I’m old enough to have experienced several friends and multiple family members die. It’s always shocking, and each death diminishes us all.

I was in your situation, kind of.

I only asked this because when our famously long-lived dog died we wanted to get another four-legged furry creature. We’re not getting any younger so I thought maybe a cat, or a cat and a sibling. We went to an animal shelter and they only had dogs. Of course I fell in love with the puppy who became the huge 100-lb…

Before I got to your comment I posted mine in another commenter’s response, above, below, wherever kinja will place it.

This is probably a very stupid question but do you work at a shelter exclusively for cats? I’m just wondering because we’ve gotten all our dogs from “animal shelters” and I’ve never seen cats in any of them. They segregate them by species?

Tempus fugit and all that. Your friend went out the way I would like to go. We all will and I’d prefer it to be out with friends doing something I enjoy, rather than confined to a hospital bed for days, weeks, months, with no end in sight.

I’m glad you responded because I meant to apologize to you and the Antiques Roadshow crew and their loyal viewers. I bet that guy does have some at least marginal association with Antiques Roadshow.

Possibly but we’ve had freakishly good luck with canine longevity.

None, sadly. We live in Manhattan.

I have a feeling it was something more than that with my dog.

And did all the stuffed animals have names and back stories? 

My husband and I have twice been in situations where we’ve had to sleep on an air mattress, once for a couple of weeks. They’re a close cousin to pool floats.

I have a brother who’s a little bit like that. He’s not a staunch Republican, he’s probably a-political at best, and he’s not racist. I’m in a gay biracial marriage, and because I have so many siblings who don’t understand that when you’re within 100 miles of someone you don’t necessarily have to stay with them, there…

Don’t knock those black Santas! Well, maybe in your white guy’s case.

Precious memories, how they linger.

You’re not at Cornell are you? I only ask because when our previous dog died she had lived way over (by about four or five years) a typical lifespan for her breed. We got her as a small puppy and stayed with the practice throughout her lifetime so they knew how old she was and it elicited interest at every…

Close enough. Warm in winter, resort-y. Sure one is on the Atlantic and the other is in the California desert, but Jezebel readers will get the general idea.

You don’t even have to back that far. The Barbary pirates were roaming the Mediterranean in the early 1800s. The first American battles abroad were against the Barbary pirates, who would kidnap American sailors and any passengers and hold them hostage. The “Marines’ Hymn” (“From the halls of Montezuma/To the shores of…

I’m guessing it was either the Carlton or the Majestic, two of the glitziest hotels and popular with Cannes Film Festival attendees (the celebrities anyway.) Most people will be avoiding both of them anyway because the room rates are so steep. 

“Do you even know Gianni Versace?” is a great phrase and useful in a number of situations.