Captain Norman

It’s been 9 days since Norman and I had that unexpected “date” at the Emergency Pet Hospital.  Despite the plastic cone on his head, he has devised some very ingenious ways to scratch his face and eye area.

Today Doc and I did a bit of work at the Montclair rental house.  As we exited the freeway and were stopped at the offramp red light, Doc flippantly asked, “Any coins on your side?” I spotted a penny, then a quarter!  Crud.  I was torn.  I told Doc I did not want to jump out of the car with the leg boot hindering me.  Dangerous enough with two good legs.  He insisted I retrieve the coins. I argued for a few more seconds, but then obeyed.

Captain Norman

Norman could not be left at home with the other dogs and could not be kept in his cage while we were gone, so he went to work with us today.  He loved it!  At Home Depot he looked like a proud Ship’s Captain as he steered our course from his position in the shopping cart.  He realized his cone was not a liability - it was an asset to attracting attention from people!  He was like a performer on stage and thoroughly enjoying himself.

At the rental house, Norman inspected our every move to make sure we did quality work. 

Norman’s “handicap” has him crashing into many things, but it has not affected his feisty attitude.  Plus our little “cone head” has come up with some hilarious ways to obtain his food!   A lesson we can learn from Norman:  “setbacks” can be major or minor depending on how we deal with them. Often times the needed “healing” is more in the form of an attitude adjustment versus a physical improvement.

Two coins found later in the day for a total of 3 Pennies and a Quarter

Nuts vs. Pennies

Today at Home Depot I let Doc do most of the running around while I stayed close to the front of the store.  (Having the soft cast on my leg slows me down a bit).  I stood near the cash registers hoping to find today’s coin.  I looked at each of the four self-check out stations numerous times during my 8-10 minute wait.  The closest register  (approximately 8 ft. away) had a metal nut on the ground.  My sassy comment to the Penny Angels, “I’m not looking for nuts and bolts, I’m looking for pennies.”  I blinked, looked away, looked back and there was a penny!!  I could not believe it.  I walked over to fetch the penny and there was a second one next to it!  BELIEVE.

The Penny Angel's 2¢ worth for today.

SURPRISES

Yesterday was looking like a pretty mellow day.  Doc and I attended a training class in the morning.  Then in the afternoon there was a bit of a scramble, phone calls, FAXes and such regarding the final papers for the selling of Doc’s parents’ house. 

Doc left around 6:30 p.m. to work on his 10,000 steps/day goal and get a few groceries.  I was putting some Autumn decorations up around the house and just appreciating the tranquility and peacefulness.  Thinking it was nice to have such a mellow evening.  That was about to change.

Doc came home a few moments before 8 p.m.  The dogs got super excited when they heard his car and were rough housing with each other.  This time they were louder and more aggressive sounding than usual.  I ran to the door to find that Dundee had pinned Norman down by the neck and Norman’s right eye was bloody and popped out.  I didn’t know if I should restrain Dundee or try and get Norman off the floor.  I hollered as loudly as I could for Doc to come quickly to assist.  We separated the dogs, called the vet clinic (which closes at 8), got the address for the nearest Emergency Animal Hospital, threw some of the groceries in the freezer, locked down the house, and headed out.  That was not the plan for the evening.  SURPRISE!

We arrived at the Emergency Center.  Fortunately Doc was carrying Norman because just before we entered the building, I tripped on something and went down hard on the concrete.  SURPRISE!  The right ankle twisted and made a loud noise.  The left knee took the majority of the impact.  Got a huge hole in the knee of my jeans and painful road rash on the knee cap!

Poor Doc!  He wasn’t sure if he should leave me laying there, carry me inside, continue on with Norman or what?  I was able to lean on Doc and shuffle inside.  The attendants in the Admissions area didn’t know which patient to deal with first.  Of course I told them to work with Norman immediately!  Time was of the essence with his eye.

Paperwork

After Norman was taken in to ‘see’ the doctor, I was given ice packs and instructed to get off the leg.  Doc had performed gallantly to that point and hates paperwork, so he told me to take care of business while he got himself a coffee in the next room.

The vet was funny when he gave us his assessment. He said Norman had been sedated to make him more comfortable.  At that time Norman was “singing to the pink kitty cats dancing across the exam room ceiling”.

At 9 p.m. Norman was prepped for surgery and Doc and I went home.  At 1 a.m. we called the hospital.  The surgery had gone as expected and Norman was doing OK.

We planned to leave Norman at the Hospital until later today (Friday) in order to have him under professional care and away from Dundee.  The phone rang at 8:30 a.m.  Doc jokingly said, “It’s probably the hospital asking us to get the little monster out of there”.  Sure enough!  The physician’s assistance was calling to say Norman was not happy there and trying to bite everyone.  Could we please come get him?  Not really a SURPRISE.

On the way to get Norman we stopped briefly at a grocery store so Doc could get a coffee and I could look for coins.  (Got a penny and a quarter).  I ran into a former co-worker which was definitely a COINcidence story in itself.  A nice SURPRISE.

Next we stopped at a 7-11 store.  Doc looked for coins in the gas pump area while I went inside.  We both returned to the car without any coins.  I said, I didn’t find any pennies … except for THIS ONE next to the van!  And this one, and this one …”  There were 4 pennies a few feet from my door!  SURPRISE!

Going Home

By 10 a.m. we were at the Animal Hospital to retrieve Norman.  He was not pleased with the resort amenities or the treatments he had received and was letting people know his opinions.  The doctor was able to keep the eyeball in place, but Norman is not likely to regain sight in it.

Note:  Last Thursday I took Norman and Sparky (other Dog) to each get a physical exam and establish a relationship with a vet clinic in our new residence area.  I noted that Norman had an initial vet appointment when we adopted him 11 years ago, but none since. He was “cheap to keep”!  He quickly made up for that with this one little incident!

Before dinner this evening Doc went out to get more steps.  He called back to say, “Don’t’ send out your penny tale yet today …. I just found some coins. It means we got a Hit for the Cycle today.   SURPRISE!

Life is just full of SURPRISES -- some “good” some “not so good”, but each of them helping to create our “uniqueness”.

Coins Today:  9P (one 1943 wheat), 2N, D, Q and one Canadian penny.

Oscar

The Penny Angels continue their antics.  Although I don’t write down the story every day, there were Penny Finds EVERY day in July, August, September, October and November (so far).  Some days (like today) keep me and other people laughing!

This morning I washed the kitchen floor and did various other chores.  At 1 p.m. I headed out to the sign shop to pick up a door plaque I had ordered. It reads “Canine Cage and Commode” to mount over our doggie door.

After that I was heading home and talking to the Angels.  “So WHERE would you have me stop today for your coin?  How could today’s find be ‘beneficial’ to someone?”  I was passing a gas station and felt a slight ‘nudge’ to go there.  I argued, “Nah … I don’t feel like going there”.  I felt ‘nudged’ again as I was driving past the entrance, so I made a right turn at the signal and entered by another driveway.

Pippy (my pickup truck) needed fuel, so I filled her belly. Then I walked around the pumps and into the convenience store.  No coins to be found!  “So Penny Angels - what gives?  WHY am I here?”  I went back out to Pippy and was planning to leave.  There was a car wash area next door, so I walked over there.  Found a penny, said “Thanks Angels” and was preparing to leave.

Oscar, the Car Wash Check In Attendant, saw me and began offering me a deal.  (There were zero cars in the car wash, so he was looking for business).  I agreed to a car wash (Pippy was in desperate need of one) if Oscar would let me have the penny on the ground behind him!  He agreed.  I told him I found a penny every day for over 3 years!  I fetched Pippy and then began taking out all the ‘stuff’ she carries around with her.  I gave Oscar a Penny Card and told him that Penny Finding had to do with Miracles, Joy, Manifesting, etc.  If he wanted to hear more, I would tell him as my car went into the washer.

Oscar got my car moving into the washer and came back to hear the story.  I shared with him.   Then I asked the Universe/Source to PLEASE deliver a Penny in order to show Oscar some proof of all this.  Moments later there was a penny near where we had just been standing!  I went to pay for the wash, then returned.  There was another penny in that area.  Oscar was astonished!  He claimed he had recently carefully swept the area.  I told him surely he was mistaken because there was another penny!  I found a penny in the planter as well.  When the car was in the wipe down area, I spotted a very shiny penny over where Oscar had just walked.  I pointed to the coin and accused Oscar of “laying” it like a hen lays eggs!  I told him that from now on the Penny Angels were going to play with him as well and to share that JOY with his co-workers and customers.  He thanked me for the wonderful few moments we shared.

Eleven pennies were found with Oscar -  He kept 2 of them as his ‘reminder’ of possibilities ….