The False Ducks Blahg

      Okay, only 12 days since the last blahg.  That must be some kind of record.  I’m going to provide a little update here on my cats and then branch out into something different.  That’s the short intro to this blahg but let’s hope it’s a little longer on content.

      I mentioned in my last blahg that our previous kitten, Willow, died on Father’s Day. We had learned that she had feline infectious peritonitis which was the same disease that killed our other kitten, Stella.  The veterinarian told us we did nothing wrong and that the odds were astronomical that two kittens from two different cities brought into the same house would die of the same disease.  That didn’t make us feel better and we were at the point where we swore off getting another kitten and settled down to enjoying our adult cats Frank and June. 

     Let me jump ahead to Labour Day weekend.  We had some guests coming over for the end of summer dinner and we were serving roast beef and trimmings.  I wanted to also serve corn on the cob and so I went looking for a nearby store or roadside vendor.  After a couple of stops, I realized it was the end of the summer and the corn was in short supply.  I finally remembered a vegetable market outside of Deseronto, Ontario, not far from where we live in Demorestville.  They were open on the Sunday and they advertised corn!  They also advertised free abandoned kittens! 

     I knew I should have purchased the corn and not inquired about the kittens but curiosity had gotten the best of me.  I asked about the kittens and the young woman in the market explained the kittens had been abandoned at the market and they were free to any takers.  Yes, they were abandoned and free.  The sign didn’t lie.  I think the young woman thought I was odd because she didn’t go into any other details.  In her mind, the sign spoke for itself.  She went outside and gathered up two kittens and brought them into the store.  The first, an all black kitten, freed itself from her grasp and took off running.  It wanted to remain free.  That kitten’s understanding of the “free” on the sign was about liberty to roam.  I didn’t challenge the kitten’s interpretation and turned my attention to the grey and white tabby that remained. 

     Luckily, the kitten that remained in the young woman’s arms was very gentle and a female to boot. 

Zoey

Frank’s the only male cat in this house and we wanted to keep it that way.  I was interested in taking the kitten home but hesitant because we had not fared well with the last two kittens.  Also, I thought I should talk it over with my wife Jeanette and our 14 year old daughter Abbie who was still at home.  Abbie took the death of Willow very had and I didn’t want to set her up for more grief.  So, I took the corn home and we had a great dinner with our friends and I informed Jeanette and Abbie about the kitten. 

     We talked over the option of the new kitten the next day and none of us were sure we wanted to make the commitment.  In the end, we decided to drive out and see the kitten and then make our decision.  We found the kitten lying outside under one of the vegetable stands.  At first, I thought it was dead.  It was so still.  I was afraid to let Abbie get any closer.  I gently nudged the kitten and she awoke and stretched.  I picked her up and passed her between Jeanette and Abbie.  Neither of them were sure what to do.  Abbie was in tears.  The memory of Stella and Willow made her very hesitant about thinking about taking on a new kitten.  I made the decision and said we should take her home because we had lots of room and lots of love to give.  I know now, that was the right decision. 

     Abbie eventually called her Zoey.  We had a little bit of a scare after she was with us for two weeks because she got sick and became very lethargic.  She was running a fever when we took her to the vet but some antibiotics brought her back to full health.  Now she is very active and has two speeds:  Asleep & Very Fast.  Below, is a short video taken a couple days after Zoey came into our home.  She settled in right away and did not make strange.  You can see her in the video, playing nicely with Abbie. 

Frank lounges on his new cat couch.

     I have mentioned our only male cat, Frank, before.  He was our Christmas cat that showed up about 5 years ago.  He’s an indoor/outdoor cat but lately he’d become more indoors.  We estimate that he is around 8 years old and we get his shots annually.  This year, we didn’t get his shots and two weeks ago we noticed he wasn’t eating properly and his mouth appeared to be sore.  He was eating on one side with some difficulty.  I took him to the vet thinking it was probably just some bad teeth because we had gone through that with June a couple years ago.  Unfortunately, what I learned from the vet was a far sight worse than a few bad teeth.  Frank had lost a lot of weight since his check up last year. 

     I agreed to have some blood work done up on Frank and I learned later that day that both his white blood cell and red blood cell counts were very low.  They were going to let me know the next morning what it might possibly be.  None of the possibilities were good and I was expecting the worst.  The next morning the call came from the vet that it wasn’t a number of things which I won’t go into here but they wanted another blood sample so they could test for feline leukemia.  I had been told that the leukemia and feline aids were possibilities as well as the presence of a blood parasite.  I was promised the results by noon of that day.  I asked plainly what Frank’s chances were if it was leukemia and I was told he would probably live no longer than a month.  I was devastated.  Meanwhile, I had updated Jeanette and Abbie about all of this and Abbie was an emotional wreck.  She went to school that morning not knowing if Frank had leukemia or not. 

     The call came around noon as promised and I was relieved to hear it was not leukemia.  Unfortunately, I was told Frank tested positive for the feline aids and negative for the blood parasite.  I was also told that this might be a false positive and the blood parasite presence might be more likely.  The vet was going to send Frank’s blood sample off to be tested for the blood parasite but it would be three days before we knew the result.  In the meantime, we began an antibiotic and steroid treatment for the blood parasite because this is the treatment for it.  Two days later, relieving us of having to wait another day, we found out that Frank did indeed have the blood parasite.  As I said, this is treatable and we give Frank pills twice daily and squirt a liquid antibiotic into his mouth also twice daily.  He’s perked right up but if anyone ever tells you it’s easy to give cat’s medicine then they’ve never done it before.  The prognosis for Frank is good and we’ll give off with a sigh of relief and a few prayers.

June looking serene.

     June is fine.  She plays with Zoey and ignores Frank.  She likes to eat and she loves to sit on my lap even if I say no.  I think that’s all I need to say about June. 

     And now for something completely different…JAZZ!  I think I might have mentioned here before that I’m a fan of jazz.  To be more precise, I like Dixieland and Frisco Jazz.  If I haven’t spoken about Bob Scobey and his Frisco Jazz Band before then let me say, I’m going to dedicate a whole blahg to Bob Scobey and Clancy Hayes in the near future.  And I’ve already dedicated part blahgs to Margaret Ann & The Ja-da Quartet.  I love vinyl records as well and when I find an unknown treasure then I have to let others know.  This happened to me recently. 

     As I said, I love vinyl records and jazz.  Last week my love of the two was combined in a new discovery.  At a local thrift store, I came across a record by The Bridge City Dixieland Jazz Band.  I had never heard of this group before and if you research them on the Internet you probably won’t find much.  It appears that this self-titled record is the only one they made.  What a pity!  All I can find out about them is what is written on the back cover of the record.  Click on the image below to read more about them. 

     So, what do we know about The Bridge City Dixieland Jazz Band?  They were formed in 1967 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan here in Canada.  In fact, they were formed for Canada’s Centennial in 1967.  I didn’t know that Saskatoon was nick-named Bridge City.  After that, we don’t know more than what we read on the back cover.  The only other thing I do know is they play good Dixieland.  Here’s a couple of samples: 

	The Bridge City Dixieland Jazz Band – INDIANA
	THE FALSEDUCKS BLAHG

	The Bridge City Dixieland Jazz Band – DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE
	THE FALSEDUCKS BLAHG

     It’s a shame that this album will never be released on CD so that the world can hear it.  If you can’t find the LP then you’ll never know how great this band is.  That’s why I’ve decided to post the whole record here as a download.  I transferred all of the tracks to my computer and created MP3 versions.  The file is zipped so you’ll have to have a program to unzip it.  The file also contains the back and front cover art.  Here’s the link: 

http://www.mediafire.com/download/vo67ll71mbi5bxi/Bridge_City_Dixieland_Jazz_Band.rar

     Now, speaking of other jazz albums.  Not that long ago I also picked up another jazz record at another thrift store.  This time it was an LP called “Radio” by Borgy’s Banjo Reunion.  Again, another Canadian band but this time out of Toronto.  You can click on the front and back cover images to see more.  They did put out a couple more records, which I don’t have, entitled “There’s Been Some Changes Made” & “Banjo Favorites By Borgy Borgerson.”  If I ever track those down then I’ll post some samples here.  Below are a couple of tracks from the LP “Radio”: 

	Borgy’s Banjo Reunion. – ALABAMA JUBILEE
	THE FALSEDUCKS BLAHG

	Borgy’s Banjo Reunion. – WOOJA BOOJEE WOOJA
	THE FALSEDUCKS BLAHG

     Again, I want to share this great music with the world and am offering up the whole record through the following download link: 

http://www.mediafire.com/download/jrs1cp4lm8u3sez/Borgy’s%20Banjo%20Reunion%20-%20Radio.rar

If I ever find the other two LPs I’ll offer them up as well. 

     One last jazz sample comes from something that I don’t have in my collection.  I went looking for obscure jazz bands and came across a reference to the Salt City Six.  What I learned about them is that they were originally the Salt City Five and hailed from Syracuse, New York.  I didn’t know that Syracuse had old Salt mines that gave the city the nickname Salt City.  You learn something new every day. 

     The Salt City Five/Six put out a few albums and did some extensive touring throughout the 1950s and 1960s.  I wish I owned some of their records but I have discovered the next best thing.  There is a website devoted to this great band and under the “music” section you can download all of their records and some rare radio material and live concerts.  You can find it all at:  http://www.saltcity56.com/.  This is a band that I’m enjoying very much and I hope to find their LPs.  Give a listen to a couple of their tracks below.  The first is “It’s a Long Way From Tipperary” from the LP “The Salt City Six – Plays Dixieland from Memphis to Tipperary” 

	THE SALT CITY SIX. – IT’S A LONG WAY TO TIPPERARY
	THE FALSEDUCKS BLAHG

Next up is “Fidgety Feet” from the Salt City Five LP “Salt City Five” on the Jubilee label. 

	THE SALT CITY FIVE. – FIDGETY FEET
	THE FALSEDUCKS BLAHG

     I’ll close on that note…that musical note that is.