The Dog is Healing Friday Round-Up

When we were ready to leave the dog park this afternoon, Swirl jumped into the truck. Lately, he has had to be lifted – all 70 pounds of him. It was a heavy lift for a guy of the same age. We see dog wellness on the horizon after a month of many pills and much worry. We used to fret over our kids but they left us and now do their own private fretting, leaving us to focus on Swirl and his more hardy comrade, Punchy.

Yesterday, I watched two hours of a County Board debate about whether to exempt gun shows from a longstanding ordinance banning weapons in County buildings. Apparently, there has been a lot of looking the other way over the years, which I imagine must be hard when people are unloading trucks full of guns into a building normally used for soccer matches, but some dear county official finally said “whoa! no can do anymore.” The proponent of the exemption tried to make the case that gun shows were harmless because women went to them. Put that on your Rubik’s cube and make it line up.

Watching said debate made me long for my own copy of Robert’s Rules of Order. There were some interesting moves – calling the question, referring back to committee, seeking an “indefinite postponement,” and so the County Clerk was often called upon to render a judgement based on Robert’s Rules. I’ve watched a lot of meetings and chaired many but never got in a thicket where I had to go beyond the five things I know about parliamentary procedure. Now, if I get tangled up, I’ll have this handy 500 page reference in my back pocket or a large grocery bag. $17, but, just think, I can pass it on to my kids.

Tomorrow is the first night of Passover. We have had many lovely Seders but not this year. Not everyone is vaccinated and one member of the family is pregnant. So no risky business here. Instead, I am making matzo ball soup, meeting my kids for a walk, and dispensing soup from the back of our truck. I’m good with the chicken soup part of matzo ball soup but not so good on the balls. Luckily, I live a lot of the time in the world of “it’s the thought that counts” so I am unafraid.

The new chair of the Commission on Aging starts our meetings with one member’s personal reflection. Today, she spoke. Weaving on the theme of gratitude, she recounted growing up in the Mississippi delta, her family sharecroppers, how they would take baths in a big tin tub in front of the fireplace, grow their own food, and pick cotton. Then her folks brought the family north for more opportunities which apparently panned out because she is a successful attorney in town. She described how, everyday, she spends five minutes listing the things she is grateful for. Later she answered an email I sent her about the meeting and at the end, she closed by saying “I appreciate you” and I felt good about that even as I considered it might just be her regular practice to say. Either way, it softened the day and made it sweeter.