Carole Baskins Diary

Hawthorn Circus Tigers John Cuneo

I sent this to the USDA and FWC:

 

I’ve been asked by John Cuneo's personal care givers to take his last 9 tigers.  They say he is willing to cancel his USDA and any state licenses, in exchange for me taking them off his hands immediately.  There seems to be quite a bit of urgency on his part, so I want to be sure I am not interfering with anything you guys may be planning.

 

I also want to ask for your direction on HOW to legally transfer them from him to us.  His caregivers don't seem to understand, or know anything about the FWC requirements for possession or transfer.  They say they will contact their HQ in IL on Monday to see if they have anything that will satisfy our/your requirement that the cats be transferred to Big Cat Rescue by someone who is legally permitted to have them in FL.

 

Do you know what kind of permit they have, or we need, in order to move the cats here Monday afternoon?

 

Below is my correspondence w/ the caregivers:

 

Dear Chris and Suzanne, on behalf of John Cuneo;

I got your inventory list, so I can create the USDA transfer form if this info is correct:

 

THE HAWTHORN CORPORATION    23675 W CHARDON ROAD    LAKE    GRAYS LAKE  IL  60030   33-C-0053

 

The part I don't know and would need before I can take them is the Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC) permit info.  It is a state permit in addition to the federal USDA permit.

 

In the state of Florida, in order for me (or anyone in FL) to legally accept a tiger from someone, they have to either be brought in via an Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC) import permit OR the owner of the tiger has to have a Florida Wildlife Commission permit to house them in the state.

 

I'm guessing that if the cats came in, just to do some shows, then they had to have an import / travel permit from the Florida Wildlife Commission (myfwc.com) but that may not be what is needed to actually transfer them to a Florida licensee permanently.

 

I am not aware of Michael Ramos having an FWC permit to possess tigers, but he might. I just don't know how that works when cats are expected to just be here for a while and then go back.

 

Unless the tigers are possessed by someone who has an FWC possession permit, I might not be able to take them, unless I can get the FWC to allow us to take them based on their existing travel permit.  The FWC won't be open until Monday for me to confirm that though.

 

Can you text or email me what you can find so we can see if we have what we need to make this happen?

 

Please advise.

 

For the cats,

 

Carole Baskin, CEO of Big Cat Rescue

 

The FWC asked for me to gather all the info I could on where the cats were, which I could only presume were with Ramos, and then followed up with:

 

Happy to help in any way I can.  If you can't find the tigers, I am willing to try and force the issue of my inspection of them, which you will be invited to attend of course. :-)

 

We have 9 empty tiger enclosures open and waiting for the cats, so if you seize them, we are prepared to take all of them, and hold them if there is any litigation, but my sense of the matter is that John Cuneo is ready to let them go.

 

According to news reports dating back to 2003, John Cuneo has been trying to unload his tigers and elephants for a decade, with no takers. He tried to pay me $1000 per cat to take his cats from him years ago.

 

In 2015 he asked me to take his last 28 tigers, via Glenn L. Hamilton who is the Vice President of Real Estate at Bank of America, Private Wealth Management (US Trust) in downtown Chicago.  It's my understanding he is John Cuneo's money manager.  At that time Glenn was fearful Cuneo may sell them into a worse life than they have.  Mr. Cuneo's family started Bank of America and his vast amount of wealth (or what's left of it) is still held under Trust at Bank of America.  Some say he started the white tiger trade in the United States.

 

Our goal is to end it.  Cuneo's driver told us they already placed 7 tig

https://www.swarthmore.edu/bulletin/archive/summer-2017-issue-iv-volume-cxiv/american-tiger.html  

 

Tracy McManus from the Times came out to do a follow up story on the Dade City Wild Things debacle.

Later I emailed her with this:

 

I just came across this article, that may be of interest to you.

 

Bill and Kiz came to us in 2011 looking for the cubs they had known in 1996 (Andre, Arthur & Amanda and some others)  The cats had been rescued from a backyard breeder in NJ in 2003 https://bigcatrescue.org/joan-byron-marasek-tigers-only-preservation-society/ and sent to a sanctuary in TX.

 

By 2011 the Texas facility was in bankruptcy and animal protection groups, including HSUS and IFAW were desperately trying to relocate 400 lions, tigers, bears, chimps, etc.  They were down to the last 7 tigers when Bill Nimmo came to Big Cat Rescue and asked me to help him find the cats he used to know.

 

We were in the process of transporting a cougar from a woman who had died, leaving 20+ cats in a dilapidated horse barn in her back yard, to a good sanctuary out in Nevada called Wildlife Haven.  The owner had the space, but not the staff to transport the cat.  On the trip back, my daughter, Jamie Veronica, stopped by Wild Animal Orphanage in San Antonio, TX to take photos of the last remaining tigers and see if she could stripe match them against the photos Bill and Kiz had of the cubs from 1996.

 

Astonishingly, Arthur, Andre and Amanda were still alive and still together.  Bill and Kiz paid all of the expenses to rescue those three and sent them to us where they continue to support the cats.  They weren't going to leave 4 other tigers behind, so they rescued them and sent them to Carolina Tiger Rescue in N.C.

 

Kiz' story picks up from there about how finding those long lost cats changed their lives and the trajectory of their retirement.  The Colorado rescue she speaks about is where the cats you met today, Gabrielle, Andy, Seth and Priya (who we passed but didn't visit) all came from.

 

http://bulletin.swarthmore.edu/summer-2017-issue-iv-volume-cxiv/american-tiger

 

American Tiger

 

In worn-out Levi’s, Kizmin Reeves ’72 ignored the bracing Colorado cold. As the wind struck in sharp, punchy gusts, she leaned closer to the chain-link fence, talking quietly with 4-year-old Waldo, a tiger pacing at the cage’s edge.

 

He lifted his chin and chuffed, a rush of throaty air. Reassuring the 500-pound animal, she eyed the cramped dirt yard behind him that was his home.

 

For now.

 

Not long ago, Reeves discovered the mysterious and largely unregulated world of privately owned tigers in the U.S. The rise in captive breeding and ramshackle roadside zoos tell of a sordid industry too abysmal—too dangerous—for her to turn a blind eye. Dragging this shadow world into the light, she and husband Bill Nimmo walked away from Wall Street careers to found Tigers in America, a nonprofit devoted to rescuing the magnificent, fierce—and, tragically, growing—American tiger population.

 

The decrepit conditions in Colorado where young Waldo was housed sum it all up. Scattered behind him were a metal beer keg, two empty bowls, and some blowing trash. Even with an injured shoulder, he relentlessly paced, like an -agitated colonel.

 

“A starving tiger is terrible to see,” says Reeves.

 

Stories like Waldo’s, although they sound rare, are becoming less so. According to the World Wildlife Fund, around 3,890 tigers are left in the wild—a drop of 97 percent over the last hundred years—living in 13 countries including India, Indonesia, and China. In the U.S., however, the estimated number of tigers kept in private captivity hovers around 7,000. Only about 400 are in accredited zoos, with the rest in roadside attractions, private menageries, or kept by backyard breeders. Seven states have no laws at all on owning wild animals.

 

“There’s no way of knowing the true extent of the problem, since no single agency tracks who keeps tigers,” says Debbie Leahy, manager

Email to LaWanna about texting.

I am sorry for being so rude last night about texting...and for this long email.

 

There is no way you could know that my phone pings me every few minutes throughout the day because it will be an appointment (usually a reporter) at the front gate, a big donor at the gate, the wifi / explore people trying to work with Randall and I on keeping the cameras running, Gale asking me to lock up or let out a cat, the vet group of  Dr. Liz, Dr. Justin, Gale and Jamie all texting back and forth over the sick cats or some vendor or worker wanting my immediate attention.

 

I could miss a life or death ping because of all the non vital texts I get in between and I find myself, more and more becoming deaf to it because I just can't get anything done when I have to check my phone every few minutes.  Yesterday, it was literally every few seconds.

 

On top of that, I was rushing to the Cheetah presentation because no one there brought the right cable for the presenter, so I had to go get it.  I figured I'd put my bike on the bike rack on my truck, and take both of them outside the gate so I could leave right after the presentation.  I'm driving down the road from the Party House to the Church House and notice my bike isn't in the rear view mirror.

 

I hop out to find out why and see that the bike rack has broken, and I'm dragging my bike, upside down over the asphalt drive, because it's hung in the lower stirrups.  The thing is that the bike is so heavy, and putting such pressure on the straps that I can't undo them without a Herculean effort of lifting all the weight up off the stirrups with my left hand and using my right to unfasten the strap...and then your texts start flying in.

 

I don't know if it's an emergency and I need to drop the bike or not.  There are four pings right in a row. That's usually an emergency.  And it wasn't.  Thus the text to use email instead, if it isn't an emergency or time sensitive.

 

During LIVE it is helpful for you to let me know if I should say something, but the problem there is that when the text pops up, it blocks my screen, so I can't see if the camera is showing people a cat, or a bar, due to the focus.  99 times out of 100, when I try to swipe away the text, it closes FB, and switches me over to text mode instead.

 

Then I have to close text mode, reopen FB and I don't know if that creates lag for viewers, but it's really hard to do with the iPhone in the stabilizer. The stabilizer wants to correct for every bump or touch, which makes it bounce away from me at the slightest touch.  I don't know what to do there, except try to limit texts during LIVE to critical ones.

 

For the cats,

 

Carole Baskin, CEO of Big Cat Rescue

 

Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and I’ve been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/

 

I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.  

 

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

 

You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org

 

Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue

 

Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.  Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk

16 minutes felt like 16 hours

Yesterday Sabre the 25 year old leopard (and world’s oldest if Guinness was right that previous record holder was 24) got overheated.  At 4:15 PM Sue Messineo called and said Sabre had been sleeping in the same spot all day and as the sun was setting, he was no longer in the shade.  She didn’t think he could walk well enough to move, now that he was hot.  She had already given him a frozen blood cicle and had been hosing him with cool water, but he was still unable to walk a few feet to shade.

 

When I got there I saw nothing we could make shade with, so I sent Sue, Rebecca and Intern Jamie? to get shade cloth, tarps and snaps.  I climbed up on top of his lock out and made myself into a contorted wall hanging to create as much shade over his whole body as I could.  Every muscle was straining to the point that I thought all my ligaments were just going to tear from the joints.  It seemed to take them forever, but that was probably just because I was so strained.

 

We hooked 3 tarps together and since I was already up on the side of the cage wall, I fastened it up high.  We then draped it down at about a 45 degree angle and affixed to Jinx’ cage next door so plenty of air flow could go through, but no sun.  Sabre was still licking his circle, and acting pretty unconcerned with all of the activity.  Not knowing when he drank last, I asked Sue to get some buckets for water.  She said she didn’t know where any were.  Rebecca and the intern said they didn’t know either.  I texted Gale, but then remembered that there were big buckets in Aspen Echo’s empty cage, so I ran over and got a bucket and an extra water bowl with a lower side, in case he couldn’t stand.

 

We pushed the bowl right up under his face full of water and he had a good long drink.  Meanwhile I’ve texted the vets and finally, Dr. Liz Wynn responds and says we should take him inside to cool off.  How the heck am I supposed to do that?!?  He can’t get up but there’s nothing wrong with his mouth full of teeth.  Jamie calls in and says we don’t have a transport that I can take inside the cage, so I’ll have to cut a hole in the feeding lockout, if I can get him in it.

 

Sue asks if she can give Sabre some half frozen meat to cool him from the inside out and when she does, he stands up, so I ask her to coax him into the feeding lockout.  I go to shut the door, but it won’t shut because someone has jerked it off the top rail by opening it too hard.  I keep tension on the rope as Sue uses the feeding stick to push it down, one square at a time.  Well, this was a huge accomplishment!  Moving him from here will be a lot easier than if he were in the middle of the cage.

 

Everyone has left for the day, so it’s just Sue, Becky, Matt and me, so I choose a transport we can lift alone.  Gale shows up and calls all the interns back to work and gets the transport and poles we usually use.  Gale and I cut a hole in the lockout and and then she used some meat to lure Sabre into the transport.  Well that all went a lot better than I expected.

 

We take him inside the West Boensch Cat Hospital and the vet prescribes 2000 units of sub q fluids.  Sabre is exhausted by the ordeal and doesn’t put up a fuss.  Gale had been scratching him with a back scratcher, so he acted like he didn’t even notice the little pin prick.  We put cameras on him to watch him through the night and shared the links with everyone so they could help.

 

His night was uneventful and the next morning Jennifer Ruszcyk tries to get him to take his morning meds in a piece of meat and he drops it.  She puts it back in his mouth, via a feeding stick, several times and he just keeps dropping it.  Gale gives him 2000 more units of sub q fluids but texts the vet group that Saber’s eyes are not focusing and she thinks he’s fading on us.  Dr. Wynn texts back and asks if she should come over on her lunch break.  Gale asks me to come talk to her first.

 

When I get there we have a good cry

Today Jamie turns 37

 

 

 

 

Where did the time go?

 

Yesterday I took a couple hours off to just go do a family thing.  Mom is interested in the 86 year old widower, Manifred Lively.  We’ve known Fred for nearly 40 years.  He has a lovely home on Lake Keystone, and has often held church picnics there but in all these years, I’ve never gone.  Mom invited Fred to family dinner last Thursday, and Fred reciprocated by invited her whole family out for lunch, jet skiing and a ride around the lake on his pontoon boat.

 

The boat used to be the Anheuser Busch Paddle Boat and belonged to Art Pepin.  (We are friends with Tom Pepin, his son and Tom’s second wife, Lauren.  They let Jamie release Thor the bobcat there and allow her to track him on their 100 ac off Racetrack Road.) The paddleboat was used as a floating billboard and party place for the company and traveled up and down the Hillsborough River.  I don’t know how long ago Fred got it, but it no longer had the faux paddles and there were times I thought it might sink because it was taking on so much water over the bow.

 

I spent a lot of time on Lake Keystone as a child.  By the collective best estimates, Momma Jacquie and BigDaddy moved into the Wayne Road house circa 1969, maybe earlier.  They lived there until about 1992, at least, according to Fred.  Then they moved to Golf Club Lane in Carrollwood.

 

So many of my memories must have died with that part of my brain in the car accident where I had amnesia, but I have a vivid image of Jamie, about 3 years old, toddling on the bank of Lake Keystone, at my grandparents home.  She had impatiens in her long, curly hair and was smiling.  I don’t remember her smiling much.  I was always so angry (with whatever stupid thing Don had just done) or consumed with business worries that I was always impatient with Jamie.  (The irony of the impatience and impatiens is not lost on me here)

 

Jamie loved the water.  She swims like a fish, so there’s never been any worry about her drowning.  On this day she’s happy.  Maybe I remember the moment so well because I drew it.  I used to sketch and paint and although I was never one of those sentimental moms who lived and breathed through their children, I was captivated by Jamie’s ability to survive my poor parenting skills, and be so happy on this day.

 

Someone must have taken a photo of her.  Maybe it was me.  I’m pretty sure I drew the sketch from the photo, as that is how I would usually draw things.  I no longer have the photo or the sketch, but I can still see it in my mind.  That’s tenuous.  Fast forward three and a half decades and it is still so rare for me to see her happy.  I cry writing this because all I really want is for her to be happy.

 

Nothing else I did, to build the real estate business, or the sanctuary really matters in the end.  The only thing that matters is love.

 

Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and I’ve been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/

 

I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.  

 

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

 

You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org

 

Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue

 

Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.  Closing graphic with permission

This was coming to me second hand from someone who didn't want to sign their name publicly, so I have no way to know if what she told me was true and was merely trying to assist her in filing a complaint if she'd agree to use her real name. Welcome to my morning! Dear Susan and X, x wants her name left out of it because she said Bonnie Ringo threatened blackmail to say that x's monkey, who was sleeping in the back of the transport at the time, bit her. She said her husband was with her and would be willing to sign his name to the complaint. I explained that without the USDA having someone they could talk to or use as a witness, they won't take the complaint seriously. They would like your help in filing a complaint to USDA and the state of Oregon against Bonnie Ringo of Tiger Preservation Center. We didn't discuss it, but maybe they would like to have that info included on our page about Ringo here: http://911animalabuse.com/bonnie-ringo/ They didn't get any photos or videos but did see dilapidated cages, insufficient shelter, and Ringo kept trying to coerce x into petting her leopard, which is a direct violation. x says she is also aware of Ringo's oft referred to debilitated mental health and her use of drugs to try and manage it (apparently ineffectively) x is a transporter of exotic animals and says Ringo frequently breeds and buys exotic cats that are transported to her. On this trip x was bringing her a Ti-Liger cub. She didn't say where from, but my guess is Joe of http://911animalabuse.com/gw-exotics-animal-foundation/ Would you email her x or call x and help walk her through the complaint process? Thanks both of you!!! For the cats, Carole Baskin, CEO of Big Cat Rescue "Judge me by the enemies I have made." - Franklin D. Roosevelt Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and I’ve been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views. If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story. The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/ I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story. My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet. You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile! Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion. Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk

Letter to Greg Mercer of Jungle Scout

Hi Greg and Jungle Crew,

 

I'm writing to let you know that you may be saving the tiger, and other beautiful creatures of the jungle...and I know how much you love the jungle. By saving the wild cats of our planet's jungles it saves the entire eco-system for all wildlife there.  Those jungles, in turn, provide the oxygen we all need to survive; so maybe I should start by saying you saved my life ;-)

 

Here's how you are doing it:

 

Through the amazing tools, like Jungle Scout and the Chrome extensions, Jump Send, and others that I want to use, like Splitly and Fetcher you are providing tools that will make it easier for me to raise funds to protect, and awareness about, the plight of tigers (who have seen a decline in wild populations of 96.8% in just the last 20 years).

 

I've hungrily devoured every podcast, google hangout, or line of text I could find about your products and am up to episode 15 in the #MillionDollarCaseStudy Your excellent content, delivery and guests have made it possible for me to navigate areas of SellerCentral that I didn't even know existed even after watching every one of the Amazon University videos.

 

Big Cat Rescue is the leading 501c3 non profit sanctuary in the efforts to end the trade in exotic cats as pets, props and parts.  There are only a handful of accredited sanctuaries that rescue lions, tigers and other wild cats; mostly from the pet trade.  Those cats end up in the pet trade when they hit 12 weeks of age and are no longer cute and cuddly photo props.  We are home to about 70 such cats, but we can't rescue our way out of this crisis.

 

Ending the captive trade is critical to saving the cats in the wild, because the legal (yes, it's actually legal in most places to pay $40 for a USDA exhibiter permit and have a tiger) trade provides a smokescreen for illegal poaching.  In the U.S. if someone is caught with tiger teeth, or skins all they have to do is say it was their pet.  End of investigation.

 

What sets Big Cat Rescue apart is that we are part of a Big Cat Coalition that is leading the efforts to ban the private possession of big cats via the Big Cat Public Safety Act HR 1818.  See BigCatAct.com

 

So, what are YOU doing to protect tigers?

 

You are helping me create another revenue stream, and a way to reach people on Amazon who might not have any idea how dire the situation is for big cats.  We have to raise almost 4 million dollars a year to take care of our 70+ cats and fund our efforts in education and advocacy.  We've done that for the past 25 years through a combination of donations, visitor revenue and sales from our onsite and online gift shop at BigCatRescue.biz  There is no government funding for this work.

 

My goal is to build the Amazon business, using all of your grrrreat (could not help myself) advice.  I just had my first shipment from China to FBA initiated and am working on my second.  A bit a of hiccup on the second one as Amazon decided that Tiger's Eye bracelets are fine jewelry, so they are requiring a $5000 application fee.

 

I think they will waive it though as we are one of the 13 charities they are featuring on Prime Day tomorrow in their Smile.Amazon push.  We get about $3500 a month from a large number of our 2.2 million FB fans using Smile.Amazon.com on our behalf.

 

If I can grow the Amazon FBA business large enough, then I intend to duplicate the efforts for my other business at CatRescue.biz  It is a for profit business so that I can take all of my after tax profits there to donate to the politicians who can push our federal bill through and into law.  The bill will end 99% of the abuse in this country and hopefully in time to save the last remaining tigers in the wild. Non profits can donate to advocacy, and we spend the limit allowed by the IRS each year, but non profits cannot donate directly to politicians, so that's why I started up CatRescue.biz this year.

 

I've owned a multimillion dollar real est

Placed my first order to be fulfilled by Amazon

This $588.00 is payment for 300 Imperial Jasper 8mm 19 cm stretch bracelets that I am going to push on Amazon and have fulfilled by Amazon.  They are the most popular style of beaded bracelet being sold on Amazon currently, is why I chose them.  

 

Nanning (the factory in China) is labeling each bracelet and sending the whole box to Amazon's fulfillment center in TX for this price, including shipping to America, so we have $1.86 in each one.

 

We are retailing for 15.05 on Amazon.  Our competition is selling theirs for 8.99 so I may mark it down, since we won't have any staff cost in getting them out to customers.  The competitor is selling over 640 bracelets a month grossing over 5,400 a month in sales.

 

Amazon is going to charge me 5. per bracelet to do the work, but if I can sell just as many, since our product has the added benefit of saving tigers, then there is 2.13 profit each X 640 mo = $1363.00 without having to do anything other than keep Amazon supplied.  There will be advertising costs to begin with, but that should end as we gain traction organically with good reviews.

 

I am placing a similar order for the Tiger's Eye bracelets, but have ordered 500 and am checking into having them branded on the little flat clasp area with BCR or I heart BCR.  I think I can still bring them in under 2.00.  I will be shipping all of those to Amazon for fulfillment as well.

 

Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and I’ve been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/

 

I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.  

 

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

 

You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org

 

Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue

 

Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.  Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk

Today we unveiled the tribute sign to my Dad by the FunCation; his last project.

Howie has been working on this since last August, going through two different vendors and then having to insist that a section of granite that broke be re created for the sign.  It’s a beautiful memorial and Dad would have hated all the fuss, but it was touching to see such a huge crowd of family, friends and volunteers come to pay their respects.

 

Chuck managed to hold it together to share some insights about our father.  He had to stop several places along the way, as emotion over flowed, but he was surprisingly in control for the most part.  Trundy video taped it and I’ve asked her to send me the file.  Chuck started out by saying that people would remember Dad for his smile, if they were ever lucky enough to talk with him long enough to see it.  They would remember him for his work ethic, his love of family and his love of God.  I guess he said that for Mom and the preacher, Colly Caldwell and his wife, who were there because they had donated to the sign.

 

Chuck went on to say that Dad was a runner.  After his heart attack and the damage done to his leg when the surgeons removed some of the veins to use around his heart, Dad could only shuffle along.  In the 20 years he worked here, I’d only experienced him moving fast once.  Chuck told of his time that he saw Dad run.

 

I never knew it until today, but when Chuck first came to work here, he was using the bobcat tractor to pull out invasive species trees called Brazilian peppers.  Emboldened by the power of the bobcat, Chuck was taking larger and larger bites into the trees and pulling them out by the roots.  He did that right up until the point that he flipped the bobcat over and was face down in the dirt.  Not wanting to set the whole thing on fire, because he wasn’t sure he’d be able to escape the rollover cage, Chuck turned off the key.  The sudden silence caused Dad to look up and see his son, upside down, in the deathly quiet bobcat.

 

Chuck said that Dad ran across the field like he’d never seen him run.  He out ran Scott Haller who was 20 years younger.  Turns out Chuck was fine.

 

Chuck went on to talk about how every time a family member needed Dad, to help them alongside the road with a broken down vehicle, or to help them with a repair, or to help financially, Dad was always running in to the rescue.  Jamie and I had just been talking about the fact that we have no one to call any more.  We didn’t realize how much we relied on him to fix everything, even when his body was so close to wearing out.

 

Thinking of Dad running reminded me of the only time in my adult life that I experienced him running.  Twice when I was a kid he ran as I had run-ins with a coral snake (age 6?) and a water moccasin (age 9?)  On this night we were both leaving the sanctuary via Easy Street after dark.  If I had to guess, I’d say it was circa 2005-2007 because my life was being threatened by then, pretty regularly, by the breeders and dealers who were angry about the sea change they attributed to me.

 

Dad left first, made his turn off the dirt road to the right and then the U-turn at the light.  I was approaching Citrus Park Dr., when I saw a kitten dart across Easy St.  I parked, hopped out, ran to the side of the road and then leapt for the kitten.  No sooner had I grabbed the kitten, a hand yanked me off my feet and out of the brush.  I held onto the kitten for dear life; knowing that she would end up in traffic and be killed, if I let go.  My thoughts were more on the kitten’s plight, than wondering what gorilla had just jerked me off my feet.

 

Dad, the kitten and I were all pretty stunned, as we came face to face.  Apparently, after he had made the U-turn, across 4 lanes of traffic, he’d slowed down to see my car stop. He pulled off the road to see why.  When he saw me lurch into the brush he thought someone had grabbed me.  In the time it took me to leap into the bushes and nab the k