Monday, January 23, 2006

CO-ORDINATING BALLS & STUFF!


I've been busy today.......just for a change! I did my stint as a volunteer at a local rehab centre this morning. If it truly is a rehab centre, then pigs really can fly! I dunno what forms the so-called rehabilitation takes, but I haven't seen any inkling of results, so it's anyones guess I reckon. I'm one of those simple people in life.....y'know, the ones that define the saying 'Little Things Please Little Minds'. Over the past several weeks, I've come to form a kind of attachment with some of the handicapped men at the centre. I've got a few nicknames for them.......Sexy Eyes, Frodo, Puffy & High Five so far. They are all severely mentally & physically handicapped, but d'ya know what, when I get one of them to focus on me & smile, it lifts my heart & spirits like you cannot belive. Today, I held an old mans hand & greeted him in Arabic. He is totally immobile. I repeated my greeting & he oh so slowly moved his eyes to look at me. His face then broke into a lovely smile & I gotta say, I felt one of those 'light bulb' moments. His chest began to heave slightly & I got a tad worried, but next thing I know, he literally forced a noise from the depths of his throat. He tried, really tried to communicate with me & I actually felt a sense of achievement. Puffy went walkabout today, so I didn't see him, but when I knelt down to Frodo's level he gave me a big smile & tried to point at something. High Five gave me several high 5's bless him & many many smiles. A most rewarding session, even if I say so myself. *sigh*

So, back in my box, fags & coffee at the ready, I tackle the many emails I've been meaning to reply to. Too many fags & numerous coffee's later, I finish with a flourish & again feel quite chuffed with myself! A new email came in......from our local Estate Agent at home..........which brings me to the title of todays entry. Our Estate Agent would like to put our home up as a 'showhouse' on Sunday, but can't do it without our permission. Grandma lives in the house, so she would have to vacate the property for a coupla hours on Sunday, cos it puts prospective buyers off to see 'family' lurking in the shadows. I phoned my parents, explained the showhouse thing & asked them if they'd entertain grandma for a few hours. No problem say the folks. I then rang grandma (she's actually my motherbylaw, but EVERYONE calls her grandma) & told her the folks would be taking her down to their spot on Sunday & explained about the showhouse thing. Oops, what about The Little Boy asks grandma? Our Little Boy is the most wonderful Staffie dog.....awwwww.......I miss him soooooo much! My folks have a tri-lingual African Grey parrot called Gogo & it has a nervous disposition when confronted with anyone or anything other than my parents. OK grandma says, she'll make a plan so that both she & the Little Boy are out of the Agents way & hopefully not inflict a nervous breakdown on the bloody bird! All I need is an email from the folks telling me the birds feathers have all dropped out -again - because it caught sight of the hound..........

Anyway, the Little Boy has had an interesting life methinks. We got him as a 6wk old puppy from some friends in Durban. They flew him & his sister up to us in Joburg & we fell in love with him (rather than her) at first sight. A few years later, hubby took up a contract in Kenya, so myself & the Little Boy went to join him there. We stayed for 2yrs, which was fascinating & frightening at the same time. (More on that when I'm in the mood) At the end of the contract, hubs was offered a job in The Magic Kingdom (Saudi Arabia.......where nothing is real). We made arrangements to fly us & the hound over to London. The paperwork for Riyadh took several weeks, so the Little Boy had to go into quarantine. He hated every single nano second of it. I ended up staying in the land of my birth (eeeeeeeek) for ten weeks & went to visit the Little Boy every single week. He destroyed his basket. He destroyed a wooden kennel. He destroyed literally everything he came into contact with. It was heartbreaking. During those 10wks, we discovered Saudi Arabia had a list of 'banned' dogs & Staffordshire Bull Terriers were near the top of the list. Many, many, many four letter swear words later, we came to the conclusion that the hound would have to stay in the UK. Grandma went back, so he would live with her. Before I left to join hubby in Riyadh, I bought the Little Boy an indestructible ball, recommended by the owners of the kennels where he was serving his time, ag shame! This ball was like a gift from God!! The Little Boy played & played & played............he pushed his ball around & around his caged kennel until he bled. The kennel folk then had to take it away from him, as he was on the brink of driving himself nuts. Thereafter, he was only allowed to play with his ball for an hour in the morning & another hour in the afternoon. It kept him from destroying anything else & also maintained a small amount of sanity.
Upon his release from the statutory 6mths 'inside' he was delivered - with his ball - to his new home with grandma, where he played happily in the garden, come rain or rain (there being bugger all shine in England). He was a happy puppy awwwww. Then we decided to buy a house in G'nubes, so we made arrangements for grandma, the Little Boy & his ball to fly home again. That was more than 4yrs ago & the indestructible ball has been worth its weight in gold I can tell you! We have a circuit 'line' around the back courtyard at home, where the hound has played his soccer with his ball! You can do virtually anything to him, but don't try & take his ball!
So then, grandma came to Abu Dhabi recently, for a lovely long holiday. During the 5wks she was here, the Little Boy was looked after by a good friend of mine. During this time though, the ball has relinquished it's title of being indestructible. It's finally worn out!!! As soon as my friend told me about it, I surfed the web & found a pet supplier in London that sold indestructible balls. My credit card has never come out of my handbag so fast............this is a life or sanity situation & gawd knows what would happen if the Little Boy became totally sane! I hastily ordered a ball, but we're now 6wks down the line & it STILL hasn't arrived home. The Little Boy is depressed, badly depressed. *ding ding* low-voltage lightbulb moment...........my brother & sisterbylaw are going over to visit the folks next week............maybe they can get me a ball? No sooner thought than done, I got on the microphone & rang my sisterbylaw. I explained the situation, i.e. how vitally important this is (poor little boy!) & she's promised to try & get an indestructible ball locally in Kent & will deliver it to grandma!
In a very roundabout way, I've done a whole heap of co-ordinating today. I'm knackered now & my kidneys think my throat has been cut, so I'm gonna get a caffine fix!
Be good & do it quietly................
Posted by Jayne :: 13:34 :: 2 Had Somminc To Say

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