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He’s doing so well he doesn’t have to stay for the full 24 hours and is coming home tonight!  We’ve got a string of normal vet visits ahead of us to readjust his insulin levels, but that’s a minor adventure after what we experienced this morning.

“The world is a dangerous and uncertain place.  A few odd moments of respect and affection here and there is about as good as life gets.” — Hal Hartley, Ambition

Over the weekend Jen and I got our spankin’ new iPhones, which made us very, very happy.  This morning, after our usual walk, Pascal had a diabetic seizure and is now beginning a 24 hour stay at the emergency vet.  Interestingly, I’m reminded of one of the most truthful and scary quotes by the narrator of A Christmas Story:

Oh, life is like that. Sometimes, at the height of our revelries, when our joy is at its zenith, when all is most right with the world, the most unthinkable disasters descend upon us.

On this day that we witness the fall of two “conquering heroes” I am reminded of my favorite quote from a U.S. General (and also the final line from one of my favorite movies):

“For over a thousand years Roman conquerors returning from the wars enjoyed the honor of triumph, a tumultuous parade. In the procession came trumpeteers, musicians and strange animals from conquered territories, together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments. The conquerors rode in a triumphal chariot, the dazed prisoners walking in chains before him. Sometimes his children robed in white stood with him in the chariot or rode the trace horses. A slave stood behind the conqueror holding a golden crown and whispering in his ear a warning: that all glory is fleeting.”

- Gen. George C. Patton