Travis In Austin

LOL, she was 11 at the time, so I don't think it was his wife, then or now.

Trivia question: Who is the girl on the cover?

Garth, That is an excellent idea and one I hope to accomplish as well. Travis

I would be happy just running into some prerecorded 7" reel to reel tapes once in awhile. If anyone runs into these please let me know, or someone selling an entire record collection, at least 750 lps, even up to 5000. If anyone is looking for something in particular please let me know and I will keep my eyes open (other then the obvious things like $25 CW's, or 10 C-30's). If I do run into such a steal, I will offer it to a forum brother. Travis

An obvious subterfuge, just look at the guilty look on his face.[H]

As I reported recently, our forum brother Timmkid (Tim) and his three friends recently swung through Austin for a Holiday. Tim bought my MX-110 and got it all shipped off safe and sound and is enjoying it with his MC-30's back in The Netherlands. After visiting Austin for a few days they checked out some of the other areas in Central Texas like Lukenbach, the Alamo, etc. However, I have come to learn that while Tim thought he was not being watched he snuck off to audition some of the other guy's stuff. Here he is caught red handed.

Day 2: Thanks for the encouragement OB, I sure can use it that is for sure. I still have not smoked, but my hats off to Gary, and all the rest who have quit, especially in the last month or so. I think about it constantly and it is nice to be able to type to keep my mind off of it. The Chantix is helping but it is still very challenging. Travis

I started taking the Chantix last Friday, and my last Cig/Cigar was last night at 11:30 p.m. I am really early into this obviously, but the cravings urges are pretty strong, but not as strong when I have tried to quit in the past. I had a Cohiba Esplindido last light and it tasted oh so good. I must have about $1000 worth of cuban cigars in the humidor that I am depressed I won't be able to smoke. Well just typing this got me through another bout of cravings, so I will report back later. Travis

That is a great shot, I had never seen that before. I like that photo too, it puts the size of his head in perspective, it was always hard to grasp his size in photos. Travis

That Michael, Our big softy. Don't you need a good mouser around your place? They sure are cute, glad you are a 1000 miles away because my wife is putting the heat on me for a white cat with blue eyes, and one of those looks like it could be close. Travis

I got this off the net, and it may be a bit dated: Tobacco Advertisment Skyrockets Since 1997 the amount of money spent on tobacco advertisements have doubled, after an increase of 17 percent from last year. Companies are spending 11.2 billion dollars a year, or 30 million dollars a day advertising cigarettes and tobacco products. There are five main markets where the money is being spent:retail value promotion, promotion allowances/payments, coupons, item distribution and finally public entertainment. 110.6 million dollars were spent on sporting events in 2001 alone. Smokeless tobacco companies have spent over 236.7 million dollars on advertisement and promotions alone. So it looks like that number is accurate. However, I would think it would really depend on what you count as "advertising." The number is off the chart when you consider that they cannot advertise on TV which burns up big bucks. So does it include sponser fees for auto racing, Virginia Slims Tennis, etc., etc. Think what beer companies spend, must be double or triple that. I will have to check my stats, but I think alcohol related deaths make smoking related deaths look pale by comparison. Travis

I am done with my trial, and getting things back in order. I started taking the Chantix yesterday. I got the RX for it about 3 weeks ago at Gary's suggestion but decided to wait until after the trial to really give this thing a go. So next Friday at midnight is my last Cig. Travis

Thanks to all of you again for your well wishes. They really did help in a very difficult time. I liked seeing Scout and "the Butterball;", another reminder of the cycle of life. Young and full of life. My wife and I decided we are going to wait a couple of months and then start looking for another pooch. Travis

Scott, Scout looks to be very birdy? Is he staring at a duck on a pond? Travis

I'm back, I am sending you an email. Travis

So Dtel, you through that 300 page instruction book yet? How about some photos of the CW3's? Travis

Phil, Interesting you should post that, I read it for the first time . . . on Sat. In "the "room" they had for us to be with Malcolm to say goodbye, they had that poem on one of the walls. My wife and I both read it and there is a reason they have it up there, it helps. Thank you for having the thought to suggest it, just seeing the link reminded me of the comforting words it contains. Travis

Noah, What kind of dog do you have? Travis

Oscarsear, You are the only person I know that actually went the route of chemo on a pet. I really appreciated your comment about this. While the Vets did not push this option on us in any way, they did, as they should, say that it was an option. You tend to want to latch onto any hope and we just were not sure, but it sounded like a very trying course for Malcolm just so we could have the possibility of having him around for a little while longer. But you never know. Your comment about never again going the route of using extreme medicine has really helped me with our decision. I know, more then ever, it was the right one. Thank you for sharing this with us, it truly has helped. Travis

Richard, Yes he was indeed a Great Pyrenees, in Europe they are called a Pyrenees Mountain Dog. While not common in Texas, a lot of folks know the breed here because they are used on goat and sheep ranches to protect the herd. They kill coyotes with ease. When we took him to Los Angeles on a visit to Kellys mother, it did not seem like anyone there had seen one before. When I would take him for a walk just off of Wilshire, without exaggeration, a car would pull up and stop every 5 minutes or so and ask what kind of dog he was. What was really funny to see, regardless of where we were, is parents with small children. If they saw him coming they would kind of have to hold there kids back because they were somehow naturally drawn to him. I think it is because he looked like a giant stuffed polar bear. I would tell the parents it was ok, he loves children, and with some hesitation they would tell there child ok and they would run up to him and want to kiss his face. They would pet him and look back at there parents with a look like "see, I told you it was cool." There was only one child, a little girl, about 3 years old, that was afraid of him. Her mom said that she was afraid of all dogs because she was bitten by one. Malcolm towered over her and her mom had grabbed her up in her arms. I had Malcolm lay down on the ground and told the mom she could put her daughter down that she wouldnt be afraid. The mom reluctantly did so, and the girl looked at him and he immediately dropped his head down between his two front paws and gave her his patented sad eye look. The little girl ran out of her moms hands up to Malcolm and started rubbing his head. She gave out a big giggle when she felt his soft fur and then she looked back and smiled at her mom. Her mom looked at me with a tear in her eye and mouthed "thank you" and all I could say was "dont thank me, thank him" and she did. He just knew. He knew who was afraid of him and, if he wanted to, make them unafraid. He also knew when it was time to make people leery and keep them that way. Ah dang, you got me going again. Travis

Kelly and I are overwhelmed by all of your well wishes and thoughts of encouragement. Thank you all for taking the time to let us know you were thinking of us. It has helped a great deal, I cant begin to tell you. I am also feeling a bit guilty for posting our bad news when a few of you have also lost pets recently. While Malcolm seemed to be loved by everyone who met him, I am sure your pets were the same way, and we are sorry for your loss as well. Today was a bit better for me, and was helped a great deal by reading your responses throughout the day, some while I was in court. It is still very hard on Kelly and I know it is going to take a very long time for her. James, we had never seen those photos, they were great! The one of you and Malcolm captures him in his typical MO, he just sucked people in with his face, and once he had you he would plop down on the ground and have you rubbing his stomach. From there he would start whapping you with his paw (which really hurt) if you quit. Thank you all again, Travis

Kelly got him platforms for his water and food when he was a puppy so he would not have to bend over so far to eat and drink. She made sure he did not want for anything. He had a great life, I wish it could have been just a little longer.

Well the past couple of weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind for me. Two weeks ago I was putting the finishing touchs on preperations for a big murder trial. The murder trial started Monday and ended very late Friday night. We got an excellent result for a 23 year-old young man. He and his parents were very happy and I was flying high. I got home as fast as possible after everything was over with plans of having a big glass of bourbon and finally getting some sleep after two weeks. When I got home my wife told me that she didn't want to say anything while I was in trial but that our dog Malcolm had not been feeling well for the last couple of days. Well as many have said on here, pets become family, and this was more then the case with Malcome. Off to the Hospital Malcolm went, he was panting up a storm and was in obvious distress. As soon as I saw the radiograph of his lungs my heart sunk, it had a diffuse cloudy apperance. The Vet said there was a chance that it could be fungal which is more treatable then cancer but their hospital did not have the drugs to treat it and that we would need a specialist to treat it. None were available in Austin over the weekend so they put him on oxygen and said we would have to wait till Monday. They may joke a lot about aggies around here, but A&M has one of the best Vet hospitals in the world and it is only two hours drive. I called a couple of friends and made arrangements to have him seen up there on Sat. They rigged Malcolm up with oxygen and tanks in the back of my SUV and we drove up to College Station. They were expecting us and got him on a gurnery, said they would run tests, view the radiographs and then meet with us. It wasn't 15 minutes before they consulted with us and confirmed the worst, regardless of whether it was cancer or fungal, he would suffer a great deal for a long time with either chemo or anti-fungal treatment and even then, the chances were slim. He started to say that if it was fungal the medication is very expensive and could take 9 months. I told him that cost was not the issue, we would do whatever it takes - I just did not want him to suffer needlessly, and I asked him if it was his dog what would he do. He said the chance of a positive outcome was less then 1% and that if it was his dog he would not let him suffer any longer. We had our hopes so high it was like someone shot Kelly and I in the stomach. We just both sat there crying, and it was obvious he had to give this same news a 1000 times before, and he really helped us through it. Anyways, sorry about all the details, just wanted you to have the background. Some of you met Malcolm, and I am glad you had the chance. For those that did not have the pleasure, all I can say is that everyone said the same thing about him: "That is the biggest dog I have ever seen" followed sometime later with "He is the sweetest dog I have ever met." The words might have differed a bit, but they all essentially said the same thing. His size put some people off initially, but he always had them won over by the time they left. I have put his photo up a time or two on here when there was a "post your dog post" or some such thing, but I just wanted to post a couple more to let him know we are thinking about him. He was the best friend I ever had. I am sure glad I decided to wait to quit smoking until next week. Travis

Timmikid, I am glad you had a great time here in Texas and I totally agree with you about Texas Women--I married one. [H] I also appreciate the comment about our spiders. We don't kill the ones that make it into our house and have had family members come unglued when they find out about our practice. [:|] There was only one time in my visits to Amsterdam that I was wondering if I was going to have to call an ambulance, but suffice it to say a good night's sleep was the remedy and a valuable lesson was learned. [Y] Btw, thanks for posting the pics and sharing the experience, Travis. I bet ya there is one Texas spider that you kill if you find inside the house, or at least carefully find the front door as fast as possible. I think the reference to spiders is about a hallucination brought on by no sleep, jet lag, alcohol/mescal. Travis

Did you get that box open yet?