Rainbow Bridge Page

[Willow Oak]

Sorry to have been away for so long. The Willow Oak crew and I have been beyond busy lately: two years ago I decided to change careers from software engineer back to high school teacher. Tomorrow will be my last day of teaching summer school, and I shall receive a much anticipated layoff until the fall term begins in early August. I have had little time to do anything but teach and prepare for teaching. The educational field has changed much since I last was in a classroom back in 1999.

Also during that time I moved myself and the Willow Oak crew from Mississippi back to my home state of Louisiana. I don't like to complain, and although admitedly the stress and strain has been pretty tough, the crew has managed well, and I am beginning to settle in to my new surroundings. I have bought 13 acres of rural Louisiana swamp land (not much else in Louisiana) and have already dubbed the place Willow Oak II. I shall simply just call it "Willow Oak." Fortunately there are a few Willow Oaks on the premises!

I have worked on my rainbow bridge place, and would like to share with you, if you are interested:

http://www.danieltaylor.us/RainbowBridge.html

Believe it or not I moved 12 dogs and 14 cats 650 miles from the old place to the new! I just simply could not part with my clan.

If you haven't visited my website lately, I've added links to several picture galleries, and there is a very nice montage on the front page, which Randi created for me.

[karlyb]

Wow! How did you move your crew all that distance? I moved my (then) eight cats 60 miles and it was traumatic for all of us, so I can't imagine how you managed. I can see how much you love your animal companions. Will check out your pages later.

[Medusa]

Wow, that's quite an accomplishment to move all those furkids! Glad you're doing well and that you like your new digs.

[smokey the elder]

What did you use, an 18 wheeler? Well done, though!

[Catty1]

Good to hear from you! I hope Buddy heals soon!

[lvpets2002]

WoW you & the babies have been busy.. I just love your web pages of the babies && the RB page.. Very Nice.. Congrats on your new home && glad everyone is settled in now..

[Karen]

Congratulations on the big move, and I am glad to hear everyone took it well! Looking forward to having you back during your summer layoff! What subject do you teach? Just curious!

[Randi]

Good to see you here, Dan!

How did you move your crew all that distance?

I'm still impressed you did that - and you survived!

[pomtzu]

Hi Dan (big waves ). Great to see you back - sure miss your stories! As a teacher??? - my guess would be English lit maybe???? I was surprised to hear that you changed professions - and moved too. That must have been quite a feat, as I have a time handling 2 little fuzzbuttz just to go 7 miles or so to the vet!!!
Hope you're doing well health-wise too, as I remember you had some rather serious issues a few years ago. Hope you can find the time to drop in here once in a while.

[Bonny]

Visited your web site. Each pet cat or dog is special in your eyes. Thank you for taking them in & caring for & loving them.

[Willow Oak]

Computer programming was fun and paid well; alas, it is a young man's game, and the heart attack I had in 2008 has forced me to back up. You'd think that teaching teenage miscreants would not be a step back but a step up, but truth be told, teaching is the best gig there is. I teach everybody's favorite subject, of course: math!

Everyone in my new town (population less than 500) knows who I am and what I did in moving my crew. For some reason no one has yet told me that I am crazy or a lunatic or anything like that. I moved here without having any idea where I would be staying or living. I knew that was a very chancy move (where do you find lodging for a crew the size of mine on such short notice?), but things worked out. I believe in miracles, and a lot of good luck and hard luck stories. If I was famous my story would be a good one to tell, but then again, who wants to know really how I pulled it off -- transporting that many dogs and cats in one move across two states? I did have the assistance of a good friend, Cliff, without whom I could not have pulled it off.

[Bonny]

So did one of you take the cats & the other the dogs? I bet they all were in some kind of pet carriers. Maybe a pick up truck with a topper? Just guessing. You probably drove them in the cool of the night? Doing some more guessing.