The pot is simmering, quickly coming to the full boil that the SHOT (Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade) show is every year. Lots of filming and investigations of OPMOD manufacturers. 14 different OPMOD products were delivered in 2011, and we hope to have several times more than that in 2012. Several new products we’ve been waiting for should be delivered by the end of January.
Dad and Rad
We had to put our boy Rad down Saturday. He was 100 years old and just used up. All three of us were ready for it. He was my and My Shirley’s only son, best friend, great protector, and bird dog extraordinaire. He’s playing catch with his floppy disc with Jesus now, and no longer in pain. Rad caught 15 floppy discs in a row in the air one time, although the pairing of Rad with Jesus might even better that record. Our house certainly will never be the same without him. For almost 16 years we three were intimate through good and bad, surgeries for me and him, and well over a thousand birds of all kinds. He’s young again in heaven.
Here’s a poem he wrote for me:
Ode to My Father
Why did you pick me, Dad,
Among all my other siblings?
I was too young to guess at the time,
Or even know what was happening,
When you tested us
With pinches,
And smiles,
And shouts of encouragements.
You carried me into your sterile home,
And let my dander settle
On everything,
And let me change your life.
You are my Taskmaster,
And my teacher,
And my True Love.
I adore you, my Father.
You give me food,
And a warm place to sleep.
And scratch my belly,
And let me hunt BIRDS with you,
And FETCH things for you,
And let me act goofy,
Until the belly laughs pour freely from your soul.
What a fine sight!
You make me wag!
My God says there are no humans in heaven,
Just kibbles,
And scents,
And holes to dig,
And things to chase.
But if I can’t be there with you eventually, Dad,
Just bury me in the garden with the stupid cats,
So at least I can push up some vegetables,
And my dust will kiss your mouth again.
Love,
Your son,
Radical Lee von Dundee Ledin
Hope you’re all enjoying the new year, and good luck!
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