This is a special dedication to all music lovers, enthusiasts, audiophiles and fanatics;
I was wondering how to come up with a title on this one but it hit me once I got home.
Music definitely cleanses your soul and has healing powers!
It’s been an agonising past month with our little kitten ‘Truffles’. At 4pm today (May 8th) Truffles was put down at just 6 months old, due to a very rare infection referred to as FIP. Thanks to Cornel University, I was able to read as much as I could about this horrible virus that affects cats, mostly under the age of two years and fatal when it’s clinical. There are no known cases of survival to date. The symptoms were spot on; according to Cornel’s report, FIP affects cats many different ways and they all show different symptoms. Eventually the symptoms are similar towards death- extremely low weight, virtually skin and bones, loss of appetite, head lowered at all times, excessive teary eyes, coughing or sneezing blood and eventual collapse due to lack of red blood cells. On Thursday morning, after visiting three separate Vets, I ended up with the little fur ball at the Lort Smith Animal Hospital in Melbourne. After 4&1/2 hours of drip, various scans/x-rays, liver and blood tests, it was diagnosed that Truffles does have clinical FIP, and is in bad state. His eyes were also completely yellow, his tongue was yellow and he constantly felt hot and his entire respiratory system was blocked to the point where he sneezes blood, hence he was also diagnosed with Jaundice . After spending nearly 3 grand on these tests, we decided to put him down today based on all the vets arriving at the same conclusion.
Our little fellow actually outlasted many other cases, and continued to eat well but just couldn’t move as much as since the virus was spreading. When he first arrived in Jan, he would fly across the room, hang on curtains, do pole dances around the living room lamp, ate anything that moved, caught almost every fly or insect that would unwittingly enter the house. The most surprising of all was when he chewed up two Samsung phone chargers, one lap top power cord, and two mobile cable power cords. He also tried to get hold of one of my Nordost power cables but then realised that was a bit too stiff to chew on... he then looked straight up at the Martin Logan’s and thought of scaling these with his impressive wolverine looking claws but didn’t! He knew exactly what not to touch and absolutely loved music, most of all Jazz. Annoyed the fish in the tank numerous times to the point of having to spray eucalyptus all over the stand, and audio rack as this would keep the little bugger away, and after he would do all this crazy stuff, he’d look at you and say “so what?”
I have seen and been through a lot, to the point of having to identify mates’ bodies at the morgue because the parents were far too distraught to go in. Back in home town we had a 35 year bloody civil conflict that virtually destroyed the country and whatever wealth it had. Many mates of mine were in the forces and didn’t last, came home either in pieces or blown to bits. Whatever the case, I was able to muster the strength to move on and help these parents along the way but this little kitten just over-powered me to such an effect, I just couldn’t understand how or why. Until I checked the file and noticed that his birthday was the same as my mum’s (Oct 19th). Mum passed away when I was 11, and I never quite got over it. She suffered greatly, going through chemo, and various types of absurd medication that just destroyed her. Her last trip to Chicago somewhere around 83, for a special medical check up, ended with a broken neck in three separate places after slipping and falling on ice. Anyway, all I can remember is that pops kept going; he never looked down or sad although he was hurting inside. Mum being a jazz pianist always loved when we had jazz LP’s playing on pop’s humble TT rig, then after about a decade came the Apogee system. I realised that Mum loved us unconditionally. Just cared for us and wanted us to have the best wherever and when possible.
Pets don’t care at all if we arrive in a banana boat or a Ferrari. Live in a shoe box or a mansion. Wear a $10 suit or $10K suit or own a Wilson or a Bose. All they want is for us to be around, safe and keep them happy, and they will love you “unconditionally.” It was extremely hard to go through the process of putting the little fellow down. I have never broken down like that since 1984, it was as if I was reliving that day... After the procedure was over, whiles we drove back from the vet, I didn’t say a word. For the first time in history, I couldn’t sit down and listen to my music either. I just couldn’t power up the system since Thursday arvo.
Thanks to JC and Bob for their sentiments, and encouraging to “hang in there” - I definitely hung in there! Appreciated the few hours, minutes and seconds we had with Truffo cat. And tonight after finishing dinner, wifey suggested, “Let’s listen to Miles Davis and Sting!” I was wondering why those two? She pressured me to choose two albums; Miles Davis Kind of Blue and Sting’s Last Ship- dedicated to Truffles. Since after doing something naughty, like chewing wires, socks or shoe laces, he would look at you and say “so what?” and the first track on Kind of Blue was ‘So What!” Sting’s ‘Last Ship’ was definitely a fitting tribute to a fiery ball of energy! Wow, I just sat there and listened to both these entire albums, and repeated the first tracks as well.
Music definitely has a therapeutic way of connecting to your inner feelings/emotions, and it can’t get any better than this. So as the title states, the music stopped, and then continued... So cheers to our loved ones, pets hairy and fur balls, to all those who show unconditional love, I sincerely think they do deserve better, after all there really is no better way to enjoy your music.
I am sure music has touched all of us here in various forms, for better or worse, through the hardest times, family grievances and loss of loved ones, I will always remember one thing- appreciate the music in whatever form it comes, for as along as we are able to enjoy it.
Take care all, RJ
I was wondering how to come up with a title on this one but it hit me once I got home.
Music definitely cleanses your soul and has healing powers!
It’s been an agonising past month with our little kitten ‘Truffles’. At 4pm today (May 8th) Truffles was put down at just 6 months old, due to a very rare infection referred to as FIP. Thanks to Cornel University, I was able to read as much as I could about this horrible virus that affects cats, mostly under the age of two years and fatal when it’s clinical. There are no known cases of survival to date. The symptoms were spot on; according to Cornel’s report, FIP affects cats many different ways and they all show different symptoms. Eventually the symptoms are similar towards death- extremely low weight, virtually skin and bones, loss of appetite, head lowered at all times, excessive teary eyes, coughing or sneezing blood and eventual collapse due to lack of red blood cells. On Thursday morning, after visiting three separate Vets, I ended up with the little fur ball at the Lort Smith Animal Hospital in Melbourne. After 4&1/2 hours of drip, various scans/x-rays, liver and blood tests, it was diagnosed that Truffles does have clinical FIP, and is in bad state. His eyes were also completely yellow, his tongue was yellow and he constantly felt hot and his entire respiratory system was blocked to the point where he sneezes blood, hence he was also diagnosed with Jaundice . After spending nearly 3 grand on these tests, we decided to put him down today based on all the vets arriving at the same conclusion.
Our little fellow actually outlasted many other cases, and continued to eat well but just couldn’t move as much as since the virus was spreading. When he first arrived in Jan, he would fly across the room, hang on curtains, do pole dances around the living room lamp, ate anything that moved, caught almost every fly or insect that would unwittingly enter the house. The most surprising of all was when he chewed up two Samsung phone chargers, one lap top power cord, and two mobile cable power cords. He also tried to get hold of one of my Nordost power cables but then realised that was a bit too stiff to chew on... he then looked straight up at the Martin Logan’s and thought of scaling these with his impressive wolverine looking claws but didn’t! He knew exactly what not to touch and absolutely loved music, most of all Jazz. Annoyed the fish in the tank numerous times to the point of having to spray eucalyptus all over the stand, and audio rack as this would keep the little bugger away, and after he would do all this crazy stuff, he’d look at you and say “so what?”
I have seen and been through a lot, to the point of having to identify mates’ bodies at the morgue because the parents were far too distraught to go in. Back in home town we had a 35 year bloody civil conflict that virtually destroyed the country and whatever wealth it had. Many mates of mine were in the forces and didn’t last, came home either in pieces or blown to bits. Whatever the case, I was able to muster the strength to move on and help these parents along the way but this little kitten just over-powered me to such an effect, I just couldn’t understand how or why. Until I checked the file and noticed that his birthday was the same as my mum’s (Oct 19th). Mum passed away when I was 11, and I never quite got over it. She suffered greatly, going through chemo, and various types of absurd medication that just destroyed her. Her last trip to Chicago somewhere around 83, for a special medical check up, ended with a broken neck in three separate places after slipping and falling on ice. Anyway, all I can remember is that pops kept going; he never looked down or sad although he was hurting inside. Mum being a jazz pianist always loved when we had jazz LP’s playing on pop’s humble TT rig, then after about a decade came the Apogee system. I realised that Mum loved us unconditionally. Just cared for us and wanted us to have the best wherever and when possible.
Pets don’t care at all if we arrive in a banana boat or a Ferrari. Live in a shoe box or a mansion. Wear a $10 suit or $10K suit or own a Wilson or a Bose. All they want is for us to be around, safe and keep them happy, and they will love you “unconditionally.” It was extremely hard to go through the process of putting the little fellow down. I have never broken down like that since 1984, it was as if I was reliving that day... After the procedure was over, whiles we drove back from the vet, I didn’t say a word. For the first time in history, I couldn’t sit down and listen to my music either. I just couldn’t power up the system since Thursday arvo.
Thanks to JC and Bob for their sentiments, and encouraging to “hang in there” - I definitely hung in there! Appreciated the few hours, minutes and seconds we had with Truffo cat. And tonight after finishing dinner, wifey suggested, “Let’s listen to Miles Davis and Sting!” I was wondering why those two? She pressured me to choose two albums; Miles Davis Kind of Blue and Sting’s Last Ship- dedicated to Truffles. Since after doing something naughty, like chewing wires, socks or shoe laces, he would look at you and say “so what?” and the first track on Kind of Blue was ‘So What!” Sting’s ‘Last Ship’ was definitely a fitting tribute to a fiery ball of energy! Wow, I just sat there and listened to both these entire albums, and repeated the first tracks as well.
Music definitely has a therapeutic way of connecting to your inner feelings/emotions, and it can’t get any better than this. So as the title states, the music stopped, and then continued... So cheers to our loved ones, pets hairy and fur balls, to all those who show unconditional love, I sincerely think they do deserve better, after all there really is no better way to enjoy your music.
I am sure music has touched all of us here in various forms, for better or worse, through the hardest times, family grievances and loss of loved ones, I will always remember one thing- appreciate the music in whatever form it comes, for as along as we are able to enjoy it.
Take care all, RJ
