The Idiot Box

I was raised as a kid with open and free access to the Idiot Box. Oh yeah. I could watch it when and as much as I wanted to.

When I was living with my grandmother as a baby/toddler, since I was like 3, special emphasis had been placed on reading, I did not stay glued to the TV all day long. I would rather spend my evenings playing with the few children in the neighborhood (I was living with my grandma at the time, and most people around were her age, the few kids around were grandkids or the children of the live-in maids), playing with Lego Blocks, running around her backyard or READING. Never mind that it was comic books (Archie, Mickey Mouse, Little Lulu, Pink Panther), I still READ. I much preferred it to TV. And love of reading lives in me to this day, and I read a LOT. When my parents were footing the bill in my teens, it was up to 10 books a month. I would DEVOUR books.

Yes, I had a special place in my heart for cartoons (what kid doesn't like colorful things) and loved loved LOVED Felix The Cat, but that was about it.

When I went to live with my parents, books were initially few and far between. I would steal my mother's magazines and her small picture novels and read. The rest of the time I spent glued to the TV. I had no backyard and no friends where my parents lived. It wasn't until much later my parents figured out I loved books so much, and started purchasing age-appropriate ones for me. Until then I'd been reading my textbooks over and over. I just fell back into my love of books.

I was around 8 when I first met my mom's cousin and her kids. We lived in Mexico, they in the States. They were not allowed to eat anything containing refined sugar or to watch TV.

Now, aside from thinking their parents were evil for not letting them enjoy sugary stuff and not letting them watch cartoons (my favorite at the time was Felix The Cat... It was early 80's), I did not feel disconnected with them at all. We still found plenty of other things to talk about. They, however, felt they were being cruelly and unusually punished. They longed for what they couldn't have and were envious of me. They told me so. I sneaked them a little TV (Their mom was a real nut, and had she found out, she would've punished them). We lost contact with them due to the distance and the death of the older relatives, but I heard from my aunt (who lived in the USA and had lots more contact) that they'd rebelled as teenagers and became sort of like little nutcases before settling back down.

***DISCLAIMER*** These kids were the only ones I ever met who didn't watch TV while growing up, and while they may have had very difficult teens, they ended up being fine and their teen troubles may have been totally unrelated to not watching TV. I also know that many many many of the children I grew up with that watched TV not only had ugly teens, they also ended up having very very bad lives in general.

So, basically what I'm trying to say is... It all comes down to education. If a kid is taught early on to love other things DESPITE the TV being present, they will continue to love those other things more regardless of having access to a TV or not. And they won't be resentful.

As for myself, The love of books lives with me to this day. Even having a TV and zillions of DVDs doesn't change the fact that I'd much rather be reading than watching TV. Sure, I enjoy shows like B.ones and H.ouse and G.host whisperer, but only because they feed into interests created in me through BOOKS (I love the Scarpetta novels by P. Cornwell and all of R.obin Cook's books, as well as any ghost/mystery/horror novels you push my way).

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Cats

So today's post won't be a rant... Ok, it might end up being so if I can think of something to rant about (this is my therapy here people, be nice, it gets me through the day, and it's free!).

Have I ever mentioned how much I love cats?

I am one totally crazy cat-person. Don't get me wrong. I love ALL animals, but cats are just my absolute favorites. Wouldn't change them for the world.

I own a male cat right now, his name is Rito. His name is derived from (and short for) the word negrito in spanish, which means "little black one". He is 4 years old, black all over, has gorgeous green/yellow eyes, and is the MOST loving animal you have ever met. Some days, I think he believes he's 1)a dog, or 2) my kid. This depends on the mood he's in, of course.

Every day, when I come home from work, he'll greet me at the door meowing his little heart out. He'll cry until I pick him up and hug him and give him a good bunch of kisses, after which he'll pretend he's disgusted and wriggle out of my arms. After this, he'll follow me all around the house everywhere, no matter where I go (even to the bathroom!), and once I'm down, he's up on my lap. He curls up just so, and lays his head on my stomach and puts his arm around my waist (ok, where my waist -should- be) and just falls asleep purring. Should I need to have my laptop on my lap, then he scoots over to the side of my leg and still lays his head and his front paws wherever they fit between my laptop and my stomach. He'll always purr nonstop when he's with me.

He is such a good boy in other aspects too. He never does his business outside his litterbox, he will not eat ANYTHING that is not his cat food, except when I give him bits of raw meat, and he NEVER begs for food or bugs me while I'm eating.

Whenever I'm feeling sick or lonely, he's always right there by my side and rubbing his chin against me trying to make me feel better. He is so just my little baby.

He gets so apprehensive when I'm gone. When I go on vacations, I ask my housekeeper (who usually comes only twice a month) to come every other day to clean his litter and put out fresh water and food, and her kids LOVE my cat and have known him since I brought him home, but even then, he gets so upset when I'm not here that he just pukes all the time.

And he's so in tune with my emotions too. One time, when my gf was here, she and I were having a really bad time, and about halfway through my work day she called me to get home THEN. I told her to wait til I got out for the day, and when I came home I realized why she wanted me home... My cat had puked, pooed and peed underneath the chair she was sitting... He was trying to kick her out of the house in his way!!! He did not want her there if we were having problems!

I just love my cat.

I am going to get a dog in september, a purebred black & silver miniature schnauzer (got hooked on the breed when I was like 17, will tell you all about that in a later post) and now I'm ready to have another, since Frida passed away 3 years ago and I've mourned her enough.

But I'm worried. Frida lived with my parents, so my cat and her never met. He had a "brother" cat, but he ran away a few months ago. So now he's an only child, and spoiled rotten attention-wise. I'm worried that he won't like his new dog-sister and he'll fall ill or something.

About two years ago, I got my gf a basset hound puppy and gave it to her as a surprise here in Leon, and they got to meet and interact for 3 weeks, and he was fine, but I wasn't lavishing attention on the puppy, so I don't know how he'll feel once the new addition comes to live here.

Plus this new dog would be here permanently, which would mean actually getting along with it, not just hopping out of its way whenever it came near.

Have any ideas people? I really really want to make this work, because I am a schnauzer lover as much as I am a cat lover. Plus I already gave a down payment for the dog with the breeder I'm working with.

Oh well, any thoughts?

P.S.- Just like with babies, NEVER apply immunization to an animal that is ill. My gf and I didn't know this at the time, and at about a year old, she immunized Freddie the basset against canine distemper while he had an ear infection. The veterinarian didn't say anything about it, and he was the one treating the dog for it. Well, we found out the VERY hard way it should -never- be done. He got distemper. It is a very, very painful illness and an awful way to die for any animal.

He was treated for over a month, but in the end he was too ill to continue fighting, and he was finally put to rest by a different vet who was the one that told us he shouldn't have been vaccinated.

Please read up on all adverse effects a medication might have before you give anything to an animal that is ill, it could cost it its life.