International Tabletop Day - March 30, 2013

What is it?

On March 30th, 2013, premium YouTube channel Geek & Sundry (The Guild, TableTop, Written By A Kid) asks all of our fans to go to their friendly local game store, community center, or host an event at home and play more games. - See more at: http://www.tabletopday.com/index.php/about#sthash.M8t5l04L.dpuf

International TableTop Day also represents the one year anniversary of the launch of the hit show TableTop, hosted by Wil Wheaton (Star Trek, Big Bang Theory, Leverage). - See more at: http://www.tabletopday.com/index.php/about#sthash.M8t5l04L.dpuf

Ken loves to collect and, when he has time, play, board games. This day is right up his alley. It's also a great time for anyone to get started playing games of their own. Or, if you already play, it's just a fun time to get a tournament going in your family or in the neighborhood for the fun of it. 

On some weekends Ken, his daughter Ryan, her husband Kevin and I get together to play games. This weekend on International game day we're going to get together and play some games too. I'm not sure if we're going to play some that we've already played. We like Ticket to Ride and Formula De.

There are over a hundred other games we can choose from including a couple of new games I gave Ken for his birthday: SmallWorld and SmallWorld Underground with a SmallWorld Tales and Legends Expansion Pack. Or we could play one he won on some website. It's called Evilbaby Orphanage. 

There is nothing wrong with playing the old standbys Monopoly or Scrabble, either. I have those and they can be quite entertaining. We even bought Upwards at Goodwill a couple of weeks ago. Remember that oldie? We intend to play that one soon. 

In Danville, Comic Cosmos is hosting games all day long. They are featuring games for people of all ages and for all levels of expertise - easy to hard because they will be teaching these games. Then they will be holding tournaments for prizes of nice boardgames to be given out. The hours are 11am to 7pm

So no matter what type of board game you may be interested in, just get one out or go to a place to find a tournament and play. It will be fun! 

                                           

  

Book Review ----- Salt On Our Skin aka Desire 1988

A book that deserves to be in the spotlight again

In 1988 Benoite Groult published a book in French that translates to English as Salt on our Skin. For some reason, when it was translated into English, the title was changed to Desire. The book was also made into a movie. You can find the book or movie by searching either name on Amazon or clicking this link.

I believe this book could be enjoyed by every generation. The blurb on the back of the book is as follows:

Worlds separate them--dividing walls of class, culture, wealth and breeding. She is a beautiful Parisian intellectual--he a rustic and rough-hewn Breton fisherman. They share nothing in common--except for an improbably perfect love born in childhood and nurtured through the years...an intense and immutable passion that transcends even the seemingly unbreachable barriers of distance and time.

A best seller throughout Europe, Desire is a poignant, beautiful, and lucidly honest tale that explores the breathtaking realities of sexual passion and erotic obsession.

My review of this book

Mainly this book is about two people that get together at a time when it's socially unacceptable for them to be together, but they fall in love. Both of them marry someone else and have a family. Then occasionally as the years pass they meet up each other again so they can get together in the only way they are allowed to - sexually. It is a hot passionate togetherness. They grow old together, but not together, still in love. It's a very sweet love story. I love this book. It is one of my favorites and has been for many years. I decided to put a review on my blog about it because it has probably not been talked about in many years, but it's worth looking for a copy, hopefully finding it and reading it.   I did not watch the movie so I don't know if it was made well or not. 

Kiss of Fire Book Tour and Kindle Fire Giveaway!

Kiss of Fire by Rebecca Ethington

is hosting a Kindle Fire Giveaway during the Tour. Just click the link to go to it and find out more about the tour.

Synopsys:

Joclyn Despain has a scar. In fact, it is almost like a brand on her skin. She doesn’t know why it appeared on her neck, but she doesn’t want anyone to see it, including her best friend Ryland, who knows everything else about her. The scar is the reason she hides herself behind baggy clothes, and won’t let the idea of kissing Ryland enter her mind, no matter how much she wants to.
The scar is the reason she is being hunted.
If only she knew that she was.
If only she had known that the cursed stone her estranged father sent for her 16th birthday would trigger a change in her. Now, she is being stalked by a tall blonde man, and is miraculously throwing her high school bully ten feet in the air.
Joclyn attempts to find some answers and the courage to follow her heart. When Ryland finds her scar; but he knows what it means, and who will kill her because of it.

More Tales From The Kentucky Motel

The Runaways

I was working at the front desk one day when three girls came in the side door. They were dressed pretty skimpy, in really short shorts and halter tops with flip flops. They asked to rent a room for the night and I said one of them had to be 18. She pulled out an ID that looked legit so I rented them a room. In fact it was one of the two top floor rooms because they needed 3 beds in it. Those rooms were the ones we called the party rooms they were so big. The girls stayed there a couple of nights.

The girls didn't look like they had any luggage except the backpacks they had with them so I was very suspicious of them. I wondered if I should call the police and report some strange teens running loose in the town, but I had no idea what I'd turn them in for. I just knew something was off with that group. 

A couple of days later the police came to the hotel searching for some runaways. The girls were apparently all under 16 years of age and had been gone for a few days. I KNEW I should have reported those girls. Obviously the one girl had a fake ID showing her as legal age. Anyway, I pointed them up to the room the girls were in and told them all I knew about the girls. 

This is what I learned after the police took the girls into custody and I was able to talk to my maids. Apparently the girls had been going around trading "favors" to some of our residents for clothes and maybe even money, I'm not sure. Also, our handyman (early 20's) was discovered to have been messing around with at least one of the girls so he was taken to jail at some point. After that we had to get another handyman. My dad volunteered for the job so I moved him into a room rent free and gave him a pitiful salary ($50 wk). 

Now You Tell Me

There were many things I learned from the maids AFTER all the storm was over with. I started to think the maids didn't tell me much about the real happenings at the motel until after the shit hit the fan. 

One thing they didn't tell me until a few days late in my opinion was about an old lady, weekly renter, who had fallen. They saw her laying in her floor when they went in to clean the room. and knew she had fallen, but she kept telling them not to worry about her that she was fine and didn't need help. That old lady could have sued our butts off, even though she was the one protesting against help! As soon as I found out about her I called an ambulance to take her to the hospital. When I visited her there she thanked me for doing that because she hadn't realised she had broken her hip when she fell. While she was at the hospital some of her family members decided that she shouldn't be living in a dump motel so they set her up in a nice nursing home. 

Good Fortune

Several weeks before the hospital incident, when I first met her, that same old lady had offered my husband and I a deal. She needed 6 safety deposit box keys that were all somewhere packed away in 4 large storage bins that she owned. If we found those keys for her we could have the rest of the stuff in the storage bins. And we had to dispose of anything we didn't want so the bins were empty when we were done. Of course we took the deal. 

To be honest there was so much trash in those bins it's a wonder we were able to go through all of it, but we did. And we found all of the keys. They were stuck in obscure places. The other kind of stuff that was in the bins was a few furniture antiques like bed frames, a dresser, some dishes etc. We went to an antiques dealer and sold the lot of it to them for probably too low of a price. The only things I kept from it was a cedar chest and a couple of matching handmade antique quilts. I still have those. My dad, who helped us go through everything looking for the keys, really hit the jackpot. He found cash stuck in places everywhere, especially the purses. Apparently even in the purses that the old lady wasn't using anymore she'd have money in them. The was cash in bibles and other books, too. I think dad said he found nearly $300 cash. But the biggest part of it was literally trash in trash bags! What a mess. We earned every bit of what we got. The old lady was pleased with her keys.

That's Embarrassing

Some of the things that are found occasionally at a motel room when people leave are adult XXX stuff. Usually that includes things such as condoms, used and unused, lubricant containers and maybe even porn magazines. Once, however, we knew a previous customer was going to be ticked off when they got home and unpacked because we found their best friend in the room after they left - a vibrator. They never called to retrieve it. 

Moving On

When the Kentucky Motel was condemned out of the blue like it was I was stunned. We had no money saved up to get an apartment and only a week or so to get out. I didn't know of anyone that would let us stay with them either, or so I thought. I did have a friend who I had made through one of our weekly stays. She was the guys aunt and was the nicest, sweetest woman I'd ever met. She and her husband lived in town with their three kids. Right when we were needing a place to live they were on their way to a month long visit to family in PA. They told us that is would be great if we would stay at their place and house sit. In that month we hopefully would be able to gather money to get an apartment by the time they get back. How great is that! I'd only known the lady a few months and we were friends, but not close, and she was offering her home to us! I loved this lady! 

A couple of years after moving away from the same town she was in I stopped contacting her. Sometimes when I move I find it hard to keep on connecting with the people from my old life, for no specific reason. I wish I had not lost contact with her, though. A few years ago I looked her family up because I really wanted to talk to her about something. I just knew she could help me with my issue. I reached her husband and he sadly told me that she had died a few years before of cancer. I don't even remember what kind of cancer he told me because once he said she was dead I went into shock. I was barely able to say how sorry I was for him and the kids and that I missed her a lot after we left, then hang up. I mourned for her after that. I had unknowingly lost a friend, someone who was dear to my heart and I hurt. It made me completely remember the importance of keeping in contact with people on a regular basis. If they haven't called you, you call them! Don't leave it all up to them. At lease message them. Friends, true friends, are too precious to lose. This lady was golden and I'm sorry I lost her. 

As for jobs, before the condemning of the motel I had already put my application in for desk clerk at a new local hotel and had one interview. I was waiting on a call back to see if I was hired. Of course I was! I worked at that hotel for 2 1/2 years before moving to Lexington to go to college. 

Working at the Roach Motel

My Job at the Kentucky Motel in Ashland, KY

Nearly 20 years ago, when I was 21, there was a time I was desperately in need of a job. I truly couldn't believe my luck when I found an ad that said a couple serving as motel resident managers that could live on property were needed. Rent and utilities all free as part of the salary! My husband at the time had a job but the ad didn't say that wouldn't exclude someone from getting that job too. It only took one person at a time on duty after all. So with no motel or business experience, beyond customer service, I applied for the job. Honestly I didn't think we'd get the job but I'm pretty sure the reason we were hired is that we accepted a lower salary than others would. It was $155 a week! Poverty level. The only reason we took it is that we were desperate for a place to live and a job for me. Once we found out my husband could stay with his other job we were OK.

Let me tell you a little about the Kentucky Motel. It was built sometime in the 50's as a one story motel in downtown Ashland, KY. At some point it was added on to twice to put another level on so it ended up three levels on one part of it. It really wasn't a very pretty motel. All but one of photos I show here are of actual postcards depicting the motel. People are still selling the cards on the internet.

I took this photo when I lived there.

By the time I got to be resident manager the place was falling down and yes, crawling with roaches! About half of the rooms were not useable and the ones that were had stuff that needed fixed in them. None of the rooms had enough light. All of them were decorated differently and were God aweful ugly in my opinion. In fact, I had to go to Goodwill to get bedspreads for some of the rooms! The owner was a miser. Absolutely no money was to be spent unless more money could possibly be made from it. We had to share a handyman with his other motel, yet another dive, and we didn't get him nearly as much time as they did. I had two maids, though, thank goodness. The Kentucky Motel was condemned while I was resident manager! I'd only worked there 7 months when the city actually came in, posted signs and said we had just a few days to vacate the premises. So, there went my home and my job too! Everything turned out ok for me soon after that, but not for the motel. It was demolished in 1995 and eventually turned into a parking lot.

When I worked there life was never boring. First, the motel was a cheap motel (1994, $22-$24 night) so we basically rented monthly, weekly and hourly, if you get my drift. Of course there was the occasionally legitimate guest but they wondered in accidentally I think. The monthly residents were all alcoholics. The weeklies were the ones that were there for temporary jobs or were just in town for a short stay. I was told by the maids that a couple of prostitutes had taken up residence in one of the rooms, but by the time they told me the women had already checked out. I'm pretty sure the maids knew all along and just didn't want to get them in trouble.

Newest postcard I found, no date listed

The hourly renters actually were nightly renters but they only stayed a couple of hours and checked out. So then I would just play maid (as the maids had probably gone by then), cleaned their room and re-rented it for the night again.

The Bum

There was this one guy that would come into the motel to stay every now and then, Billy. He was always dressed in layers of clothing with lots of pockets. In those pockets he had lots of money wadded up! Ones, fives and tens, who knows what else. I eventually learned that Billy was a bum. He went out most days and bummed for money, then apparently put it in his pockets like that. He always had plenty of it too. He'd easily pay for a cab, and for a week of rent sometimes. Other times he'd just pay for a night stay at the motel. Someone told me once, though, that they heard him grumbling once, complaining, when he got less than $100 one day.

A Fight, Pepper Spray and the Police

One of my jobs as resident manager was to make sure everyone paid their bills. So if someone was a week behind on their rent then they should not be in that room in my opinion. Several things caused some problems, therefore the police had to be called in to handle things that day. First, I knew this guy is a drug user and that his girlfriend is very combative, so he might be too. So when I went to the guys door to ask him to pay his bill he got belligerent and started to scare me so I sprayed him with pepper spray. Probably the wrong thing to do in hind sight but he really had looked like he was going to hit me. I went back to my apartment to calm down but then one of the maids runs to me and says the guys girlfriend is on her way to beat me up. That scares me worse because I just don't fight. I went outside and sure enough there was the woman, just waiting for me, wanting to know why I sprayed her man. Even before I could say anything she was on me, tearing clothes, hair, scraping nails, etc. Luckily I had brought the pepper spray can again and took it to her as well in order to get her off of me, including hitting her in the face with it a few times. Sadly the spray blew back into my face as well, so I got a healthy dose of it in my eyes right then. Someone had called the police, an unusual occurrence. Typically the people I'm around like to deal with things within their own group if at all possible, especially if there are drugs involved. In this case I could tell the women was high and had been smoking weed just recently. 

When the police got there they were no help to me at all. They acted as if I was the perpetrator instead of it being the woman trying to beat me up. I was questioned like I was a criminal and basically treated poorly. The other woman, pot smell and all, was treated like a princess. They just wanted to make sure she was OK, that the pepper spray didn't cause lasting damage to her. I attribute that difference in attitude to the way we looked. She was a blonde bimbo whereas I was a giant fat blob at the time. Blonde bimbo still beats out fat. Big women get no respect. 

Eventually the police went away. I believe that there was no one arrested although the couple did get a legal notice to vacate if they didn't pay up. 

I have more interesting KY Motel stories but I'll save them for another blog. 

Erin Wants To Be a Model

Erin's First Foray into the Modeling Industry

This past Saturday I took Erin to her very first modeling audition, or interview or whatever it was called. It was in a conference room at one of the hotels in the city. I was very skeptical of the whole thing since I've hear of too many scams ran by fake agencies for years. The scam is that they suck you in promising modeling jobs but then require you to pay for a portfolio through them for marketing yourself. The money has to be paid up front. Then the modeling jobs never appear. Erin, however, was so excited about doing it that I couldn't tell her no. There was no harm in checking them out after all.

When we went in the front door the two people with the agency were in the lobby. As soon as they saw Erin their eyes lit up and one of them said Hello young lady. How tall are you? Erin said 5'9 1/2" and he said "Excellent!" or something like that and how much do you weigh? Erin said 117, he said "Perfect!" then pointed us to the conference room and the applications we had to fill out. I figured right then that was a good sign for Erin if he was one of the judges. After we filled out the application we waited for a while before they started the meeting. The meeting began promptly at 3pm and we were told some basic rules. We were also told that at the end of the day only 24 people would be chosen to join the program. However, that would not take place until after the 2nd meeting that evening. This interview would determine who would be coming to that second meeting and who would not.

It didn't take long for the actual interviews to take place after that. I was surprised that all the potential models had to do was answer a few basic questions like how they did in school. Some had to repeat a commercial line or two. The judge actually asked Erin "Do you eat? I mean, do you just have a high metabolism or are you active in sports or something?" Erin said she was in basketball, the little liar. Really it's her ADHD meds. She doesn't eat very much, but she does eat. They just wanted to determine if she was bulimic I guess. Like a bulimic person would let that kind of thing slip. They asked about noticeable scars and such. They told Erin to come back that evening. They also told me to go on their website to look at the jobs they had available. Erin was, of course, very excited. However, I was getting a little more worried. I had not heard a single person get turned down and I know some of those people could not possible be model material, in my humble opinion. But I hadn't heard any of them told to look at the website for jobs.

So now all we had to do was wait 3 1/2 hours and be back for the 2nd part. We were told to bring a couple of photos because they wanted to determine if the person was photogenic, too. I knew usually photos were necessary so I already had a couple of 8x10's ready. Apparently there is something called a "composite" that is the newest thing for marketing models, besides a webpage. They are preferred over 8x10's and cost around $2 each to print, from what I can tell. Some people actually already had those!

At the 2nd meeting we were basically given the real spiel. We were told what the company is, what their beliefs are and what they expect from their models if chosen.
We were also told about the types of jobs they typically book and the pay ranges we may expect. We were also quickly told about a small amount of complaints they have with the BBB, but nothing to worry about, they were taken care of, etc. Then at the very end we were told about the money maker of the deal for them. In order to be one of their 24, once chosen, we have to agree to do one of two things. Either have a website run through them at a cost of $500 to set up and $20mo to maintain for marketing you, though they would pay for their photographer to take high fashion photos of you for it. Or YOU could pay an outside fashion photographer to do photos and have about 350 composites made up to give to him for marketing purposes (costing a lot more than the website). There would be no other contracts to sign, only the one about the cards or the website. That spiel sounds a little like the scammers of old except instead of a portfolio it's a website or composite. It was fishy. We were told to call a number the next morning to see if we had been chosen and if we had they would set up an appointment for contract signing that very day. Then we were dismissed for the night.

Well I played with this situation in my head. IF Erin were chosen, and I never thought she would not be, would this place truly get her jobs to go to for some modeling experience? Is this a scam? Are they telling everyone to come back and instead of 24 people tomorrow will EVERYONE be told yes so more money goes into the bank for them? The way their system works they don't have to get jobs for everyone so technically they could do that. Apparently everyone looks at their website for jobs and calls in to apply for the ones they want. It's like everyone is a free agent. Anyone could model for them. Of course, only the really good looking ones would get sent out on the jobs, but still, that would be quite a scam for the not so pretty people. So, this kind of stuff goes through my head the whole time I'm driving Erin home.

So, I got Erin's dad and my husband to start doing an internet search on them. Wham! Wham! Right from the beginning, including the BBB 22 complaints, they start finding bad reviews about the company. I dropped Erin off at her dad's house and started driving home, talking to Ken as he looked up the reviews. He told me things like one person said the "high end photographer" was drunk for the website photo shoot and when the person tried to get their money back they couldn't, but also got no pics and no web page. Plus others never got jobs through them at all, lots of people said it was a scam - too many in fact. The BBB had those complaints listed as well as they were a C- rating. Also they weren't accredited.

Then Erin's dad said that he would not pay for anything that was a scam. That meant his half wouldn't be paid for, if I chose to go through with it. I had a big decision to make. The next day I called the phone number to find out if Erin was chosen as one of the 24. Erin did not sign up with that company.

Today I decided to Google the company for myself, to see in person all the bad reviews that was written about the company. I had only listened to the negative things the guys had to say and had forgotten how jaded the two of them were already. What I found made me a little bit mixed up in my feelings toward that company. Sure, there were a bunch of SCAM reviews written at first but past the first page and a half on Google there was nothing but positive stuff. Actually, even with some of the reviews, if the guys had bothered to read on, they would have seen positive reviews too. It really kind of ticks me off that I didn't check it out myself before moving forward. Those two may have caused more trouble than it's worth.

This weekend I guess we'll find out. She has another modeling audition. I think this one will be a horse of a different color. It's actually an accredited national talent scout company. Plus it's being held at a place that's established in the modeling industry and I trust it more. There are a few more hoops she has to jump through it sounds like but I think she'll do well.

Whatever happens Erin's dad and I are going to take the money we didn't spend at the first modeling audition and use it for a professional fashion photography shoot for Erin. Then Erin will have something she will be able to put on a composite if we want to make one up. Erin will hopefully be happy with the pictures she gets from that if she doesn't get a call back from this weekend.

UPDATE 3-9-13
Erin went to the audition today. I think she did well, It was quite different. We were taken in to a room with a runway as the centerpiece. The meeting director told us a little about the scouting competition, as that is what this was for, then we saw a video of some of their most famous talent to have begun their career through that association. After that the judging started. Unfortunately Erin was first so we didn't get to see what other people had to go through before she faced the gauntlet. Understandably she was scared. She did her walk and her script run through as asked. Then the guy critiqued her. He did say he'd like to have her at the NY competition because she has the look for it, but she needs the classes in order to boost her self esteem. Then we left to make an appointment for tomorrow to see what her options are. She may have more options than just being chosen to go on to a competition in New York.

Actually, that talent agency, Images Model and Talent Agency, gives classes for modeling, acting and other related stuff. Erin could really benefit from some of them. If she took them, she may also be represented by the agency in the local market. That would be great for us. I'll be talking about that tomorrow with the agency.

UPDATE 3-10-13
The meeting today yielded exactly what I thought it would. Erin would have been chosen as one of those to be groomed to go to New York if we wanted to take the trip, in the modeling category. We had to turn that down, though, as the price was astronomical - $10,000! There is no way we could pay that on the off chance Erin, a newbie, might get a modeling contract.

We are choosing the other route instead. Taking the classes given by the agency will be good for Erin whether she goes into a modeling career or not so I thing they will be worth the money. Then after the classes, the agency will represent her in the local market. If so she can possibly do some modeling jobs and work up a portfolio to have ready to show if she ever went to the NY or LA competition.

Because she did the audition she gets a discount on the classes to begin with so that is an incentive for some girls to at least do the audition before starting at the agency. All I knew when I took Erin there is that Jeremy Sumpter (Peter Pan) had gotten his start through their agency through that audition originally. I knew that because his mom and my mom used to work together at the beginning of his career, before he moved to LA, and mom has remained e-mail pals with her ever since.

This is Erin

Man's Best Friend - Shar Peis Rescued

Tucker and Savannah

Ken and I adopted Tucker (approx. 4 1/2 yrs) and Savannah (around 6 yrs) from the Tennessee Shar Pei Rescue in April 2009. It has been fun, rewarding, harrowing and exhausting at the same time. First of all, it was not a light decision to make. Two nearly 50 pound dogs as rambunctious as this type of dog was bound to bring some challenges. Also, we had originally only wanted Tucker. Then, upon the suggestion of the rescue group, we took Savannah too. It has been the best idea for Tucker to have a playmate rather than for him to be alone.

The day we picked them up.

Tucker

When we decided to get dogs I chose Shar Peis because of the breed. They were good watch dogs and loyal to their owners, as well as friendly with children. They also had minimum shedding and could be indoor pets. Not to mention they were a great looking breed. Then, I decided to go to a reliable rescue group for a full blood breed to get a pet that was already mostly trained. I did not feel like training a puppy. Plus there are many older dogs that desperately need owners but too often eventually get put to sleep.  And a rescue dog would already be fixed and have it's shots when I got it. That's a major incentive. Getting the dogs from the rescue was a fraction of the cost that it would have been had I gotten puppies and I still got two beautiful dogs to love.

Savannah

By using the TN Rescue Group we had to be approved as owners. They did not want their dogs going into another situation that is the same or worse for them than they had been before. Since I was a state away They worked with the local Humane Society. A lady from there came to inspect our home and to interview the family members. She was mainly looking to see if our house had a fence (we built one just for the dogs), was by a busy road, had any dangerous stairs, etc. Also, the whole family needed to be in agreement on getting a dog or dogs. Because of the construction of the fence we had to wait a month longer than we wanted before we got the doggies.

Their Rescue Stories

Savannah had been picked up as a stray and brought to the shelter. Even though she was possibly owner abused, the shelter nourished and loved her so that she was just fine around 3 year old Gavin. Her rescue story on the TN Shar Pei Rescue Page is here. Tucker had been an owner surrender. He was a playful pup and desperate for loving. We were told his previous owner didn't have the time to take care of him nor did her have a big enough space. The rescue integrated him with their toddler so I knew he'd make a great companion for Gavin. You can view his rescue story on the TN Shar Pei Rescue site here.

Their Personalities

They definitely have two very different personalities. I'm sure it's because of how they spent their formative months of growth. Tucker is very laid back. He's the watchful one. Instead of asserting himself he'll let Savannah take center stage almost every time. That makes Savannah the Alpha I guess. She certainly lets that be known - everywhere but the food bowl, lol. She's so jealous of Tucker that anytime he gets any kind of attention she's right there on top of him nosing him out of the way so she's the one getting the petting rather than him. Then Tucker just let's her have it. He knows he's loved. Sometimes they get into know-down drag-out fights that end up with bloody injuries. They happen so fast I can barely get them separated quick enough. Usually this happens over some kind of food one of them has found on the floor - because mischievous Gavin has thrown only one snack down instead of two, for instance. I try to always make sure there are two snacks at the same time to prevent them from fighting. They are, after all, Chinese fighting dogs and the entire breed was created as fighting entertainment originally. It's in their blood; they can't help it. 

One problem I have with Savannah is that she like to take tours around the neighbourhood whenever she gets the chance. It's probably left over from her street life days. The need to roam and see new places, pee on everything she sees to mark it as hers, over and over again. She takes her chance to run if she is not on a leash between the house and the fence, which doesn't surround our house. She also digs under the fence whenever she can and wherever she can. If we are standing, waiting on her to take a whiz and finish her business she'll usually not go under the fence but if we leave her at any time, unchained, she'll go under it and be off on a little trip. So, when we take her out to stay there for a couple of hours in good weather we have to put her on a chain. Unfortunately her habit is dangerous and annoying. Even though she always comes back, she's out there, running around people's houses, on the street. She could, and has once, gotten hit by a car or worse. She may not come back one day. We do our very best to make sure she's always on the leash between the house and the fence/chain inside the fence, but she's fast and determined some days. 

On the other hand, Tucker just lays out and watches her like she's a lunatic. I imagine him saying "you crazy bi..., you've got it made here, why are you running off trying to get yourself into trouble?" But then, that's the same kind of stuff I say to my daughter when she breaks the rules in school, without the cursing. Sometimes the forbidden is worth the risk to some people -- and dogs I guess.

All of us love the dogs, sometimes more than others. I didn't like it too much when they chewed on some of the wood work around the house, for instance. Erin loves taking them, one at a time, for a walk downtown when she visits on the weekends. Gavin loves running through the house with them as if he's a dog himself (sometimes I think he is). They, especially Tucker, are exactly what I envisioned in a dog/companion. One reason I wanted a dog was because I read that a pet was the only thing in the world that could make a person happy. That's because a person can't help but respond to the unconditional love that the pet will always give them, regardless of how the owner treats them. Not that I would mistreat my pet, but I wasn't sure I could give a pet the love it deserved so I hadn't had one before. Of all the family I am least playful with the dogs. Still, they know their loved and I'm grateful to have them.

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