Losing Mum and Pup: A Memoir by Christopher Buckley

Good day and a Happy Father's Day to all!

As some of you are aware, my father, who started this blog a few years ago, passed away in January.  As a way to honor his memory, and continue the ongoing conversations we used to have, I'll be reviewing books on here from time to time.

June is always a big month for my family.  In addition to Father's Day, my dad, my brother, and I all have our birthdays roughly in the middle of the month (my poor Mom!).  That mixed with the end of the school year and start of summer always makes it a special time.  While our family continues to grow and move forward in new and exciting ways, this first June without him feels a little emptier than usual. 

I think about past birthdays and father's days.  For his 50th birthday we went to Yosemite and stayed at the Awhanee Hotel, a grand historic hotel among who's more notable guests included Queen Elizabeth, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Charlie Chaplin, the Shah of Iran  To visualize, several of the interior settings such as the Great Lounge were used as setting in the movie adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining (at 15 and 11, my brother and I were a little old to ride a big wheel through the halls, and saw no creepy twins during my exploration).  

When we arrived, they regretted to inform us that they had overbooked reservations but had a parlour room available if we were okay with using a bathroom down the hall.  We went to look at the room and were amazed to see a great fire place on one wall, and the opposite wall almost entirely windows with stunning views of El Capitan, one of the premier features of Yosemite National Park.  There was a table with chairs and sofa that folded out into a king sized bed.  As we looked at the room, they brought in 2 cots for my brother and I.  They again apologized profusely and if we would take the room, it would of course be complimentary!  My parents were able to keep a rare set of poker faces and told them we would make the best of the situation as it was a special occasion.  We had an amazing weekend of hiking one of the most beautiful places, stayed in a room with the most breathtaking views I've ever seen, and purchased a set of plates from the hotel that our family still uses to this day for holidays and special occasions.

I often think about the authors my dad and I enjoyed.  One of which is Christopher Buckley, a political satirist that's written Thank You For Smoking, Supreme Courtship, and Boomsday among others and has Make Russia Great Again coming out next month.  He has also written several non-fiction books as well including Losing Mum and Pup: A Memoir which details the passing of his parents within a year of each other.  In Losing Mum and Pup, he wrote:  I think about them every day...writing (this book) was intended to enable catharsis; now as I reach the end, it seems to me that I may have written it out of a more basic need: as an excuse to spend more time with them before letting them go, if indeed, one ever really lets them go."  Continuing my father's blog in this manner, I realize, is fulfilling that same basic need.

My father and Christopher Buckley both spent time in politics.  Christopher Buckley as a speech writer for George H.W. Bush as Vice President and later President, my father for Ted Kennedy in Cambridge as well as his campaigns and the campaigns of Jimmy Carter.  They both had profound respect for the men they worked for, came from a time when it was more common be friends with people on opposing ends of the political spectrum, and were able to and at times even enjoyed conversations with people of opposing view points.

Buckley's father, William F. Buckley Jr., host of Firing Line and founder of The National Review, can be thought of as a spiritual godfather to the modern conservative movement in American politics.  However he too, despite being much more forceful in his convictions and further to the right, was able to enjoy great friendships with people equally as passionate and far down the spectrum on the left.  As chronicled by the son, for every arch-nemesis-like relationship with people like Gore Vidal, there was an equally great friendship with persons like Chris Matthews or George McGovern.  From Christopher Buckley's descriptions, it seems that for a person that would take such a thoughtful and intellectual approach to their beliefs, they would recognize it in another, regardless of where on the spectrum that person's beliefs would lie, and enjoy the exchange that would bring about.  This is a trait definitely missing from the hysteria of todays politics and we are no doubt worse off for it.

For a person as prolific as William F. Buckley Jr., there is no shortage of writing and analysis of the man and his beliefs.  As the wife of an icon and belle of all social circles, the same can be said for his wife, Patricia.  But there are things only their son can write.  In Losing Mum and Pup, Buckley shares funny moments that humanize them for the public.  The hilarity of his father's stubbornness and need to have his own way, followed by the acerbic and undercutting wit of his mother's how did that work out for you type of commentary.  In his parents, I see my own at times:  A father with great passion for the ideals and deeds of great men, and the mother's devotion to her husband that fuels their passion.  While this might make the wives out to take a role of subservience, in both my parents and Buckley's parents situations, nothing could be further from the truth.  Both of our father's would have been lost without our mothers and anyone who met them knew that there was no senior partner  in their relationships.

Buckley comments that "great men are not dawdlers; their idle is set too high."  A trait that might have fueled a man like his father to need to control everything in his life.  Buckley talks about evenings watching TV with his father, who refused to surrender the remote, even as he got older and less able.  Buckley and a close family friend would joke that they watched parts of 5 movies over the course of an evening and even as a final jest, placed the remote control to his father's television, in the casket with him.  In this he differs from my father who, while no less passionate, was more relaxed and flexible when it came matters not of life and death.  He often fell asleep when watching TV with us and was fairly agreeable to whatever others wanted to watch.  In this, our father's TV watching habits were tell-tale of their personalities: Buckley's forceful and unwavering, my father's quiet confidence in allowing others to take control, much like the strong swimmer he was, confident enough in his abilities, to enjoy drifting down the San Joachim River during the camping trips of my childhood.

If you are traveling, if you are celebrating, if you are growing, if you are grieving, there is a book out there perfect for the occasion.  Losing Mum and Pup: A Memoir is a fantastic read that chronicles the pain of losing a parent.  While your relationship with your parents are your own and there are none like it, you may see a bit of your own in this memoir, you may see a key difference that highlights your special relationship, you may see something you want to change while you still have the time, or you may recognize the pain of loss that can only come from loving and being loved by someone as unique as the people who raised you.

From Losing Mum and Pup: A Memoir

My parents and I

                         

Not Ready To Put The Book On The Shelf

On January 23rd, 2020, my father, Harry Bryan Sheridan succumbed to his battle with Cancer.  He would have turned 71 years old today.

For those of you who knew him and are finding out now, I apologize that you are finding out this way.  He was the type of man, that if you knew him, he meant something to you.  You shared a moment, a conversation, a bond, and I know that you will miss him too.

He leaves behind a wife, my mother, with whom he shared a love that grew deeper each day of their lives.  Their love and relationship has been the example I always hold in my mind as I build a life with my wife.  They would have celebrated their 40th Wedding Anniversary in February.

He leaves behind two sons, my brother Sean and myself.  He also leaves behind a grandson, Gavin, to whom he loved being his Popa.  He was fortunate to see both sons marry wonderful women, Danielle and Aubrey, and in them welcome daughters into his family.  He was proud to see the friendship between my brother and myself as we both asked the other to be our Best Man.  Neither of us could have asked for a better role model or mentor, and in each other, our father could not have given us a better friend.

My mom would always tell me how she wished I could have known him when he was my age.  She would tell me how she couldn’t begin to describe how passionate a person he was.  Passionate about life, passionate about his family, passionate about his sense of right and wrong, passionate about the environment.  Knowing him as I knew him, I can only imagine what he might have been like when he was younger.  I remember many a heated discussion with him about current events, only for my brother to exasperatedly declare “you realize that you’re agreeing with each other, don’t you?!”  A little of that passion may have rubbed off on us as well.

A few days after his passing, my mother and I were sitting and watching a movie.  I commented on how one of the actors would be perfect to play Philip Roth’s Nathan Zuckerman.  It was an offhand comment made in a room in which I’d made many comments about books with my dad over the more than 25 years of their living in that house.  My mom commented that I was going to miss talking to him about books.  That profound loss hit home and we broke down all over again.

There was no one I enjoyed talking about books with more than my father.  When I came across a book I knew he would enjoy, I couldn’t wait to tell him about it, pass it on to him once I finished it, or have it waiting for him come Christmas, his birthday, or Father’s Day.  His eclectic range of tastes were in a lot of ways mirrored in me.  We shared many a favorite author while our different life paths led us to discover different authors at different times.  We were able to open each other’s eyes to new reads and work together to increase our ever-expanding libraries, and our ever-expanding wish lists.

A few years ago, during one of our conversations about a book, he mentioned this blog and offered me the chance to be a contributor and review some of the books that I’d read.  As he put it, this blog is called “The Sheridan Stories” and I am a Sheridan.  He would have loved to have seen my words on this page and I would love to continue these conversations that have always had a special place in my heart.

My father had a passion for life that was inspiring.  Even during the years when his health deteriorated, he was planning his next adventure.  When his doctor advised against him flying across country to visit my wife and I, he grew excited at the prospect of planning a cross-country train trip with my mom.  As Jimmy Buffett put it, he wasn’t ready to put the book on the shelf.

From time to time, I’ll review a book here that I think he would have loved or talk about something that might have been important to him.  If those who are reading have suggestions of something he might have liked or if something written here makes you think of further reading, I’m always open to the next adventure.

Every time I open a new book, start a new chapter, or turnover a new leaf, written or metaphorical, I will think of him.  During our time together we pulled many books off the proverbial shelf but our continuing conversation isn’t one that I’m ready to put back just yet.

Dad, I’m looking forward to sharing your favorite books and telling you about new ones.  

I love you.

Chris

Mulesing-- A Knitter's Nightmare

 

Courtesy johnsalozzoart.com

Most of us picture wool as a cruelty-free product from gentle sheep happily grazing in lovely green pastures; sheep that naturally shed their coats or need haircuts to keep cool in hot summer months. As much as this image may be reassuring and defensible, there may not be quite as many happy sheep as we imagine.  

Over 20 million merino lambs are currently mulesed each year in Australia where more than half the world’s merino wool is produced.  Although most will have their tail cut off and the males will be castrated, mulesing is by far the most controversial of sheep husbandry procedures, because of its apparent cruelty.

What is Mulesing?

Mulesing was developed in 1927 by John Mules with an accidental slip of the hand shears. For nearly 80 odd years, it has been a routine husbandry procedure for the majority of merino sheep in Australia. Merinos have woolly wrinkles and folds in their skin, which, around the tail and breech area, become moist with urine and

Merino sheep with wrinkles.ericasnailsandmore.blogspot.com

contaminated with feces. Particularly in hot and humid conditions, blowflies are attracted to this moist area where they lay eggs. When the eggs hatch, maggots eat away the flesh of the living animal — this is called flystrike. 

The procedure was developed to spare sheep agony and possible death. Practitioners carve flaps of skin from around a lamb’s buttocks and tail to create an area of scar tissue. This bare, stretched skin has no folds or wrinkles to hold moisture and feces, so it becomes less attractive to blowflies.  Mulesing is considered a skilled surgical procedure. Although, by Australian law, it may be performed by unskilled persons.

Flystrike victim. courtesy peta.org

Australia’s National Farmers Federation says that "mulesing remains the most effective practical way to eliminate the risk of flystrike in sheep" and that "without mulesing up to 3,000,000 sheep a year could die a slow and agonizing death from flystrike.”

What’s Wrong with Mulesing?

Farmers throw lambs onto their backs and restrain their legs between metal bars. They use sheep shears to carve out flesh from their rumps. This is done without antiseptics, anesthesia or painkillers. Apparently money spent on such niceties would cut into their profits. Research shows the pain of mulesing is similar to that of castration, but it lasts longer— acute pain up to 48 hours and discomfort for two weeks during healing. Even worse, the exposed, bloody wounds often become infected and can actually attract more flies, leading to flystrike before the wound has healed.

Mulesing victims. Courtesy Wikipedia.org

Needless to say, many animal rights activists consider mulesing without pain killers to be inhumane and unnecessary— particularly when there are effective alternatives. They have also argued that the procedure may mask genetic susceptibility to flystrike which permits this genetic weakness to continue unabated.

The Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) recognizes the negative animal welfare implications of mulesing, but in "the absence of more humane alternatives" for preventing flystrike, the AVA accepts the practice. But, the AVA also recommends the use of pain relief and antiseptics-- and the accreditation of mulesing practitioners.

Although the Australian Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals also accepts mulesing, done properly as a last resort, only when the risk of flystrike is high; the animal rights organization, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) strongly opposes mulesing. PETA maintains that the practice is cruel and painful, and that more humane alternatives exist.

More Humane Alternatives 

Alternatives to mulesing must meet health standards for both the lamb and its handlers in addition to being safe for consumption as wool or meat, and there are many alternatives practiced all over the globe— including within Australia which is still the hotbed of resistance to reform.

Australia produces more than half the world's merino wool. Merino sheep, who are not

Crutching instead of mulesing.Courtesy butternutvalleyfarm.com

native to Australia and are unsuited to the hot, humid climate; have been bred by the wool industry to have excessively wrinkled skin in order to grow more wool all over their bodies and are extremely susceptible to not only flystrike, but heat prostration.

Crutching is the common-sense removal of wool around the tail, anus (and vulva in ewes) when necessary. Crutching should be done regularly, and the flock should be monitored closely to determine frequency. Mulesing, however, is the permanent removal of skin to avoid the repetitive labor of crutching.

Blowfly control should be a integral part of animal husbandry. Such an approach includes farm management practices that take into account the timing of shearing and crutching, the

Blowfly. Courtesy deviantart.com

timing of tail docking (if required), and strategic application of chemical treatments (if required)-- and, very importantly, regular inspection of the flock.  Spray washing is an effective deterrent to flies.

Tea tree oil applied as a dip provides a 100% kill rate of first stage maggots and a strong repellent effect against adult flies, which prevented eggs being laid on the wool for up to six weeks. 

Intradermal injections and topical application of protein-based treatments which kill wool follicles and tighten skin in the breech area is being researched and shows much promise.

Maggot infestation. Farmers' Weekly UK

Breed less wrinkly sheep who do not need to be mulesed, because they are better suited for the Australian climate. Studies have shown that flystrike is lower in plain bodied Merino sheep. Experts state that an intensive breeding program could produce an entire flystrike-resistant flock within two to five years.

A Note About Sheep

Some ill-informed farmers have suggested that performing operations such as castration, mulesing, or cutting tails off without pain relief does not cause sheep pain, since there is no audible evidence of their discomfort.

Courtesy abc.net.au

Sheep are naturally preyed-upon animals, and like all such animals, much of their behavior is governed by a fear instinct. Over time their behavior has evolved to evade detection and capture by predators. When sheep sense pain, or life-threatening danger, they won’t cry out in pain or fear, to some people’s surprise. Instead, they remain silent, so as not to attract further predators.

 

Progress Against Mulesing

Mutilating sheep is not just cruel; it’s also ineffective. There has been a growing recognition that better husbandry is the answer, not mutilating animals.  In March 2008 Australia’s NSW Farmers Association called for an immediate ban on mulesing in order to stave off threatened boycotts of Australian wool by up to 60 foreign (mostly European) retailers following negative publicity in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries.  On that same day the Western Australian Department of Agriculture announced that it would end mulesing of lambs on its research stations.

Aussie sheep station. flickr.com

A growing number of Australian farmers don't mules, but many still do. Companies such as SRS Wool and I-Merino are already producing wool without mulesing sheep, and New Zealand has been free of mulesing for nearly 10 years.

The animal rights activist group, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has convinced 34 international companies with more than 3000 stores across the US and Europe to join its campaign to boycott Australian wool from mulesed flocks. These retailers include Next, Hugo Boss, Adidas, Abercrombie & Fitch, Timberland, H&M, American Eagle, Liz Claiborne and Perry Ellis International along with others.

 What You Can Do

The most powerful message each of us can send to the wool industry is that caring consumers will not support animal cruelty.  

• If you choose to buy wool products, inquire of your retailer whether the wool is ethically sourced— that is, from sheep that are not mulesed.  
• Australia produces more than half the world's merino wool. Determine with your retailer if the wool is merino, and if it is— determine whether it comes from Down Under.
• If your retailer is unaware of the animal cruelty implications of mulesed sheep, educate them.

Further Reading

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals opposes mulesing  
http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-clothing/wool-industry/mulesing/

Australian Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals  
espouses a moderate position on mulesing.

Read about flystrike and mulesing
http://www.animalsaustralia.org/issues/mulesing.php 

New Merino certification services
http://newmerino.com.au/wp/about-2/ 

Read about flystrike
http://vetmedicine.about.com/od/diseasesandconditions/f/FAQ_flystrike.htm