Mayor of Talkeetna, AK mauled by Dog

Posted on September 5, 2013September 5, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Our best wishes and prayers go out to the Mayor of Talkeetna, AK. It happened Saturday night as the Mayor walked through town. After the attack the Mayor retreated to safety and did not come out of hiding to get treatment until after 11pm.

The Mayor suffered a fractured sternum, a punctured lung and a large gash in his side.

Ok if you followed my Alaska adventures you know that the Mayor of Talkeetna is a yellow feline named Stubbs because he has no tail. Mayor Stubbs is 16 years old and has been the honorary Mayor of Talkeetna for 15 of those 16 years.

As Mayor Stubbs claws his way to recovery at a Wasilla-area vet, let me review a bit of history for you.

Stubbs was discovered in 1n a box of kittens in front of a local general store about 16 years ago. The store manager decided to keep him and named him Stubbs for the missing tail.

About a year later residents were unhappy with the slate of candidates in a mayoral election and thought the cat at the local general store seemed smart enough to hold the job. They banded together with a grass roots write in drive to make Mr. Stubbs the candidate of choice. ..The cat won and like Mayor Menino of Boston, Mayor Stubbs has been running the show ever since.

Mayor Stubbs’ life hasn’t been all catnip and cream, although his constitutes love him, this isn’t his first brush with trouble. About 5 years ago two teenagers with a BB gun shot the Mayor in his backside. One of the BB’s is still there.

Three years ago he hitched a ride on a garbage truck. He finally jumped off at an Alaska Railroad Crossing and had to make his way on foot the 1/2 mile home.

Two years ago he fell into a cold fryer vat at the West Rib Pub. He spent the night at the vet’s when a Dawn dish soap bath couldn’t get him totally clean. He has a reputation of being an adventurous guy. Which, of course, goes with being Alaskan.

In spite of his past mishaps, Mayor Stubbs has never had injuries as severe as he received in this mauling. The Canine Assassin is in hiding and has not been picked up yet by Animal Control but a report is expected to be filed this week. Cats are considered “Free Roaming” but dogs are subject to leash laws.

Reports are that the breathing tubes have been removed and Mayor Stubbs is breathing on his own and has even eaten a little food. He will be allowed visitors sometime today (Thursday). Looks like Mayor Stubbs will be recuperating for quite awhile although we are happy he is alive.

His vet bills are expected to top $2000. The vet’s office is directing donations to

STUBBS

c/o Nagley’s Store

Box 906

Talkeetna, Alaska 99676

Anything left over after Stubbs’ treatment will be donated to the animal shelter in Palmer. ( I assume that’s Palmer Alaska)

Get Well soon Mayor Stubbs. Your town needs your leadership.

Farewell to Summer

Posted on September 4, 2013September 4, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Safe from the picnic sleeps the unlittered dell.
The last Good Humor sounds its final bell
And all is silence.
Summer, farewell, farewell.

Excerpt from Ode to the End of Summer by Phyllis McGinley

To New York City Transit System: You Rock!

Posted on September 3, 2013September 3, 2013 by Dusty Roads

On Thursday Humane Actions trumped politics in NYC. Good for you MTA and boo /hiss for Joe Lhota.

NEW YORK (AP) — A former chairman of the Metropolitan Transit Authority and New York City mayoral hopeful says he wouldn’t have stopped the subway because two lost kittens were scrambling along the tracks.

A spokesman for Joe Lhota (LOH’-tuh) tells the New York Post (http://bit.ly/1965AnP ) Friday the candidate doesn’t think shutting down subway service for lost cats is appropriate. But he said Lhota believes it wouldn’t be the mayor’s decision in any case.

On Thursday, the MTA cut power on two Brooklyn subway lines for more than an hour as the two pets scurried around the tracks. The furry felines were finally rescued about seven hours later.

Officials say kittens Arthur and August are being treated in a shelter.

Other mayoral hopefuls tell the paper they would’ve stopped the trains.

I don’t live in NYC or even NY State anymore but I applaud the actions of the MTA and Mr. Lhota would have just lost my vote. If cruelty to other humans, including wars and murders, are ever going to be overcome by the human race, we have to start with the kindness to the smallest and weakest. We have to respect all life.

Sorry, I don’t mean to get on my soap box but Mr. Lhota’s attitude is a symptom of a much bigger problem…that we have the right to disregard all other creatures in our quest to reign supreme.

I’m glad the MTA shut down for an hour and I hope Mr. Lhota loses his bid for election.

Labor Day

Posted on September 2, 2013September 2, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Here it is, Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer, the last day to wear white, a day of parties and cook outs and barbeques.

I looked for something new to say about Labor Day but it’s all pretty much the same thing.

The first observance of Labor Day is believed to have been a parade on September 5, 1882, in New York City, probably organized by Peter J. McGuire, a Carpenters and Joiners Union secretary.

By 1893, more than half the states were observing a “Labor Day” on one day or another, and a bill to establish a federal holiday was passed by Congress in 1894. President Grover Cleveland signed the bill soon afterward, designating the first Monday in September as Labor Day.

We’ve all heard that many times. Whenever you google Labor Day that same history comes up. I wanted something new. I may have found it in the 2010 census. I know , a bit out of date but it was the most recent I could find. So here goes, a few facts you might not have known about Labor and/or Labor Day.

134 Million Americans work from home thanks to Skype and the High Speed Internet.
The average time to commute to work is 25.3 minutes.
76% drive alone to work.
9.7% carpool to work
4.9% take public transportation
155.2 million =Number of people age 16 or older in the nation’s labor force. As of 2012, 53% were men and 47% were women.

So now you have some numbers to chew on over your burgers and wings. I hope everyone enjoys the day.

Oh No It’s The “Brrr” Months

Posted on September 1, 2013September 1, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Meteorological Fall is now here. While fall doesn’t officially begin till September 22nd, the weather begins to shift a couple weeks before the arrival of each new season on average. For data purposes the National Weather Service calculates the season statistics from the beginning of June through the end of August. Since the first day of each season can vary, this makes it easier to calculate statistics and compare them from year to year. I admit, hearing the weather forecaster announce that last night made me sit up and take notice. It can’t be fall already. I never got to enjoy summer!

Around here we refer to September, October, November and December as the “Ber” months or more commonly the “Brrrr” months because they herald the onset of cooler and eventually colder weather. By December the shivers have usually really set in.

I remember when I was growing up in the Adirondacks that to go Trick or Treating on Halloween we had to be bundled in snow suits. More than once our costumes wouldn’t fit over the winter gear so all anyone saw when we came to the door were our masks.

After I moved east to Massachusetts the weather seemed to mellow and kids could go trick or treating without snowshoes but then in 2011 we got hit with a Halloween Nor’easter, the first significant snowstorm in October sine 1972!

Today I’m enjoying a rainy Sunday. There’s thunder and lightening and steady rain. It’s not too cold but at least I haven’t put the AC or heat on yet. I know a lot of people are hoping the sky clears and the sun comes out to give everyone a last taste of summer on this holiday weekend.

This summer was gone too fast, filled with changes and distractions but now children are headed back to school and vacations are over. I’m hoping my work schedule can settle in so that I can enjoy the fall. Maybe get to take some day trips leaf peeping with my camera. Anyway I’m going to chalk this summer up to the one I missed. Happily they come around once each year.

Oh I almost forgot…the Old Farmers Almanac is predicting a cold winter…BRRRRR.