Blog #11  January 24-28

Life is like this a couple of semi normal days and then POW!! Crazy hits. That was this week.

Moving – Again

Didn’t we just get finished packing and unpacking???  On Monday, David moved his office, not far and still in Asheville, but it had to be done. As the property management office, it holds all the Christmas greenery for the shopping center. My mission was to wrestle a 20x 15 x 5 foot tall pile of fake flora into 10 wardrobe boxes. I won. Did you ever doubt me?

Research Lunch

I got to break bread with a friend of a friend who moved to Asheville from Chicago a couple of years ago. They started building their house right before the pandemic. At any rate, I picked Lisbeth’s brains about why they selected Asheville, how they found their property and what they think of the community. It was great to get real feedback.

Old School

Do any of you still keep in touch with professors from college? I am still in contact with my favorite professor’s wife. While Hank Payne has passed, Deborah and I still contact each other on Facebook and have been trying to get together for years. Since she lives in Atlanta, we decided to meet in the halfway in Anderson, SC. It’s the sweetest little town that I never would have discovered if not for this lunch. Catching up with Deborah was just lovely, and really “filled my bucket.” We talked about family, what we’re both up to, and reminisced about time at Colgate.

Maybe you’ve heard me tell this story but I always think it’s a great example of what Colgate is all about. My freshman year I had Professor Payne for my freshman seminar and my History 101 class. He was also the head of the History Department and had graduated 1^st or 2^nd in his class at Yale. One day, he asked if I would be interested in babysitting his two sons. I jumped at the chance to escape dorm life once a week and be in a home. Later that year, Hank and Deborah asked me to Passover at their house. I didn’t realize how much I would miss my family at that time of year until I was at the Seder with their family and friends. I feel blessed to have been welcomed into their family when I was so far from home. These are the type of ties that develop at a small school and why I’m a big believer.  

After our lunch at the Metropolitan Grill, I walked around the town which is the county seat. I visited the huge library and a coffee shop. I bought some chocolate for David at the local sweet store and some sourwood honey at the local provisions shop.  Yes there is a statue to our confederate soldiers. Say what you will, it’s history. I liked the quaint town and hope to visit again.

Doggie Drama

That evening, I started making dinner and went to check on the dogs. Then I saw it – Rey happily on the bed – with an empty masticated pill bottle! I examined the punctured, chewed up bottle and the cottonball that was next to it. She consumed a full bottle of Rimadyl which is like Advil for dogs. David had just taken her out to play within the past two hours so this was fresh. I called the vet recommended by a neighbor but they were already closed. The answering machine referred patients to MedVet, a national chain of 24 hour emergency veterinarian hospitals, for afterhours emergencies. This more than qualified.

MedVet walked me through what to do. It turns out that poison control for pets is handled by an ASPCA hotline. You get a case number and have your vet call them for a complete plan based on the weight of the dog and what they consumed.  By the time we drove 15 minutes to the vet, we had a strategy. They would give her medicine to induce vomiting. We’d try to determine how much was upchucked and go from there. She was able to release at least ½=2/3  the total consumed, Between her size and what might have been digested, Dr. Salzar said she wouldn’t have permanent liver damage and may have avoided kidney

injury. They would keep her two days to confirm with bloodwork and in the meantime continue to flush her system with fluids, anti-emetics and antacids to ensure no further damage to her GI system. We were on pins and needles, but feeling slightly more at ease. We had avoided the worst by our quick action.

We had planned on leaving Asheville on Thursday afternoon. The best laid plans… We rescheduled our trip to start Friday.

We went to a delicious dinner at Market Place, an Asheville farm-to-table restaurant with a CIA trained chef. Best meal we’ve had since NY. Afterwards, we picked up Rey from the MedVet. So relieved she is okay. We packed up Friday and left before the snow. Points west here we come!