Memory Lane

Friday after the funeral and the visiting with the relatives, Alex and I took off. But before we could head North, we had to go East, to Goldmount Vet clinic. When I was a kid, Shirley was the local vet. And I'm not talking a town vet, she is a country vet. She has her clinic on the same property as her home, out in the middle of nowhere, just south of the pimple on the butt of the world. She takes care of your cattle, your sheep, your horses, hell, when I was a kid, she even had a big cat there. Someone thought it would be a good idea to get a cougar kitten, and when it got bigger, and got injured in the process of trashing their home, they took it to Shirley. They wanted it healed... and not returned, TYVM. So she took him in, and gave him a home. I remember being a kid and peering in the window of the solid wall stall that "kitty" was in. I remember seeing the big cat stretched out relaxing with a cast on one front leg.

Shirley took care of everything. She also trusted her clients to give their animals their own shots, not like vets today. Not the rabies shots, of course, law requires a vet to administer those, but the other shots, she sold them in syringes in the correct dosage for the weight of the animal, and you gave your horse or your dogs and cats their own shots.

Alex and I went there to pick up shots for the dogs, and wormer and a special concoction of Shirley's called Red Wonder. It's a liquid that can be applied to cuts or any open wound and it is a miracle how this 'stuff' heals animals. It's a mystery what's in it, I assume things like antibiotics and such.

We walked in to the office and I was swept back in time immediately. That antiseptic smell, the chairs in the waiting room, the wall of shelves full of medication, it was all the same. I hadn't been there in probably 15 years. And Shirley didn't look like she had aged a bit. One sign that told me that time had passed was the fact that a guy named Chance rang up our purchases, and last time I saw him, he was toddling about begging his mom, Shirley to let him ride one of the big horses instead of the pony that was assigned to him.

It was a great visit, but it sort of made me feel old...
It was nice to see that some things, the things I loved as a kid...never change.
More from my Memory Lane stroll later...