Farewell, Anne McCaffrey - You Will Never Be Equaled

It doesn't seem possible that I heard no news stories, nor saw any write-ups, about the passing of writer Anne McCaffrey.   She died Monday, at her home in Ireland, shortly after having a stroke.  Anne was a prolific writer; she created many worlds in her books, and I have visited each one many times.  She created whole histories and civilizations, but all of her heroes and heroines were very human.  The way that she crafted her characters made you really care about them - whether they were humans, dragons, unicorns, horses, cats, or shape-changers.  Personally, I loved her books about the planet Pern the best.  I'm very happy that I read that series in the order that she wrote the books, and now, whenever I need a vacation from real life, I can go visit Pern at almost any time during it's history.  In the first book of the series, Dragonflight, I cried the first time I read about the death of Ruatha Keep's old watch-wher; now, 40 plus years later, I still cry at that scene.  I learned a lot about the world, and myself, from reading Anne McCaffrey's books.  I don't think that her like will appear on the writing scene in a long time.  Rest in peace, Anne.  May you be reunited with all your friends and loved ones on the other side of between.

Forty-eight years ago, a small new television show appeared today for the first time (on BBC1) - it's title was Doctor Who.  I don't believe the writers and actors in the first few episodes would have believed that the Doctor would be going strong even now - or that the Doctor would be on his thirteenth regeneration.  As there have been so many actors who have portrayed the Doctor, it seems as if  most viewers' favorite actor is the one that they first saw portraying the Time Lord.  For me, it was Tom Baker, he of the wild hair and widow's peak, the flashing grin, and the tremendously long knitted scarf.  He played the Doctor with dash, elan, and, definitely, with tongue in cheek. 

It doesn't seem possible that tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day.  I'm currently back at Aiko and Yoshi's, having had Shady as a bed partner last night.  Cloudy jumped into bed with us, but hissed at me when she discovered I wasn't Alexy, and immediately left.  Yoshi and AIko's family will be returning this afternoon or evening.  And I need to make the corn pudding tonight, as well as rinse and dry the fruit before making the platter tomorrow.  Thursday night, I'll need to bake brownies for my bus driver buddies.  Olie, Annie and Bentley have been totally super on their walks.  Rosie has been full of excitement with the cool fall air.  Remy is still having problems with his hips or pelvis.  He started out walking fine yesterday, but 40 minutes into the walk, both of his hind legs just... failed; and he did a belly flop on the sidewalk.  He looked so confused and embarrassed, it was pitiful.  I stopped Rosie and knelt beside Remy, soothing him, and letting him just lie there.  After about 5 minutes, I urged him to get to his feet, which he did, and I took them straight back to the house.  Remy limped all the way.  Thank goodness Nancy was there, so I could tell her immediately what had occurred.  And, thank goodness, Remy is already scheduled to have a full check-up at the CSU veterinary school on December 8.  This is just not right....

A Potpourri

A friend and neighbor passed away yesterday morning.  Jim Cunningham, who lived at the corner of Topaz Drive and Garnet Avenue, died peacefully at home with his wife Bernie at his side.  Jim had been a long-time diabetic and was recently diagnosed with inoperable heart troubles.  Anyone who walks in the Githens Acres neighborhood will instantly recognize Bernie - a small powerhouse of energy with a cap of silver-grey, almost white, hair, blue eyes, and a terrific smile.  She is always working on the house, in the yard, in her garden, on the irigation ditch, chopping ice off the road, etc.  My heart goes out to Bernie and the kids.  Jim was a wonderful, kind man, and I thoroughly enjoyed his company, whether we were talking about growing up in the old days, or discussing Clive Cussler's latest book.  He will be missed tremendously by his family, friends and his neighbors.

If you like Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series, you need to look at the following URL:
http://collider.com/david-hayter-dragonflight-dragonriders-of-pern/85654/  It looks as if we will finally get a Pern movie, and they are going to start with the first written book in the series.  I hope it turns out as good as it should!!!  (Thanks for the information, Kathryn!)

The only thing I can say about college football yesterday was that at least South Carolina and West Virginia won.  The one touchdown the CU Buffs scored looked very good.  I have to admit I dozed through the Gators' game.  ....  I am looking forward to a USA TV-movie.  Certain Prey is scheduled to air Sunday, November 6 (9 p.m. Eastern, 8 p.m. Central and Mountain); it stars Mark Harmon as  Lucas Davenport, the main character.  USA owns the movie rights to all 21 Lucas Davenport mysteries (written by John Sandford), and if the public likes Harmon's portrayal of Lucas, then there might be a series of movies a la Tom Selleck as Jesse Stone on CBS.  Harmon meets the physical description of Lucas Davenport, who starts out as a police dectective in the series and progresses on to state investigator for the governor. He is also independently rich, as he developed several PC games that have continued to grow and spawn more games. The movie should be interesting; the books certainly are.

My kits are trying to figure out what's going on...  I packed Mocha's food up (again) this morning, and Lovey and Nedi are getting edgy.  I believe that I will leave them here tonight, so they can realize that Mocha is no longer here with us.  Then I'll take them over to visit Lynn's on Monday - that way I can move things outside while I clean the apartment, and it won't freak my kits out.  They are used to dogs, so Tessa won't be a problem.  I think the weirdest thing will be for Nedi to be the only male with four queens in the house. - But at least Nedi and Lovey will be able to run up and down stairs and play while I strip my bed, wash everything, and scrub the floors at home.  (Mocha has been pottying on the edges of my bedspread and  generally just under my bed for the last couple of weeks - so it will be good for all of us to clear out, while it airs out and the scrubbed floor dries for a couple of days.)  And Mocha will be stress free and back with her person.