I just wanted to let everyone know how I'm getting along. I'm getting better since Draconis' passing. Yeah, I still spontaneously burst out in tears while I'm rattling around alone in this old house and see something that triggers a memory. I am planning to go visit some Furry friends, and I've had a lot of offers. I first of all want to thank Holly Fox and Ed the Otter for their behind the scenes support of me. Pan Pan, Phat Cat, and Tim and Nathan have been babysitting me locally to watch out for my well being. I'm going to spend some time down in South Carolina with Nash the Red Panda. He has lined up an opportunity for me to do some work while I am out of the house for a while. Nash is a good guy and is watching out for me as well. I figured it was best for me to get away from the raw memories that the house brings up. I have another Furry that I am talking to about house sitting while I am gone. I want to thank everyone who contributed to the Go fund me. Your support meant so much to me and really has helped me more in my crisis than I could possibly articulate. I was humbled and honored by the outpouring of love and support, which only reinforces my compassion for the Fandom, my family. *Hugs for all*

I just want to thank everyone for the overwhelming support I have received at Draconis' passing. I want you to know that each and every post meant a great deal to me, and I am sure Draconis would have been brought to tears by the outpouring of love towards him and his influence in the Fandom. I'm rattling around in this old house, crying at each little thing that reminds me of my friend. I didn't realize how much this would affect me. As I have said before in a previous post to someone. I am drawing my strength from the Fandom right now. Y'all are what is keeping me afloat and sane. I have had local (and not so local) Furs come to Memphis out of love and support. and I have told other Furs not to come out to support me. I will get by by the grace of the Fandom. This is what the Fandom means to me deep down in my heart of hearts. It's the love and support we give each other in times of crisis. I just wanted to thank you all for what you have said, and for all the well wishes and kind offers you have made. You all have redoubled my love for the Fandom, which I had thought was already at 100%. I love you guys so much, that words cannot express how deep my feelings are. *Hugs for all*

I am overwhelmed with the responses in all the different media. I don't do social media nearly as much as Draconis did. I will answer each and every post, but I just need a little me time right now to try to make sense of this whole tragedy. I am hitting emotional highs and lows in rapid succession right now and I need a little peace. Phat Cat came down from Millington and Pan Pan came over all the way from the middle of Arkansas to see me in Memphis. I had to talk to several other furs, some as far away as NY and SC and tell them not to come out. I'll be all right. I just need to start healing. I've been told that one of my coping mechanisms is talking, so I'll probably be making more journal posts soon. I do miss my friend and expect to hear his little knock on my door to see if I'm up knock every time I sit down at the computer. Draconis and I live(ed) for the Fandom. We ate, slept, and breathed the Fandom every day trying to think up ways to make it better. I hope to continue on in his spirit, even though he fed me so many, many great ideas. I was always trying to prove myself to him and always gave him my all.

I want to tell you all a little story which kind of sums up Draconis in a nutshell. He never wanted to be a popufur. That was the farthest thing from his mind. He just wanted a tiny bit of recognition for his efforts. One time, Draconis and I were at the mall near Christmas time a few years ago. We went to a kiosk that sold calendars where a young girl was stationed to manage the booth. We went through the calendars and could not find any calendars with flamingos on it. Draconis' character, Calamity Cougar, was really big on flamingos, lawn chairs, and other redneck items. Upon not finding his preferred bird on a calendar, he told the girl in his famous Calamity Cougar twang, "Y'all need to get some calendars with FLAMINGOS on it. Flamingos are CLASSY." I saw the jaw drop for the girl in the kiosk. She said, "Oh! My God! You're CALAMITY COUGAR!!! I'm a big fan of yours!" Yup. She was a Furry. Draconis just beamed for DAYS after that encounter. I'm sure, wherever he is, he's reading all these wonderful posts and saying, "It's about time!" I miss my friend, and I always will until the day I go to hang out with him again in the afterlife. I even thought of the Furry epitaph I had written for myself some time ago. It reads as follows:

When I have gone and left this world,
Do not cry or sniff,
Think of me way down in hell,
Looking for trolls to yiff.

Draconis sadly succumbed to the stroke he had last night and passed at 6:30AM this morning. The Fandom lost a great one today. He did so much for the Fandom for so long and was my inspiration for even being in the Fandom. I shall dearly miss my friend.

It is with the utmost sadness that I make this post. My longtime and closest friend, Draconis, aka Calamity Cougar, suffered a massive stroke late last night and is essentially brain dead. He was one of the great driving forces in the Fandom, and I will miss his so very much. We shared a house in Memphis, Tennessee, and although we were not a couple, we were the best of friends and always were throwing ideas back and forth on how to improve the Fandom. I don't know how I will fill this hole in my life. I loved him like a brother and would have done anything for him. I am so sad right now... so very, very sad.

I apologize for not contacting everyone that needed to be contacted in person. It is the middle of the night, and some did not answer their phones, or I did not have their phone numbers available. For those who wish, I will have my phone with me and will try to answer all calls. I had several local Furs come with me to the hospital or call me already. Be patient with me. I cannot stop the tears right now.

Fox News had a place to submit Christmas photos. I submitted one of myself in fursuit, Cutter Cat, with my friend, Chevy Tiger, and they actually posted it today. Here's the link. You will have to scroll through a few photos, but you won't have any trouble locating two Furries.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/america-.....ell-your-story

 maxgoof just put out this parody song that I wrote the lyrics for. He sings it much better than I do and he did a great job putting it together. Max is going to be one of the Guests of Honor at Fangcon coming up in early February of 2020 and puts on a great show.

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/341.....#cid:142999196

Leave me a note and let me know what you think.

We were supposed to leave this morning headed to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to meet up with Nash the Red Panda to head to AnthrOhio, but I was working on finishing up the con books last night and the power went out... HARD. It just got turned on a couple of hours ago, so almost 24 hours. I had to go to a friend's shop to do the finish cutting. I won't be back for about 12 days or so. I'm taking a few days off. I guess I deserve that every decade.

Maybe I'll see some of you there. We will be doing air brush commissions there. These are the bomb, so bring some extra cash! Whoot!

Another Revolution around the sun for this old Sabertooth. Not counting the 10,,000 years in the tar pit, that makes me 64 in RL.

Keefur's Ode to Cutter Cat

Raise you glass,
and give a cheer.
The Sabertooth lasted
Another year

He's still on this earth
And hasn't made it to heaven.
How old is he now?
Ten thousand, eleven?

He loves to laugh.
He loves to flirt
Even though
He's as old as dirt.

He tells bad Furry jokes.
That's his style.
He tries to make the Fandom,
Laugh and smile.

Ever since he left.
His pit of tar.
He hides in elevators.
And goes RHARR!!!

So if you value your life,
If you catch my drift,
You will take the stairs,
And not the lift.

How does he survive?
No one really knows.
I just wish he would,
Put on some clothes.

But when he's finally gone,
I will miss him, you see,
Because that old Sabertooth,
Is really me.

I just heard that  dogbomb has passed from ALS. He was a great advocate for the Fandom and he will be sorely missed. I was fortunate enough to meet him once at FWA several years ago and got to tell him then how I admired his promotion of the Fandom. For my part on carryhing his legacy forward, I will keep trying to make the Fandom a better place for everyone as he has done.

My best bud, Draconis is having a birthday today. Please go wish him a Happy Birthday. I would appreciate it. He is also known as Jugular Jaguar and Calamity Cougar.
https://www.furaffinity.net/user/jugularjaguar/

Thanks everyone,

Kee

This is part of my generation growing up. He was the "dumb one" of the group. I used to watch their show religiously and have even done parody versions of some of their songs. Sad to see him go due to cancer.

Another Christmas is here. Rejoice in the fellowship of the Fandom and the love shared between us all. The Fandom is my family. Reach out to your fellow Furry and send them a greeting. Send them a Hug. Let others know that you are thinking of them from time to time, and if you are able, reach out a paw in the name of friendship and kindness to help others that are having a rough time. Live up to the potential that I know this fandom can achieve.

May you all have a wonderful Holidays and a joyous new year. *Hugs* <3

It is Thanksgiving. Give pause and be grateful for everything you have. Some of us don't have much, I know, but we have each other. Furries are like my family, so be a good family this year and be nice to each other. If you have good fortune, lend a paw to those who haven't been as fortunate. Be a friend on that dark day for someone who needs it. Pay things forward if you are able. Be proud you are part of such a great Fandom and work every day to make it better.

Love,

Keefur

I know that for many of you, snow is no big deal, but never have I known it to snow in Memphis this early in the year. We are going to get about an inch or two. Some years we go completely without a snowfall and the city only averages about 2 to 4 inches a year. The last time the city had measurable snowfall on Christmas Day was in 1911.

The Sabertooth in me is wanting a new Ice Age.

I pulled the image I had done of Cutter Cat as a lion. Someone had submitted a Lion image in their submissions gallery without crediting anyone else. I made a comment that it looked amazingly like my character and would only need a little tweak to look like him. He suggested that I go for it. I did, and asked him under the submission posts if it was all right to post it, and this was confirmed. I posted the image, putting a link on the other furry's page with the original image. I later found out that the image was not theirs. When I went back to look at the original image, the image had been removed from this other person's page. I was led to believe that this person had the rights to the image and had proceeded with due process and given proper credit for the original image. I apologize to everyone who viewed the image, favored the image, and especially the original artist that I am trying to find a link to. I am putting this out here to show my good faith that I did not steal anyone's image. I am sorry that it happened, but for the life of me, I can't figure out how to avoid it if I'm led to believe that someone is the artist.

If you have any constructive suggestions, please feel free to post them here. If you are going to flame me, I will only tell you that I followed normal procedures when dealing with an artist, and took the image down the moment I found out what was up. I then apologized to everyone. Those that know me, know that this is not how I operate. No, I am not giving names as it will serve no productive purpose at this point in time.

Sincerely,
Keefur

What is it like to be the Energizer Bunny? I got to find out today.

Draconis and I were downtown today to do a paid mascot gig as the Energizer Bunny. Draconis was the character, and I was the handler. We had had the same arrangement last year with this character at a different venue, so we thought we were good to go with this gig. What we didn't know was that it was a new style suit and that we were the first ones to use it. The job was an 8 hour gig with a half hour on and off schedule. After about three sets, Draconis' shoulder started bothering him and also, he couldn't stay suited up for a full thirty minutes. The suit was deucedly difficult to wear. Since it was a new suit, it hadn't had all the bugs worked out of it yet. *We made up a list of improvements to pass on to the mascot company that supplies the character costume.* Anyway, I offered to take over and ended up wearing the character and Draconis became the handler. It was a tough gig physically. After my first set, I realized how hard this was going to be. The head ran out of "clean" air after about five minutes and definitely needed a ventilator fan. I gradually started breathing faster and faster to compensate for the oxygen depletion. I will be posting some photos later, but won't be showing partial pictures of the suit as it is not allowed to take any. We managed to work through these issues by working twenty minute on and off sets instead of the thirty minute on and off sets. The time in costume worked out the same this way. I also learned a "work around" for the oxygen depletion, that extended the in-suit time to as long as thirty minutes, which was my longest set.

I do have to say that the suit was enormously popular and we staged dozens and dozens of photos during the day. As far as wearability...
on a one to ten scale, this is how I rate it:

Visibility - 1 The only visibility is about a fifteen degree arc straight forward with no down arc due to the drum. There is almost no sideways head turning capability which means you have to "aim" where you are going and cannot see your feet. You definitely have to have a handler. This also means you cannot see where the people are when they come up to get a photo, and you have to do the open arm thing and go by touch to stage the photos. I kept my paws high and open. lol I did a lot of thumbs up and bunny ears behind the head shots though.

Mobility - 2 Enormous foot paws and the lack of head mobility and visual acuity makes movement difficult at best. The drum complicates matters much further as you don't really have lateral vision to see where the drum goes in the movement arc when you turn. If your handler isn't right with you, you have to turn very slowly to make sure you don't "bang the drum" with a fan. The foot paws were hard to "lift" when walking because of their size, so I mostly ended up shuffling because I couldn't move fast anyway due to the visual difficulties.

Comfort - 3 The drum is hard on your lower back after an all day gig. The "rig" that holds the drum harness also tends to "dig in" and become more and more difficult the longer it is worn. Kind of like having a small rock in your shoe that you can't stop to take out during a long hike. We suggested fixes for this though. I have made some fursuits and kinda know what will fix stuff like this. The head was very wearable, though with the breathing issue, I had to modify how I wore it to allow a little more fresh air in, but it made it more difficult to control the stability of the head overall.

Heat - 9 Even though the head lacked ventilation, there wasn't much heat in either the head or the body. I feel I could have easily done hour long + sets had the oxygen problem in the head been resolved and if the drum rig had had a couple of minor tweaks to correct the digging in issue.

Drawbacks - Mobility definitely limits the fun in suit. Also, people just LOVE to beat on my drum. I can't imagine why. At one point, someone said something about getting a shot gun and a cast iron skillet. That's the drawback of living down South. lol The weight of the drum is an issue I don't think can be corrected without remaking the part. Maybe a back brace could be worn. Dunno. I didn't list the rig digging in as that is an easy fix.

Coolness Factor - 10 I mean... come on! Who doesn't know the Energizer Bunny? Everybody wants to be ya or wants to be seen with ya. He keeps goin' and goin' and goin'...

Would I do this again? Yes! In a heart beat. Especially if the suit is modified a bit. To the credit of the mascot company, they called several times during the gig to see how the suit was to perform in and wanted to know what we recommended as fixes. Draconis, God bless him! is really great to work with either as a handler or being handled. His insight from the times he mascotted at Disney, Kellogs, and other venues was invaluable. He was kind enough to let me try out this character and I was trooper enough to pull the weight so that he wouldn't have to aggravate his shoulder. Even though, by the end of the day, I felt like a boxing gym heavy bag that had had a hard workout, I was grateful for the experience and wouldn't have traded it for the world.

I'm interested in what everybody collects. Make a post and let everyone know. Here is what I collect below.

As many of you know, I mess with antiques, and have since I was 8 years old, so probably longer than many of you have even been alive. I'm pretty good at it, to the point that I do appraisal work for the local public television station off and on for the past 13 years or so. NOT Antiques Roadshow, but the antique fairs they put on where you donate some money and get your items appraised. I specialize in glass, pottery, porcelain, bottles, toys, marbles, advertising, paper goods, and Christmas ornaments. I am always up for helping my Furry friends here on FA identify and price their antique items. I also like plushies and sometimes vend them at cons.

Your turn... What do you collect?

I just heard that he died at the age of 82. No details on cause of death yet.

When my computer unceremoniously and majestically died on me last week, I spend the time working on some parody songs. Here is my favorite of the bunch. I think it is pretty good because it made Draconis laugh, and that isn't an easy bar to hurdle. I do this for the enjoyment of the Fandom, so if you like it, please take a moment and let me know. It keeps me going. If you wan't to do a cover of this song, then text me ahead of time. Thanks.

Here is a link to the karaoke soundtrack for the song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvXA9nNEWPM

Still Popufur to Me ©2018 by Keefur
sung to the tune of Still Rock and Roll to Me by Billy Joel

What's the matter with the fursuit you're wearing
Don't you know that I think it's fly
Maybe you could wear a pet store collar
That's a look you should really try.
I haven't seen you make a post lately, honey
But your internet's down
cause you ran out of money
Everybody flames you
And they run you down, funny,
But you're still popufur to me.

Your tag's expired and you shouldn't be driving
It's been like that for quite a while.
Maybe you should buy a set of tires
That will last more than just a mile.
Take that car to con, then you must be mental,
I'd feel better 'bout it if you sprang for a rental.
Hot funk, like a skunk, fursuit's in the trunk
You're still popufur to me.

(chorus)
Welllll you didn't make it as the guest of honor
And that's the way it's always been.
'Cause there's a new artist 'roung
And the king has been crowned
By the watchers on the FA scene
Drawing stuff that's really obscene

If your fursona was a pink salamander
who ran around without his pants
All the artists would "rule 34" you
If you just gave them half a chance.
Don't waste your money on some paws with a squeaker,
You get more attention if you are a Furry streaker.
Flat broke, tag's revoked, fursuit is a joke,
You're still popufur to me.

You shouldn't try to be a dancer Furry,
Don't you know they're a stuck-up bunch
Maybe you could be a musician Furry,
But your songs make me lose my lunch.
Don't you know about the new short cut honey,
Just buy a fursuit with a whole lot of money
Can't art, can't dance, no songs, no pants.
Your still popufur to me.

Every flames you, and they run you down, funny
But your still popufur to me.

Thanks for all the posters for my last journal. I sold a couple of things yesterday and today that helped. I sold a rare cardboard case of Goldcrest 51 beer with ninteen bottles in it. The case is really the rare part as they usually didn't survive. I also just got back from selling a Fedex Flying Tigers framed collection of the tee shirt, bandana, and two EXTREMELY rare cargo loader patches. The resulting funds helped take about half the financial load off Draconis' and my shoulders. Still have some catching up to do, but it is getting better. *hugs to all*

Where have I been the past week or so? Well... let me tell you. I had a hard drive crash. This was bed enough, but to add on this, in the middle of the night a few nights ago, I hear what sounds like someone trying to kick in the back door. I get a sword and head downstairs while hollering for Draconis to get his gun. I find out that someone had ditched a probably stolen car in the alley behind my house and decided it would make a good BBQ pit. So this car is merrily blazing away, and things are popping and exploding. The fire department comes out, just in time to NOT be able to save about 20 feet of my wooden fence. Then yesterday, Draconis and I drive to Tupelo, Mississippi to deliver a large batch of Elvis books, and the guy stands us up. 200 miles of driving for naught. I got bills to pay, and clients are dodging me... at least the ones who owe me money. I have to dip into my collection of antique stuff and sell a rather rare cardboard case of Goldcrest 51 beer bottles to a descendant of the founder of the company. He was very happy, and I have an empty shelf space now. I'm selling off some of my antique stuff to pay for the hard drive recovery and fence. I also have insurance due plus some others. I try never to come on here and vent, but this past week has put a strain on my already fragile Sabertooth sanity. As always, Draconis and I will pull through somehow. We always seem to do so.

I just wanted my friends here on FA to know that I love you all, and that I wasn't hit by a bus or fell into another tar pit. Hopefully that guy who called me yesterday about those Fedex Flying Tigers artifacts will come through today, which will help.

 ccritt93 and  barkwoofson are putting together a game to be run at conventions. These guys are doing something nice for the Fandom, which is something I am always in favor of. It is the Furry version of "Card Sharks" where you have to guess how many people (furs) out of 100 answered a question a certain way. There are lots of thought provoking and funny survey questions, and you can even submit some questions of your own for consideration in their surveys. Go to this profile  barkwoofson and there are links to survey questions. Do the appropriate surveys.

They need 100 answers for each question, so help them out. They cut off answers at 100, so don't miss out having your input. Some of their questions are up to 50 already, so please hurry and help them out so this can be taken to cons and enjoyed by all.

Keefur

I'm going to AnthrOhio with Draconis, Nash the Red Panda, and Holly Fox. We are going to be selling airbrush and plushies. Hope to see you there, and if not, I will be back about next Tuesday.

Everyone take care and don't crash FA or the rest of the internets. <3

Keefur