Schlepp's Civic Duty

Schlepp has voted... well, at least his human has. The first attempt, last Wednesday, ended when he walked into a darkened polling place downtown. A power outage had taken out the lights. Even though the voting machines have backup power and procedures exist to keep the balloting going even without power, there was no order or organization and he quickly left. Thursday evening in Ranchitos he had better luck and was finally able to vote.

Amazingly, there are teddy bear political sites out there. The best we've seen is Polar Bears Against Palin. Certainly Chili Bear agrees with that sentiment.

In this photo Chili hangs out with Maddie, Jennie, the Cat with No Name, and the Schlepps.

With a little Googling you'll learn that Bobo is Barack Obama's childhood teddy bear. Its a good thing to have a teddy bear close at times like these. I think Bobo has Secret Service protection.

But whatever your political persuasion, be sure to get out and vote. If you can, vote early. If you can't, vote next Tuesday. A week from now we should know who our next president is.

Schlepp in DC

Schlepp and I finally escaped the World Plone Conference briefly today to take the air, which was surprisingly warm and sunny. We walked down to the Mall and watched the people go by, admired the buildings and monuments from a distance, and quietly reflected.

You see, Aunt Frances, whom we had been hospicing in our spare bedroom back in NM, passed away late yesterday afternoon. She died quietly and peacefully surrounded by her daughter and niece.

Even if Travel Schlepp and I weren't there, Big Schlepp and the entire Home Front Brigade were. Fido and Cousin Middle Schlepp were there, too, and Paddy stayed curled up next to her to the end.

Although we'll miss her, somehow this all feels right... as though in her death was the completion of something important and in its own mysterious way, miraculous. Life's journey takes many unexpected twists and turns. Certainly Aunt Frances life had more than its share and in the end gave us memories and lessons of living that will stay will us all.

Lost Teddy Bear in Atlanta Airport

Just today TS received a lost-bear report from a lady and her son who were in the A concourse of the Atlanta airport Friday October 3. The missing bear is either a 14" or 18" Gund Schlepp and was not (as of this posting) turned in to lost-and-found. The Bears' Homefront Brigade is mobilizing volunteers in the area. Any stuffed critters or their humans with any information on this bear, please leave a comment or e-mail schlepp 'at' swcp.com.

Thanks!