Well, I guess I ought to counteract my own posting with something a bit more upbeat. And I do have a great story that involves the young fellow with whom I spend most of my time: My brother and sister-in-law's dog. At this very moment, said puppy is sitting next to my chair, chewing on a size 9 Adidas tennis shoe, thankfully one of his toys and not anybody's actual shoe. He's not a mean dog, although we tend to think that he would be a belligerent drunk (that has yet to be tested). He also doesn't demonstrate the sort of sensory understanding that the rest of us take for granted - that being in the realm of pain. He can run full speed, head-first into a door and walks up to you, wagging his tail, two seconds later. He chews on concrete and metal and makes his own mouth bleed. He falls backwards on the kitchen floor while trying to retrieve
a toy mid-air, and doesn't show any indication of being hurt. I mean, this is really just my attempt to introduce you to the dog that astounded us last night with something that seems beyond his mental capacity (due to head injury and nothing more). The three of us non-canine residents were watching The Upside of Anger (well worth it) when we realized the sole canine unit had spent more time than usual in the limited back yard we possess. The energetic dog bolted into the house, jumping up on my sister-in-law and smearing her with mud (I forgot to mention this dog loves mud more than a pig). It took us several minutes to corral the pooch and wipe off his muddy muzzle and paws. And then there was a great mystery. Even though I live in what can be considered a rain forest, it's the dry season and it hasn't rained for several days. The lawn sprinklers do not come on until 11 p.m., and it wasn't yet 9 o'clock. Where was the puppy finding this mud? My brother went out back in search of an explaination, and what he found astonished us all. Our dog had dug a hole below the spot where the air conditioner drips, and he made himself a little mud hole to turn his white muzzle to black. We were trying to discipline the puppy, but we were laughing too much. I guess it's not as exciting when you're not around. Okay, enough stories from me. What's everybody else doing?