Cowboy And Rooster, Continued

I conclude that not taking antidepressants for the past two days had made me weepy, but I worried, of course, about the next time. It is obvious that all these deaths - about twenty- are wearing Bulletproof out.
They could be doing the same to me. It is wonderful that she provides thirty dogs, mostly rescues, a life-time of good care, but it entails a financial and emotional commitment that may yet be impossible to bear. I've told you of the house payments that go unpaid so the dogs can get care. The same goes for dental care. Both Bulletproof and I have holes in our mouths because the money can not go to dental care for prosthetic teeth. Life for most of us is living with scarce resources that have althernate uses.
  In addition, I feel a disconnect with our children. All their lives, Bulletproof stressed the importance of appearances, while my tiny voice in the family stressed character. You can guess what the children learned. Now in her love for the dogs and much more limited resources that what she had when she started taking in the thirty dogs, Bulletproof has done a 180 degree turn. She gives up appearances for character - undying devotion to helpless animals. Our children are self-indulgent. They have and do many things we parents never had. For example, Hawkeye has two boats that work. When I was employed, I tried but only once got a boat in the water and had it work. It was something I was always working on to get fixed, but I could never quite make it. I am happy for my children's prosperity and seeing that they are doing beter than their parents.
But there's more to life than opening your mouth and consuming as much as possible. Our grandson, Could Be, is four years old. He should know where his grandmother lives. Even if his mother Hilda and Bulletproof think he would be overwhelmed by twenty dogs inside the house, he can still  stay outside and see the dogs, horses and billygoat from the fences. Bulletproof can bring out leashed dogs and tell Could Be their stories. The boy's in school. What happens if everyone is going to grandmother's for Thanksgiving, and he's asked if he going to his grandmother's? If he says he's not because his grandmother lives an impossible two hours away, and he's never been there, the other students and staff may think there's something odd going on. It's always been a part of our family legend how I , at age two,stood on the hump on the front seat floor for almost the entire 12 hour trip to my grandmother's house from Virginia to Massachusetts. I supposedly was helping Rooster (my father) scout the way. I think that our children are slowly getting the message that materialism is only half the story. Both have two dogs and think the world of them. More importantly, they take very good care of them. Hilda has a 110 pound African Ridgeback puppy who is completely out-of-place in their house and small lot on the side of a golf course. But Hilda takes her over to a dog park almost every day where the Ridgie can run without a leash. Hawkeye has two Labrador Retriever rescues. One is on his way to becoming a legendary Florida duck dog. I asked Bulletproof if Hawkeye still used the  expression "they're only dogs." Her reply was, "Oh no." There's progress being made and it needs to include that little boy knowing where his grandmother lives and meeting the dog, horses, and billygoat she devotes her life to. Grandmothers don't live forever. We certainly know that about dogs! Take Care, Two-Guns.