk the hazmat test and retake it and pass the next day.
I don't know why this is, but it's almost a tradition.
Today the spell was broken, I took the test and passed it on the first try.
Simply amazing.

Later on, I said goodbye to Misty and Sari, my two Persians.
Due to my Wife and I seperating, I am simply unable to care for all five of my cats, so Misty and Sari are being fostered by a trusted friend and fellow cat wisperer. I gave her a six month supply of Advantage, HeartGard, all their kitty furniture, sleeping mats, their litterbox, food and brushes.
They'll get the best of care until the right home comes along for them or this whole mess shakes out.

After that, I went to pick up my cousin's truck and help the folks at the Portsmouth Humane Society gather in some donations from local business's.
I maintain their website for them.
I usually go in to say hello and give some attention to the cats and since our adoptions have been high lately, we have only a few.
One of them bit me AFTER purring in my arms that bought her 10 days in quarrentine. She's in heat and after she get's out of isolation, I'm paying for her shots and spaying out of my own pocket so she doesn't get moody anymore.
Women----go figure.

We got some great donations, but I hit the JACKPOT later on when we visited Operation Blessing in Chesapeake, Va.
We had THREE pallets of Arm & Hammer scoopable litter that had been donated to our shelter and that worked out to 150 12-pound boxes PER PALLET, so we had 450 12-pound boxes of cat litter-That's A LOT of cat litter!

I had asked the director is I could get some for my friends at Cat Rescue and she said, "Yea, you can take them the whole pallet"-1800 pounds of kitty litter!
I was THUNDERSTRUCK!
I had only hoped for 10 or 15 boxes, but ended up with more than I could have hoped for.

Several of Cat Rescue's members had different reactions from being speachless to disbelief.
One didn't think I was telling the truth until I showed up at her house with 30 boxes of "her" brand, THEN she was speachless.
Now I know why Santa LOVES his job.

When I got home, I made my favorite dinner, BEEF RIBS! I settled in to wait for my dinner to be ready and upon checking the e-mail, I found that someone had donated $100 dollars to the Portsmouth Humane Society online. This was the FIRST online donation that the PHS has EVER received and I was THUNDERSTRUCK, AGAIN!

Then, while opening the "snail mail", my best friend had sent me a Christmas card that had a YEAR of Wi-Fi internet access included! This will mean that I can get onto the net from virtually ANY truckstop in the nation instead of the one that I usually use.

This Christmas season has been one of the hapipiest, saddest, most surprizing and blessed that I've ever known.

Sure, things ahead are going to be hard, but my friends and family are being supportive.
I've got to tell you, getting into the animal welfare effort has made my life more rewarding than I could have possibly imagined.
Sure, we win some and lose some, but the wins make the losses easier to bear.

Merry Christmas, all!

Inspiring post, Uncle Fester! You certainly have a way with words.

Also, thank you for all you do for rescue cats! You have a big heart and a lot of perserverance!

Great work Uncle Fester! I've been on the receiving end of pallets of litter (as in helping unload it into the humane society's storage shed) and I can only say that you will be sore the next day.

I'm so sorry to hear about your separation from your babies. Things will work out when its the right time.

Happy holidays back atcha!

Jimmy,

I am sorry I couldn't talk earlier. I do wish you a peaceful and blessed Holiday season!

Your attitude is really inspiring. Yeah life is both the bad and good, all we
can control is how we approach it.

Blessings to you, hang in. It's been a tough year for me too, and at least *you're* happy about the election

I'm sorry to read about the seperation from two of your kitters, and that life is difficult right now. I found your post inspiring, for seeing the good and the wonderful in the middle of the not so good, life just isn't usually one shade of color, or one emotion :/

take good care,

Blessings to you, hang in. It's been a tough year for me too, and at least *you're* happy about the election

Oh, Marge! Happy? Ambivilant would be a better word. Truth be told, the best time I had during the election wasn't the winning, it was all the debate leading up to the election and the left hyperventilating afterwards.
We have a lady in our group who is more along the left-leaning side of the spectrum and every time I see her I always say, "Well gee, Susan, the world hasn't ended yet like you said it would.."
She promises me that it will soon and we have a lively discussion.

I'll tell you all what turned it for me...
You might not be aware of this, but ol' Uncle Fester has cheated the Grim Reaper on more than a few occasions.

I doubt that many of my TCS friends know that I am a Cancer Survived. Had a tumor when I was 14 that was literally days away from stamping my ticket (Or so the Doctors said, but what do they really know) way back in 1979.
Out of the group of friends that I took treatment with, me and two others made it.

Back in 1994, I was rolling up I-77 in Virginia and heard a song on the radio that struck me as so funny, I laughed so hard, I blacked out, lost control of the rig, went off the road, hit a guardrail, flipped the tractor-trailer over and slid almost 150ft. The truck sheared off 27 steel "I" beam posts that the guardrail was mounted on.
Fester unbuckled the seatbelt, kicked out the windshield, climbed out of the truck and wondered how in the world that happened.
As it turned out, I had a heart condition that required a pacemaker to prevent this from happining.
The truck took a year to rebuild, after six weeks off to convalese, I got a newer truck and rolled on with the admonition from my terminal manager, "No more laughing, Jimmy."
That's about impossible for me.

For the past several years, I deep-fry all the turkeys for a homeless shelter here at the Beach and I meet some people with stories of hardship that just take the wind out of you. But they inspire me only because whatever blows life deals them, they have no choice but to get back up and try as best they can.
So do I really have anything to complain about with a good job, my health, a nice home to live in, health insurance, internet access and cable TV?
Nope, not really.
But it does serve to remind me that there are people closer than I sometimes remember that aren't quite as fortunate as I and there was a time when I was only a heartbeat away from being homeless myself.

This year was tough, watching my friend Linda Johnson have all her cats stolen by a corrupt judicial system, losing my Mother, losing my Wife, not getting the payraise I thought I deserved but my Boss didn't and having to give up two of my beloved cats to foster care.
No, 2004 hasn't been a banner year for me.

If there is a purpose to my sharing this with all of you, it's simply this:
I have had my share of defeats this year and although they were hard, I want my life to be defined by the victories I've had and days like today made up for a lot!
Many of the TCS members have suffered hardship far and away, more difficult than I ANYTHING I suffered and my heart goes out to them.
It's just that occasionally, just occasionally, there is good news to be shared and after all we've experienced together, I thought that my fellow TCS members were entitled to know that good things do happen.

BTW Maryanne, you have done so much for me, there is no reason to apologize for not being able to talk longer.
If that's the worst thing that could happen, I REALLY AM batting .1000!

I wish you a blessed holiday season and a new year filled with happiness.

Oh, Jimmy! I'm saddened to hear of your separation from your kits, and your wife too. Here's hoping that 2005 is a better year for you, and truthfully for each of us here at TCS!

Uncle Fester, your post has inspired me not to dwell on my problems and treasure the good things in my life! God bless you and yours!

KittenKiya's Clan sends you heart-warming headbuts and soft, warm, furry licks to help ease your pain. Love you.

Originally Posted by Uncle Fester

I've got to tell you, getting into the animal welfare effort has made my life more rewarding than I could have possibly imagined.
Sure, we win some and lose some, but the wins make the losses easier to bear.

Merry Christmas, all!

Click to expand...

Truer words were never spoken!! The worst part about helping homeless animals is dealing with the people who are, shall we say, less than kind to them. I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt but some of the things you hear can really raise your blood pressure.

Merry Christmas to you, too and I hope 2005 brings you much joy

Uncle Fester - are you the Jimmy that has Chloe as a travelling companion?

Jimmy, sorry to hear about the seperation from your wife and your kittens. May 2005 see an end to heartache and a return to happiness. You do so much for cat rescue! Blessings on you and all you hold dear.

Jimmy, so great to see a post from you. Wish all the news for the year could be great, but our Creator has to keep us humble.

If you are ever traveling through the Evansville, Indiana area, you can PM me and I'll be sending good vibes as you pass through.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

Uncle Fester - are you the Jimmy that has Chloe as a travelling companion?

Click to expand...

I have a Zoey as a traveling companion.
We also have Bari and Josephine aboard. We're a little crowded, but quite cozy.

In the mornings, I awake to find Zoey touching my eyelids with her nose, telling me it's time to wake up.
Funny thing about Zoey, I have noticed that whenver I need to wake up at a certain time, Zoey usually wakes me up in time.
Alarm Cat? Possibly.

Josephine/Katcheenia is curled up next to my leg, quiet, timid and waiting for me to rise and start the day. She's been up all night and I have noticed that she is more active at night.

When I roll out of bed, I need to be careful because sometimes Bari is laying behind me, and I'd have to roll over onto him. Either that or he's laying on the dashboard watching the activity around the truck.
If there are birds around, he's chirping at them.

The great part about it is simply this:
Some people have to get up and go to work, leaving their cats while co-workers are trying to make their career tracks up your back.
I get to go to work and be with my cats and only my cats........

How cool is that?

Good for you Jimmy
I am sorry about the split with your wife and the loss of your persians.
Its not always easy to look on the up side of things when everything is going pear shaped! I follow your trucking diary when I can and it always makes me smile.
I wish you and yours a good Christmas and look forward to 2005 with surprise and anticipation.

I think you have inspired all of us with what you have been through and what you do .
Seperating from your kits is a really hard thing.
I hope all the best for 2005 for you

I do hope you are home. I'm thinking of all the truckers who have been stranded on Interstate 64. Everytime they get one lane going, someone blocks it.

Have a truly wonderful Christmas Fester and I hope that 2005 if kind to you.