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An Old Dog Saves The Day

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By STEVE OTTO

sotto@tampatrib.com

Published: February 13, 2009

For the most part it was an awful week. Even in the sports world, where a lot of us go to hide from the daily drumbeat of bad news, we had to deal with the likes of Michael Phelps and Alex Rodriquez, two of sport's more visible figures and bigger disappointments.

With spring training only a couple of weeks off, A-Rod's admission of using steroids makes you wonder just how much more fans are going to accept of the sham that Major League Baseball has brought to this great game.

At least we were able to find refuge earlier this week when a 10-year-old Sussex spaniel came out of retirement to win the Westminster dog show in New York.

It was the second triumphant year in a row for those of us who sit in front of the tube with our family members of mixed-heritage, including our own "Smoky Mountain Retriever" as I call her, pulling for a regular dog to beat out the fancy primped-up poodles that always seem to win.

Last year a beagle took the prize and this week it was one of those moments when the old spaniel named Stump - someone I could relate to - showed that an old dog really can learn new tricks as he trotted around the arena like he owned the place.

Put Them In Uniforms

Meanwhile, the rest of us are waiting to be stimulated. Vickie Parsons, who says she didn't think this one up but saw it somewhere, was still right on target with the line that those congresspersons pontificating and pointing fingers this week ought to be required to wear uniforms with lots of patches, like NASCAR drivers, so the rest of us would be able to tell who owns them.

And if you thought the auto company executives all had that deer-in-the-headlights look when they faced Congress, the banking executives this week gave a whiff of reality TV-meaning to the term "empty suits."

Back In The ER

I'm a little overwhelmed at not just the amount, but the tone of your mail over a recent column on my experience with a hospital emergency room. Here is one more response, from Yolande Kersey of Tampa:

"It never ceases to amaze me that people in this country have put up with our dysfunctional health care system so long. Europeans and Japanese would have clamored for change. Yet so many people continue to be convinced that our system is the best and universal health plans elsewhere are a dismal failure. I suppose that shouldn't be surprising in a country where some believe our presence on the moon was a hoax, but it is sad. ...

"A couple of years ago I had severe abdominal cramps from an intestinal blockage, beginning late in the evening. Somewhere around midnight, my husband drove me to University Community Hospital. About 4 a.m. I was seen and sent to the imaging center and then returned to the emergency room, all the while with cramping pains. At 6 a.m., feeling nauseous, I called for a nurse, but nobody came. Fortunately my husband came by to see how I was doing and he was able to fetch a vomit pan just in time. ...

"I suggested my 80-year-old husband go home. After he left I was in the emergency room until noon, at which time I thought I would be better off just going home. I had no money, but I did have my cell phone so I called a cab, signed the forms absolving the hospital from responsibility, and left."

Keyword: "Otto Graphs," for more of Steve Otto's musings.

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