I purchased the above bumper sticker about a month ago and it's in the rear window of my car. We also have one on our golf cart.   It says it all for me.  Many of you will recall over a year ago, long before Obama declared he was running, "I" was supporting him.  Many of my friends and even blog readers had their doubts.  But not me.  I believed in him.  Not only did I know he could make a difference in restoring our poor and damaged country, I strongly felt he had a good chance of winning the nomination for the Democratic party.  And he did.  And here we are, with the convention next week.  This is only one more example for me that dreams really CAN come true.  We got this far, and I'm confident we'll take it to the limit in November.

This past Saturday evening Ray and I attended an Obama Organizational meeting at the home of a Cedar Key resident.  The organizer from Gainesville was there, along with 24 of us like-minded Obama-supporting Democrats.   I've been contributing to Obama's campaign all along, so I thought this might involve more donations, but it didn't.  Not one checkbook made an appearance.

This was to get the Neighbor to Neighbor program up and going in our community.  A chance to volunteer for various things to do to help Obama's campaign.  Like voter registration, phone calls, canvassing your neighborhood.  He certainly will NOT get elected President by osmosis.  Each and every one of us must attempt to do something to help make THIS happen! 

Ray will be manning a table downtown Labor Day weekend with another guy doing voter registration.  And I will be doing some phone calling......not for donations, but to feel people out as to who they'll be casting their vote for and of course, trying to sway them a bit toward making that vote belong to Obama. 

I feel very strongly that not only is it our right to vote in this country, I feel we all need to make an effort to do something....no matter how small......to insure that our voice be heard in the upcoming election.  To be honest, it's THEE most important election I can remember in my lifetime, and I'm proud to be a part of it.

If you're interested in getting involved in something in your neighborhood or community, go to www.my.barakobama.com and see what you might do.  Many doubted my prediction well over a year ago and look how far we've come.........I, for one, want to keep the momentum going.

OH, and Obama's running mate?  My thoughts are that it might be Bill Richardson.....a blend of charisma and intelligence from Obama and more intelligence and foreign policy experience from Richardson.  We shall see very soon!

And I'll see you here next time............

What I'm referring to in the title here is our pets.  Yeah, those wonderful cats and dogs that give us such love and companionship.  Are we killing them with our kindness?

I recently watched a segment on the Today show about a controversial subject that I happened to research myself about 9 years ago.  The injections that our pets get from our vets.

At that time we had our beautiful Maine Coon cat, Calais.  She was 9 years old and based on her breed and the fact she was an indoor cat, I thought she'd probably live to be 17 or 18 years old.  So imagine my shock when at only 9 years old, I discovered a huge lump on her chin one morning and by that evening, we had to make the decision to have her put to sleep.

Calais had an osteosarcoma (bone tumor) in her mandibular bone.  The vet told me that, unfortunately, by the time these are discovered....it's already too late.  There was no hope and in the days to come she would have been in pain, unable to eat, etc.  I had no choice but to lovingly let her go.  But in the midst of my sorrow and anger, I questioned "why?"  Why would this happen?  How could this happen to a perfectly healthy cat?  I went on the Internet and researched volumes of information........much of it that said the injections we give to our pets can be deadly.

Deadly?  I thought I was doing the right thing getting Calais inoculated against all the feline diseases that could end her life prematurely.  Maybe not.  Maybe it caused her death.  I read enough to convince me that possibly this is what happened.  And when I got my next Maine Coon cat, Marcel (who turned 9 years old this past March) I made a decision.........he's an indoor cat, just like Calais was.  His paws have never touched soil......he only gets his fresh air and sun on our screened-in lanai.  So I got his kitten shots, I brought him back when he was a year old for his boosters........and that was it.  No more injections.

I've done the same with Ralph and Foster........all the kitten shots, back at age one for the boosters.  And then.....no more.  They're also indoor cats.  Never going outside.

Let's discuss my beloved Holly, who we lost a year ago this month to lymphoma.  I do believe that dogs, unlike indoor cats, really should have all the injections that's required.  They're out there socializing with other dogs, walking on soil that other dogs have treaded on, etc.  So faithfully, we brought Holly to the vet every year for the first five years of her life to get all her boosters, rabies, etc.  However, the year that Holly would be turning six (2007) our vet informed us that a new booster was now out, that would last THREE years!  Yes, three.  I said, "terrific, let's do it."  We did. 

But who knows.........maybe the damage had already been done to Holly.  She already had cancer, unbeknownst to us at that point.  The segment on the Today show indicated there seems to be an exceptionally high amount of cancer in our cats and dogs.  Could it be the injections they got year after year?  I don't have that answer.  But I DO know.......Duncan and Brie are now on the three-year injection, and I also know that Holly's mother, Dutchess, (now age 9) and her sister, Star (now age 7 1/2) are both still alive.  They didn't get yearly injections like Holly, for various reasons.  Something to think about, isn't it?

Now I'm not saying injections are bad.  Far from it.  I strongly believe in them.  But what I am saying is, if you have a dog or cat and right now you're taking them yearly for those injections.......you might want to speak to your vet about the new three-year injections that are now available.  Who knows.......maybe we'll be adding many loving and valuable years to their life.......and to ours, because of their love for us.

See you here next time........

Those of you that have been visiting Island Writer for awhile know that one of my major pet peeves is the lack of customer service we all encounter now a days.  And it's in all areas of public service.  So believe me, when I happen to have a good experience, I like to share it because it's quite rare that this happens.

Last Friday Ray and I had to go to the Gainesville Hematology & Oncology Associates so Ray could have more blood work done to figure out what was going on with his elevated liver enzymes and iron levels.  The good news is.......The liver enzymes are just about back to normal. The dr. said that while Ray's iron was high (at 628 and double the norm) they see levels around 1500 to 2000 when it's hemachromatosis.  So he pretty much ruled that out, but they did test for it.  The dr. feels (which was my thoughts from the beginning) that Ray had some kind of bacterial infection and that's what caused everything to be abnormal.  So they took more vials of blood and we go back May 21 for results.  In the meantime, he's feeling fine and totally back to normal.

Back to my story about customer service:  From the moment we checked in at this place, the staff were extremely friendly.  The girl at the front desk was pleasant and smiling.  She actually looked like she might enjoy her job and didn't mind being there.

Once in the exam room, both of the techs that worked in there were joking with us, laughing and making all of it a very pleasant experience. Then in walked Olivia, the PA and again......chatty, friendly and struck me as somebody who truly enjoys the career she chose.  And then in walked the doc.....he was from Hungary and had a very nice accent.  He went over all the medical stuff first and then we chatted about where he was from, etc.

Added to all of this was the sweet girl we saw on the way out.  The one that scheduled Ray for another appointment.  She told Ray to have a good weekend and then looked at me and said, "Oh, and Mrs. DuLong, if you're a mother, have a Happy Mother's Day on Sunday."  Yeah, I was quite surprised!  Such a small thing to do, but it made such an impression on me.  And left me wondering......now WHY can't other places of business be like this?  Like airlines, grocery stores, banks, etc.

I was telling my daughter, Susan, about this positive experience (yeah, guess I am gushing about it) and she told me something I wasn't aware of.  She works as a nurse in the ER at a hospital in Lowell, Mass.  And she said to me, "OH, did those workers all go to Disney too?"  I had no clue what she was talking about.  Well.......

Apparently, there's a program called "Director of Impressions" and the hospital that she works at has gotten involved with this.  The higher-ups all traveled to DisneyWorld in Orlando, because that's where the training and seminars are held.  And what it is.....is for them to go back to their place of employment and teach their entire staff excellent customer service.  Each dept. from housekeeping to the doctors and nurses must attend seminars (complete with popcorn) to watch movies, do skits, etc. and it all has to do with touchy situations, anger, out-of-control patients, etc. and having the staff maintain their cool and not allowing their emotions to surface, which in turn creates a very bad situation.  And apparently, their raises are based on the way they deal with the public.  They're monitored and given scores.

I'd never heard of this program, but I'm mighty impressed!  So based on what she told me and based on the "feel good" experience that we had at this medical facility, it just might be possible that the staff did attend this training.  Then again, maybe not.  Maybe they're just all truly pleasant and happy to be working where they do and it gets passed on to us.....the customer.

See you here next time...........

It appears that many voters are confused on the primaries, especially this year in relation to states like Florida and Michigan.

Iowa and New Hampshire have always had their primary elections first for as long as I can remember. So if you lived in those states, you trotted off to the voting booths long before the rest of us.  Why?  I'm not really sure.....it's just the way it's always been.  And by being so......they tend to sway the rest of the country with votes.  And here's a little scenario of the way it always was:

Your candidate is running.....let's just say, Joe Biden.......if you live in a state other than NH or Iowa, if Biden didn't win in those TWO states, you as a voter will not be able to vote for him in YOUR state.  Why?  Because he will have no hope of winning and will have withdrawn. He will not appear on your ballot when the time for YOU to vote arrives.  The reason he will have withdrawn?  His money will have run out because the powers that be will not give him more money to fund his campaign. 

And MOST important......WHO decided that Iowa and NH get to choose OUR candidates for OUR ballot when our primary arrives?  THIS is the problem and THIS is the reason that Florida has pushed ahead our primary date to January 29.  And for doing this......shame on US for speaking up......we are being punished.

The remaining candidates......Obama, Edwards and Hillary......are afraid to cross the good ole boys which dates way back to politics as usual. ........I'm referring to the politics of back room, cigar smoking politicos who like things exactly the way they are.  Never mind, US the people!  Heck no......we're insignificant.  Money talks!

Any of the candidates that's saying, "I'm for change and I'll change Washington" needs to be more intensely researched.  If they're SO much for change.......why are they listening to the powers that be, not coming to Florida to campaign and allowing their names to be removed from the Michigan primary ballot?  I'll let you, the reader and voter, answer that question.

But the last time "I" checked, I'm mighty sick and tired of what I've considered a borderline dictatorship in this country.  And sorry.....but all of this primary crap smells of "dictatorship" in my opinion.  I want democracy.....plain and simple!  So there ya have it, folks........the story of what's going on concerning our primary here in Florida and why I'm mighty angry that both Obama and Hillary are following along like sheep.  As for me, I've had ENOUGH sheep in my government and my country to last a lifetime!

And you may have noticed the new icon on my sidebar in relation to pollsters......I've had it with them as well!  So if you click the icon and you're as disgusted as I am with polls......sign the petition on the Huffington Post.

See you here next time............

Surprised?  You really shouldn't be.  Politicians change their minds at the drop of a hat.  They say this, they do that.  They promise everything......they do nothing.

So yes, folks, as a voter I've had a change of heart.  For the moment anyway unless things change in a major way.  This is my reason why and here's the email I sent off to Obama last evening.......

Dear Senator Obama,
I have been rooting for you long before you even officially announced that you were running.  I had an icon on my blog that said, Run Obama Run.
I have donated to your campaign three times and I have spoken highly of you many times on my blog.  Not to mention all the times I've supported you verbally in public.
But I'm afraid that's all coming to an end.  Why, you ask?
Because I'm a resident of Florida and apparently as a voter in this state I am invisible!  I was shocked and appalled when I learned that you wouldn't be campaigning here for the primary. 
Because Florida had the audacity to push our primary date to Jan. 29, all of us are being punished.  Our votes will be useless since no delegate will be at the convention representing our votes.
I'm extremely disappointed in you.  The once-high-hopes that I had for your win have vanished.  And yes, I'm angry.  Angry that you've allowed the Demo cratic National Committee, namely Howard Dean,to sway you in not appearing here.
Since I'm so invisible as a voter in your campaign, I'm now switching my vote as a write-in for Kucinich.  At least he doesn't so easily cave with the big guys.
Such a shame.  I had such high hopes for you.
Sincerely,
An Invisible Florida Democrat Voter

(My name and address did appear at the top of this email along with my email address and phone number)

Not sure you were aware of this.  That our Democratic vote here in Florida amounts to nothing.  I've known for awhile now, but I kept saying,  "No, this can't happen!" but it looks like it will and Obama is allowing it.  He and Edwards both had their names removed from the Michigan primary ballot.  The sample ballot I got in the mail last week still has his name on it, but who knows what that ballot will actually be on Jan. 29 here in Florida. 

So seems to me he caved to the big guys big time and as I told him, I'm VERY disappointed that the Democratic National Committe is more important to him than US THE PEOPLE.

I've been to Kucinich's website and I have to say.....he sure represent's everything "I" believe in.  Both my son and my grandson have had their faith in him from the beginning.  Well, they can now add Mom and Nana to one of the one's here in Florida doing a write-in and casting her vote for Kucinich.  He sure as hell can't do any worse than what we've had the past 8 years......and who knows, he might even do better than Obama and Hillary combined.

Ah yes, politics.......ain't it great?

See you here next time..........