Day 92: Stop volunteering

Between You, Me and the Lamp Post

Day 92: Stop volunteering

Few things get me more worked up than when I see a notice asking for volunteers. With the exception of animal shelters, I am 100% against volunteer work. If an organization wants work done, pay those who put their time and effort into it.

One of the reasons unemployment is so high is because any number of organizations use volunteers to do their work. If there were no more volunteers, those organizations would have to pay for the required labor and the unemployment rate would go down.

Take the Cancer Society for instance, they rake in BILLIONS of dollars, but they are too stingy to pay those who hassle people for donations, sell the daffodils or do other work.

The same with environmental groups. They want people to clean up the parks and streets, but they are not willing to pay. Other than the unemployed, there are any number of students all too willing to earn some money to pay for their student loans. If you want parks and streets cleaned up, pay the people.

Hospitals also make use of volunteers. People who read to patients, run errands for them, push wheelchairs, give directions, bring cups of coffee and tea, put flowers in water, etc. Do these people get paid, no, not a cent. Hospitals are government-funded (from our tax dollars) or receive millions in donations, so why can’t they pay those who help patients?

If all volunteers were to refuse to pay for nothing, organizations who want their help would have to start paying them.

Some think that, if they start in an organization they will eventually get hired as paid employees. In most cases, that is a pipe dream. Why would an organization start paying them? There are enough fools willing to volunteer with the same pipe dream. 

The same applies to co-op work, apprentices and interns. Most of them put up with the ridiculously low pay in the hope that it will lead to a full-time job. That almost never happens. One apprentice leaves, another takes its place.

As mentioned earlier, I am not against volunteering for animal shelters. Animal shelters are not government funded and rely on private donations. What little money they have should all go to the animals.

  

The perils of public transportation

Don’t let me ever hear someone complaining about the price of gas. Whether the price is $1, $2 or even $3 a liter, be glad to pay it because it means you have a car.

Personally I don’t have a car and have to rely on public transportation to take me wherever I want to go.

Usually, this is not a problem. To go downtown I take the subway and I quite enjoy the ride. It gives me plenty of time to read without any interruptions.

Yesterday, however, I didn’t enjoy taking public transportation at all. I would even go as far as to say it was and experience straight from hell.

Continue reading at: http://connymanero.weebly.com/blog

The rest of the story: Zoe needs a new companion

Our guest blogger today is Diane Quinn from Las Vegas.  Diane recently lost her beloved cat Zorro, and successfully introduced a new kitty.  I asked her about this experience and she was kind enough to put "pen to paper".

You last met me when our beloved cat, Zorro, died unexpectedly of a heart condition.  (See EveryCloud Can Have a Silver Lining blog post.)  I introduced you to the Poppy Foundation and explained the outstanding work they do for unhealthy and unadoptable cats.  What I later learned is that our vet, who houses the Poppy Foundation in her hospital, also takes in feline patients when their human owners can no longer keep them.

In the weeks that followed Zorro’s death, we watched as our female Ragdoll, Zoe, went through a disturbing grieving process. Her personality changed, she pulled fur patches off the back of her neck, and she hid a lot under the bed, something she had never done before. She stopped sleeping with us as well. Our normally perky diva was depressed.  Fortunately, after about two months, she seemed almost like her old self again.

I came to realize that Zoe had never been an “only” cat before, and I wondered if she would be happy without a feline companion.  Then I began to think about what would happen when we traveled.  Even though we have two caring friends who stop in and cat sit, I had deep concerns about how she would manage basically by herself for a week at a time.

After a lengthy discussion with my husband who was resistant to getting another cat, he agreed to let me call the Poppy Foundation to see if they had a mature male at least five years old that needed a home. Zoe was about to turn nine, and we didn’t want a large age gap. Turns out they had three candidates.  As we were driving to the foundation, my husband said, “You know, I’d like to have a black cat with green eyes.”  At that point, color was the least of my worries as I focused on age, a personality fit and solid house training. 

When we walked into the Poppy Foundation there sitting on a chair all by himself was a black cat with green eyes. The volunteers told us that his name was BamBam, that he was their official greeter, and that he was one of our candidates. After we met the other two worthy felines, we had to make a decision. We both agreed that charming BamBam was the best suited for our home and as Zoe’s companion. 

We came back four days later to get him after he had a physical, dental work, updated shots and was groomed.  The Poppy Foundation never allows an adoption without knowing the adopter’s background and making sure the cat is in perfect health. 

This event was almost two months ago. The first thing my husband insisted on was giving our new black kitty a “manly” name more suited for his age—Rocky! It took just a matter of days to introduce him to our home. It was obvious that he was happy to find a real home again where he didn’t have to compete for attention.  Zoe was put out at first and exerted her diva personality in mostly non-aggressive ways.  Lucky for us, Rocky’s super friendly and loving personality won her over more quickly than we could ever have expected.

Zoe and Rocky are the best of buddies. They play together, watch birds and lizards side-by-side at the screen doors, and lick and love each other frequently.  Sure, they might have a territorial disagreement on occasion, but after a little boxing match, one usually gives in without any aggression.  More important is that we can go away now without guilt knowing that they have each other for loving companionship.

In memory of Zorro

Diane Quinn is my guest blogger today. I hope that a few of you will share the blog post as Diane talks about Zorro, who recently crossed Rainbow Bridge. At the same time she draws attention to the Poppy Foundation, which deserves a lot of exposure.

Every Cloud Can Have a Silver Lining

In Conny’s last blog post, you learned of the passing of our beloved Ragdoll cat, Zorro, who succumbed to a heart condition called FHC (Feline Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy).  This silent killer is common in Ragdoll and Maine Coon cat breeds.  Quality breeders certify that their cats have been tested and do not carry the FHC gene.  Unfortunately, we adopted Zorro when he was a year old from a friend-of-a-friend who was moving, and he was a day away from being deposited at a shelter. 

One expects older pets to die, but not pets that appear to be in perfect health and in the prime of their life.  That was Zorro—so handsome, so loving, and so special.  The shock of losing him at age eight will linger along with our grief.  Our only solace is that he slipped away without pain on our sofa, in his favorite napping position and with his family nearby.

Many believe that every cloud has a silver lining.  That even in the worst of situations good can emerge to neutralize negativity.  I like to believe that is true.  Toward that end, my goal is to introduce the followers of “Under the Toronto Sun” to a worthwhile foundation that my husband and I support and where we made a donation in Zorro’s name after he died.  It’s called
The Poppy Foundation (http://poppyfoundation.org/) 

The Poppy Foundation is located at the Bonanza Cat Hospital (http://www.lvcatvet.com/) in Las Vegas.  Dr. Linda Steelman is one of those vets unable to turn away a cat in need.  Her hospital is the last stop for unadoptable kitties through the Humane Society and other cat rescue groups.  They are unadoptable because of incurable health conditions or because their injuries have left them so unattractive that no one will adopt them.

Within days after adopting Zorro when he was a year old, I took him for a checkup with Dr. Steelman.  Imagine my surprise when I walked into the hospital’s tiny waiting room and found myself surrounded by cat condo’s filled with snoozing kitties.  Then there were the dozens of others walking around wherever they pleased, even taking advantage of empty laps and head rubs wherever they could find them.  Parents of patients preferred to stand rather than take a chair away from a sleeping feline. The office volunteers often had to remove their furry helpers from the top of the printer, telephone console and sign-in sheets in order to do their jobs.

I admit that my heart skipped a beat the first time I watched three-legged cats limp by, cats with cuts resulting in ugly bald spots on their lovely fur, or who now had to view the world with only one eye.  At one time, when I asked how many cats were in residence, they admitted they had lost count but that they were well over 100. 

I’m happy to report that over a year ago, the Poppy Foundation at the hospital was able to add more space.  There is one large room now dedicated to cages for seriously ill cats (sort of an ICU) and a play area for those kitties that are able and willing. 

I can think of no better way to honor our beloved Zorro than by helping to bring attention to the well run, making a difference, Poppy Foundation.  In addition to money, they are grateful for used cat care items and food donations. 

Even though Conny had never met Zorro (it’s a long way from Toronto and Las Vegas), she came to know him almost as well as one of her own furry gang.  It’s comforting to know that a memorial to him will remain a permanent part of Conny’s “Under the Toronto Sun” blog site.

Happy Birthday Dieter

Thirty two years ago I had a baby boy.

Seventy two hours earlier I was knitting booties, while chestnuts were roasting on the stove top.  Labor announced itself with a nagging back pain and since the pregnancy was only seven months along, my doctor suggested that I check in to hospital right away.

No sooner had I arrived in the hospital or the labor pains stopped.  Now what?  They would let me go home because of the risk of infection, but I didn’t feel like spending the next two months cooped up in a room.

Fortunately my son (I always knew I was going to have a boy) felt the same way.  He had been kicking and punching for a few months, but now he started in earnest.  He didn’t want to be cooped up any longer than necessary either.

Family and friends made the usual jokes … baby was going to be a soccer player or a boxer.  They were wrong.  As it turned out, baby was geared up to be a future ten-pin bowler and he was practicing his strikes and spares.

On November 7^th, at 11:00 a.m. he made it known that he wanted to be born.  On November 8^th, at 7:55 a.m. he finally made his entrance.  All four pounds him.

Happy birthday Dieter. 

No sooner was he born or he was carted off and placed in an incubator where he remained for the next four weeks.  While other incubator babies made rapid progress, Dieter lost weight.  He was almost constantly asleep.  At feeding time the nurses had to wake him up.  While sucking his bottle, they had to shake him to stay awake.  Sometimes it worked, sometimes the effort of sucking was too much and Dieter was off to dreamland again.

On December 1^st I nearly had a heart attack.  During my daily baby visit to the hospital I noticed that Dieter’s incubator was empty and open.  Nailed to the ground I stood there, not willing or able to move.

When one of the nurses saw me, she waved me over.  Slowly, every step being a huge effort, I approached.  When I was close enough, the nurses pointed to a bed where Dieter was sleeping.  He was finally strong enough to breathe on his own.

Four weeks later, on December 30^th to be exact, he was discharged from hospital and placed into my care.  Apparently I didn’t do too bad because not only did the tiny baby grow into a 6 feet 4 inches adult, the boy grew up the finest man I have ever known.  Of course, that’s just my opinion.

  

Thank you for smoking

This is not an anti-smoking but a pro smoking message. You don’t see that one every day, do you? It’s true though, I’m as pro smoking as they come and if you stick around I’ll explain why.

First let me say though that I am just sick and tired of the smokers bashing. Just this morning I read three articles, urging pregnant women not to smoke. Oeh it’s bad for the baby.
Please, give me a break. I smoked when I was pregnant and so did all my friends and we all had healthy babies, who grew up to be healthy adults. Compare that to the kids of today. They’re allergic to this and allergic to that, they have asthma and as soon as a chilly wind blows they’re sick. Whimps I call them.

Many will say that smoking is bad for you. That it ruins your lungs and gives you cancer. Oh yeah, well I saw a doctor the other day and he stated that I had textbook lungs. “You are a walking non-smoking advertisement,” he told me. When I stated that had been smoking since I was sixteen you could have knocked that guy over with a feather.

But since we are on the subject of things that are bad for you ... what about car exhaust fumes and fumes from airplanes? A long time ago I read an article that stated that each time a plane passes by, the fumes are equal to 82 cigarettes. Hm, what do the non-smokers think of that?

And what about all the other stuff? Everybody happily smears deodorant under their arms, while medical textbooks state that the aluminum in deodorant sticks causes breast cancer.
Then there is hair dyes and cosmetics. Take a look at the ingredients folks, some of them are known to cause cancer. But do people care? ... no, they want to look good.

Some will say that if smokers want to light up that’s their good right, but that they shouldn’t bother others with second hand smoke.
Phoe-lees, second hand smoke. Back in the day when I was a teenager and went to clubs, you could cut the smoke in those places. And did anyone die of cancer? Nope, my friends and I are still very much alive.

Then there is the statement that smokers cost the state money. How so? I’ve never been to the doctor or a hospital with smoke related problems and neither have those that I know.

If you want to point a finger at people who cost the state money, what about those who drink? Some get all liquored up and get in their car. By doing so they cause accidents resulting in: material damage, hurting someone to the point that he ends up in a wheelchair, or killing someone.
Alcohol is also the leading cause for domestic violence.
Not to mention that more than one job is lost because of alcoholism.
Now how much money does that cost the state? If the drunk loses his job and ends getting employment, guess who pays for that ... you do! Unemployment insurance is deducted off your paycheck and goes to those who don’t work.

And that’s not all. Alcohol leads to high blood pressure, high blood pressure leads to strokes and heart attacks, and of course strokes and heart attacks lead to death. Not to mention that alcohol also causes liver cancer. But do bottles of beer, wine and spirits carry that message with a gory picture, nope. On the contrary, alcohol is packaged in attractive bottles and commercials are made, advertising that drinking is cool and fun.

What about junk food? Mountains of junk food are gobbled up each day, making close to half of the North American population overweight, with some being downright obese. Does anyone give them a dirty look? No, on the contrary, we’re supposed to feel sorry for them.

Then there is the sun. What’s wrong with the sun, you might ask ... skin cancer dear, ever heard of it? Some give me a dirty look when I’m smoking a cigarette, then they take off as much as is legally allowed and go and roast themselves in the sun. Skin cancer ... they don’t seem to care about that.

Let’s face it, this anti-smoking campaign was started by the cancer society who made itself billions of dollars in the process. Who heard of the cancer society twenty five years ago? Nobody, if they were there, they got no attention. And look at them now ... the richest ‘charitable’ organization.
While working for a consulting firm I saw statements (this is not hearsay, I saw those statements) of the cancer society in Colorado and Ohio. Both of them collected $1.3 million dollars in 2008. And that was just two states. Image what the cancer society rakes in over the whole of North America. We’re talking billions. Have you ever wondered where all that money is going?
Do you think they will ever reveal a cure for cancer? Of course not, the donations would dry up and then what?

And last but not least ... think of your taxes. If indeed all the smokers were to give up the habit, your taxes would sky rocket. Do you have any idea how much money goes into the tax coffers courtesy of cigarettes? Billions of dollars. Not just millions, but billions!
So if you come to think it, instead of picking on the smokers, shouldn’t you be thanking them?