I Love My Vet, Dr. Mark Bell

I love my vet, Dr. Mark Bell. He understands my big, fat, hairy dog, Theo. And more importantly, he understands me.

And now, I love him even  more (ok, he's pretty handsome too and that helps) because he has a pill I can give Theo every month and it kills all his fleas in less than 48 hours. Theo is a big dog, over 100 pounds, and he's half Chow, so he has a ridiculous thick red coat. His fur is so thick I can't actually get  his skin wet when I wash him with a garden hose.

But this pill, which only costs 17 dollars per month does the trick.  Apparently it makes Theo toxic to   fleas cause they give up the ghost almost instantly. 

I am a notoriously bad bet owner. I feed and love them but that's about it because we live in the country and have four children.. When we leave town for a day we just put Theo out with food and water on the porch. Dr. Bell doesn't judge me or make me feel bad for not getting Theo professionally groomed or sent to a   doggie spa. But we really really love Theo. So much in fact, my son Jack got a tattoo of him (not his own mom). Weird, right?

But when we do have a problem, damn it, Dr. Bell s always got time to squeeze us in and take care of my boy. And he doesn't look at me funny when I sit down on the cold tile floor to keep Theo company.  He just sits right down next to us.

If you need a vet and live in Hot Springs, he's your man...and Theo's too.

Hot Springs...Our Worthless Priceless Mountains

Thank You Lord, oil, diamonds, coal and gas have never been found in our lovely little camel hump mountains.  Hot Springs, Arkansas has beautiful little mountains, they are tiny compared to other mountain rangers, made only  of dirt and rock, covered with  trees and of course there's some super special hot water lowing through them. That's it.  Nothing to go after, nothing that will make a man rich, nothing worth destroying a mountain for.  Thank you Lord.  Because out mountains are so magnificent and if some precious stone or resource was discovered in the heart of these Zig Zag mountains they would be eaten up by bull doziers and blasting caps. Ahhh but no worries for us.  Our splendid little mountains remain and we get to look, hike and meander.We have mountains that are nearly worthless but absolutely priceless.

BBQ In Hot Springs, Arkansas

Hot Springs has some of the greatest BBQ on the planet.  We are so blessed by the God of Ribs.  And most of out bbq joints have been here for years and years.  My personal favorites are Stubby's, on central across from Oaklawn and Mickey's and funky little place on Highway 5, next to the National Park.

Hot Springs is most famous for McClards and I love going there but I I like thick brown sweet and spicy sauce.  That's just how I was raised.

So, Stubby's has Chris the owner, whom I adore and amazing meat.  Go for the ribs or chicken. Mickey's has the best chopped beef and pork sandwiches and I can't stop eating their damn beans.

BBQ, I think, is one of the foods that helps fight depression. So go get you a big plate with lots of sauce and start smiling.

Happy People

I'm reading David Niven's PH.D. The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People. Not bad. So, number one...we are all here for a purpose. We are supposed to get good things done. There's a reason we were born and our lives make a difference. Guess I better get to it.