You have Got to See This Dancing Dog

Oh, god, Travolta was never this cute!!! That is one clever dance team!!!

No Surprise

It's no surprise. I watched a show last night on laughter as a healing force. It calms students and creates community. This morning I am watching a story on dogs who greet visitors to stores on Nantucket. And remarkably the same thing happens. No, folks, don't laugh. Store owners report customers return each summer looking for their favorite canine store representatives.

Some stores even report that their sales improve because they have a dog to greet customers. It is no surprise to me. Dogs and cats have lowered my fears and resistance to looking strange and silly for years. In effect, they give me permission to be me -- no fear of social put-downs, no fear of being yelled at, no fear of people hurting me. And that confidence allows me to go to many places I would never go. Would I frequent shops that had animals there? Absolutely.

Of all the gin joints in all the world

March gets blamed for a lot of things. Windy weather, Caesar's death, crazy march hares from Alice in Wonderland just are a few things wrong with March. Personally? I have a grudge against it for my grandfather's death back in 1963 and now for the impending death of my brother-in-law. Winter is a cold and unforgiving time -- beautiful but not friendly. So cancer pulled up to our family this year. Again. Last time, my Newfoundland dog, Inde, got it. This time, my brother-in-law got it. And I find the usual blah, blah, blah from doctors and cancer websites even more aggravating. Yes, reality bites. I am mad. Not at the disease. It can't help itself. Not at the doctors. They can't help themselves either. I am mad about not being in control. I don't want my family to be vulnerable. I don't want to see them harmed by life. And yet life happens and we all happen to be a part of life. Of all the gin joints in all the world, cancer had to walk into mine. Damn.