2022 NEW YEAR TOAST

Sunrise Walk, Kiawah Island, SC

May the person you see in the mirror be acceptable to you.

May what others see in you be acceptable to them.

And may you continually strive for that unreachable deity

your dog sees in you!

 

INNOCENCE, DEATH AND DYING

Patches, Emporia, KS

MEMORIAL DAY 2021, MONDAY, MAY 31

This is not a fanciful or inviting subject matter for discussion in a youth-oriented culture, but one that needs to see the light of day on occasion.  And on the occasion of the hopeful decline of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s appropriate to reflect on lessons learned from any milestone event in our lives.  Vaccinations in America are beginning to control the viral spread here, but other areas of the world that are not so fortunate like India are experiencing record infections and deaths.  The gift of life is fragile and we should be appreciative on every waking day.  Over three million deaths worldwide have now been recorded.

Death comes calling quickly for some of these unfortunate people and has a long and anguished protraction for others.  I recently reflected that my father and grandfather Davis died within seven months of each other and my mother and wife also died within seven months.  My grandfather and mother had immediate heart failure while my father and wife had longer challenges with cancer.

I wrote a blog ten years ago about my loss of innocence when I was a child and experienced the death of our family dog, Patches, after he was hit by a passing car.  That was my first personal understanding of the reality that our mortal life has both a beginning and an ending.  That concept is quite sobering.  Later in life, one of the hardest things I’ve ever done was to take two of our family dogs to the vet to end their lives, since they both had terminal issues.  I did find solace in the swift and gentle process.  In the past few months, friends and family have had to do the same.  The passage of time can’t ever erase the precious memory of any sentient being in this life that has deeply touched our hearts or minimize their eternal influence which has been indelibly inscribed on our soul.  In his passing, Patches had assisted in the preparation for the life ahead of me.   

When my daughter and son-in-law drove to pick up my four-year old grandson from school, they had to gently tell him that they were sad because their family dog of ten years had died at the vets.  His innocent reply was “I’m not sad, she was sick.”  Later after more discussion, he came to the realization of a mortal life’s ending.  When quality of life and suffering has occurred, we can do the humane thing and end life with compassion for our animals.  The majority of our culture still values human life so that we issue pain meds until there is a natural ending. 

Our family pets wake up every morning only taking life as it’s presented.  They don’t have the gift and sometimes the curse of a frontal lobe that enables us human beings to know that life has an end game.  But that final evolution of our brain also enables us to prepare for it.    We know going in that we will probably outlive our animal companions.  Our comfort is knowing we had a good life together while they were here.  A Day Lily thrives only one day, but that is time enough for them. 

My sister Carolyn sent a yellowing Ann Landers column which concluded, “And, my friend, when I am very old and I no longer enjoy good health, hearing and sight, do not make heroic efforts to keep me going.  I am not having any fun.  Please see to it that my life is taken gently.  I shall leave this earth knowing with the last breath I draw that my fate was always safest in your hands.”

RIP Rosemary, Jenny-Wren, Lucy, Sonny, Mason and Daisy   

 

 

ROSEMARY, BRANCH MANAGER

Treed Squirrel, Chicago, IL
Trophy Branch, Chicago, IL

Somewhere deep within my grand dog Rosemary’s DNA resides a strand of encoded hunting instincts wrapped around a sequence that must have been very desirable in her long distant ancestry. Men who made a living or a life hunting wildlife most assuredly noticed that this particular breed had a knack for ferreting out rabbits and partridge that enabled them to fill their game bags with greater frequency in less time.

When Rosemary is out for her Walk-a-Thon morning, noon and night she immediately and instinctively switches from being a playful house pet to being a serious safari hunter. No Apache Indian scout could ever match her ability to track the path of a rabbit that had been out during the night foraging on the urban blue grass between the concrete sidewalks and asphalt streets. No squirrel trail goes unnoticed that circumscribed the trunk of a giant oak tree as he gathered acorns that survived the long winter’s grasp. Not one kindred spirit of the dog kingdom that has marked his territory over the past week is without detection.

No respected hunter ever strikes for home without bearing a trophy of the hunt. The journey of the pursuit and the ability to outwit your worthy opponent brings on an adrenaline rush so familiar to anyone who has ever carried a shotgun into a dense plum thicket in the fall. The exploding rise of a covey of quail will trigger all sorts of instantaneous physical and emotional responses! But the satisfaction of filling up the game bag with your limit from a hard day’s hunt is the most rewarding.

And so it is with Rosemary and the triggered response to the finality of a good walk not spoiled. When she’s reasoned that the hunt has been a success and it’s time to “head for the house”, she simply picks out a trophy branch along the trail and sets a focused, headlong course back home. The branch is not released from her jaws until it has been securely brought inside and placed in the coffee cup trophy case marked with a scrolling capital “R”. Then and only then are the planets in alignment and the world is as you like it. We should all be so dedicated to a job well done!

WALKING WITH ROSEMARY

Leave only Footsteps, Chicago, IL
Fertilizing the Landscape, Chicago, IL

It occurs to me as the two of us walk along the tree lined urban neighborhood of Lakeview on the outskirts of Chicago that we should never lose our passion for appreciating the immediate environment we occupy like my grand dog Rosemary. She was stirring at first light as the early June sunshine broke into the bedroom window we share. Rosemary spends many hours during the day in quiet slumber and random wandering about the condo, especially in search of the vanishing locations with warm sunlight. But it’s those precious times of breaking out into the neighborhood that reveal endless wonders of God’s creation for her.

I rise from the night’s slumber and pull on my golf shirt and shorts as Rosemary impatiently anticipates our ritualistic morning walk. I’m reminded of John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley. Steinbeck was dying of heart disease at the time and felt compelled to travel across America to comprehend the American psyche. He took along the family’s standard poodle, Charley, for companionship and to have someone for mental conversation to explore his thoughts. It's always revealing to view the world through the unbiased and unfiltered eyes of an innocent.

We exit onto the sidewalk and begin our journey of exploration, mainly through the fascinating experience of investigating the hidden world of smells. Rosemary has already mastered the CSI methods for analyzing the subtle traces of those critters that have gone before us in the night, as we have gotten the jump on them by venturing out so early on a Sunday morning. This is mostly by design, as Rosemary is very defensive of her personal space, which occupies about half a block’s worth of real estate in all directions. Intruders beware!

I learned early in my own travels that you can only know a city or any location by walking the streets and byways. So, Rosemary and I search out every back alley and turn in the road. Locals have sculpted small pocket gardens in the precious land fronting their greystones and brownstones along these Midwestern streets. A harsh winter has finally relented to more pleasant weather this morning as we pass the fresh green shoots of new grass and flowering urban plants. Rosemary does her best to fertilize the landscape, conscientiously rationing the precious deposits to mark our passing. I unsheathe a plastic bag designed for the purpose and gather up the number two deposits in a responsible gesture of neighborly love. Thankfully, Rosemary is a small dog. Our crusading mantra is to “take only memories, leave only footsteps.”

Our wanderings are full of curiosity and respect for our surroundings. A calico cat from T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats wanders outside in a gated yard and Rosemary issues a sharp bark to validate the intrusion of our sacrosanct space. The calico doesn’t acknowledge our claim and moves on without even flinching, knowing the decorative iron fencing is impenetrable. I suspect Rosemary knows this as well as she bristles with righteous indignation. A large black ant abandons caution and aimlessly wanders across our path along the shaded sidewalk. Rosemary investigates and unceremoniously eats it.

DOG YEARS

Happy, Happy, Happy, Chicago, IL

I recently read a short story about a family with a six year old son that had just euthanized their terminally ill dog. The parents took the young child along for a teaching moment life lesson. However, as sometimes happens, they were the ones who benefited from their son’s “wiser than his years” observation. As they were pondering why dogs don’t live as long as we humans, the little boy offered up his opinion. He observed that we humans are born to learn how to live a good life and love one another. Since dogs are already born with that ability, they simply don’t need to live as long. You know what? That actually makes a lot of sense!

A dog wakes up each morning with the attitude that “I’m gonna live life to the fullest--so far, so good”! No matter how you treat a dog, he’s always exceedingly happy to see you when you return home. I’ve never met a dog that didn’t enjoy a good road trip; preferably with his nose sticking out the window sniffing all the good smells of mother earth as the wind rapidly flaps his ears. A brisk walk is a close second in terms of pure dog joy. There’s nothing like venturing out into the world with your trusty life friend and making your mark along the way—and I mean all along the way. When you encounter someone they know and trust, a dog will spontaneously break out into an unpretentious dance of life with shaking and tail wagging that won’t end until the petting stops.

And when the day is done or maybe it’s just the beginning of a long weekend, a dog will curl right up with you for a much needed, stress relieving, satisfying nap. If life has been less than bearable, a dog will sit silently beside you and intently listen to your every complaint and concern. He’ll join you in a quiet prayer for peace and goodwill and intently look you in the eyes when you’re reflecting on life with that classic expression which says, “That is so profound. I would have never thought of that”!

LIFE SPANS

Larry and Patches, Emporia, KS
Larry and Rosemary, Philadelphia, PA

Jesus quickly summed up the commandments for us by teaching us to love God and love others. We spend decades working to get unconditional love right.

Dogs are blessed with this birthright from the get go, which explains why they don’t need to stay as long.

ON HAVING GREAT HEART

Hearts I & II, Jamestown, NC

As we approach Valentine’s Day 2013, stylized heart symbols of love will begin to appear all around us. Saint Valentine of Terni lived around 270 during a time of great Christian persecution. He cut small hearts from parchment and gave them to the persecuted as symbols of God’s love. He was imprisoned because he was administering to Christians and refused to denounce his faith. Legend tells us that before his martyrdom, he restored the sight of his converted jailer’s daughter. The day before his execution he sent a farewell message to the young woman signed, “From your Valentine”. Above all else, the heart has been associated with the concept of love throughout all human history. And we know that God loves His creation unconditionally.

Prior to his own execution by the occupying Romans, Jesus told his disciples that there was no greater love than to give your life for others. The ancients knew that the physical heart moved life sustaining springs of life or blood throughout the body and easily associated it as the seat of the human soul and the control center of the will. Our emotions, loyalty, attributes of character, love, etc. have since been relegated to the brain’s frontal lobe, but we still refer to an Olympian with heart as one with a passion for excelling. How we direct the course of our life with a purity of heart or pure motive determines our ultimate destiny. Proverbs 3 counsels us to trust in the Lord with all your heart and he will make your paths straight.

Of all the creatures God provided to us human beings, I believe the dog teaches us best about unconditional love and heart. And although we know our life span is much longer than our four legged companions, life is difficult when we lose them. But I recently came across a wise saying that dogs enter our lives to teach us about love and depart to teach us about loss. And when another dog comes into our life, he doesn’t replace that sacred spot in our heart but simply expands it.

People with great heart will always be recognized as natural leaders and passionate followers.