Murphy and I catch the trails at the craggy overhang off Lamar and 30th. It's absolutely a delight to walk Murphy because he's so obedient. I have had him for just over a month now and when he takes off after another dog, I call out, MURRFFF, and he dashes to my side. On the stretch between 24th and 29th, pets are allowed to be off leash, and dogs rub noses, sniff bums and try to hump each other. Mutt-mitts for easy disposal of poop are available at various points on the trails.
Some owners let their dogs off-leash even in non-designated areas. I'm tempted to do this, but a couple I know are suing the owners of a dog that dashed in front of their tandem bike and had the two riders landing on their heads. That's a strong enough deterrent for me not to have Murphy off the leash where he's not supposed to be off leash.
We stopped to watch disc golf -- frisbees as golf balls and chainlink nets on poles, as holes. Fun. Not so fun when I found myself scratching my tummy which looked as though a dozen red bindis were stuck on it. Fleas? Murphy is on Sentinel, but he's going to have a flea/tick shampooing right now. It's such a pleasure to bathe him. He joins me in our shower-stall and enjoys all the grooming and fussing. I do hope he's not a lecherous old man reborn as a dog :-)
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Shiv Sena
I was in Whole Foods standing in line at the cashier. The woman in front of me was in a wheelchair, she had a bag slung on the handles of the wheelchair and held another on her lap. In these two bags were all her groceries. Politely declining assistance, she wheeled her way out and waited for a bus for the handicapped to pick her up.
She was young, with straight, blonde hair stopping at her jawline in a trendy cut, but what got me talking to her was her dazzling smile, her white beautifully aligned teeth.
'You're so beautiful, I said. 'And I absolutely love your personality.'
'Oh thank you,' she said.
'Are you in a wheelchair...because of an accident?' I asked her.
'No, I have a degenerative disease,' she said. 'I hear there might be a cure for it this year'. Her mouth twisted to one side as she spoke and I had great difficulty understanding her.
'What's it called?'
It sounded like frieder's Attack. I did not ask her to repeat the name, confident that I'd be able to google it. And I did. It's called Friedreich's Ataxia.
I was thinking, we have so many things that can go wrong in us and instead of cherishing all that we have, we go about destroying each other, and often in the name of religion. When I hear of violence from Hindu groups and, recently, of the pub attack in Mangalore, I'm completely at a loss to understand their thinking.
I'm very curious to know what the Shiv Sena has to say of The Finger Puppet.
She was young, with straight, blonde hair stopping at her jawline in a trendy cut, but what got me talking to her was her dazzling smile, her white beautifully aligned teeth.
'You're so beautiful, I said. 'And I absolutely love your personality.'
'Oh thank you,' she said.
'Are you in a wheelchair...because of an accident?' I asked her.
'No, I have a degenerative disease,' she said. 'I hear there might be a cure for it this year'. Her mouth twisted to one side as she spoke and I had great difficulty understanding her.
'What's it called?'
It sounded like frieder's Attack. I did not ask her to repeat the name, confident that I'd be able to google it. And I did. It's called Friedreich's Ataxia.
I was thinking, we have so many things that can go wrong in us and instead of cherishing all that we have, we go about destroying each other, and often in the name of religion. When I hear of violence from Hindu groups and, recently, of the pub attack in Mangalore, I'm completely at a loss to understand their thinking.
I'm very curious to know what the Shiv Sena has to say of The Finger Puppet.
Andres Rosales
I'm back in Austin. On the way, on 71, a cop stopped a speeding motorist and I immediately glanced at my speedometer. As always, my speed was well under the speeding limit. With Murphy in the car, I am extra careful. I wondered though what Murphy would do if a cop thrust his head in our car? Would Murphy bark as he does when someone approaches our driveway? Would the cop be startled, pull out a gun? My thoughts spun into a dark comedy as I drove on.
In Bastrop, I pulled into a well-lit gas station and then forgot to turn on my headlights when we got back on the road. I saw the flashing lights of a cop car in my rearview mirror and I exited the highway, parked on the shoulder of the road and waited for the cop's face to materialize. Murphy got up. Stopping again? He thrust his big head in front just as the cop walked over to the passenger side. I lowered the window about two inches.
'I have a dog, I said, even though the cop would have seen Murphy's silhouette through the rear window.
He turned his flashlight on Murphy.
'He's extremely gentle,' I said.
'Can I have your driver's license?' he asked.
First I gave him my credit card, and then my Yoga class card. These days MAC does not charge for Yoga, but I had bought it a year ago only to drop out when I found that I was the only one in the entire class of non-Indians who could not sit cross-legged. Anyway, I kept pulling out various cards, like a magician, from a slim slot in my purse -- specially designed for the driver's license. The cop waited patiently, shining his flashlight on my handbag while I rummaged through the many compartments.
'Here it is,' I said, ‘I knew I had it somewhere.'
He disappeared with it and returned some minutes later. 'I'm giving you a warning this time,' he said.
‘Thanks,’ I said. He really was the nicest cop I have ever met and so I asked him for his name, because that’s not always legible on the ticket/notice. ‘I want to blog about this.’
‘Sure,’ he said, giving me his card.
If all cops were like patrol officer Andres Rosales, being apprehended for a traffic violation may not be such an unnerving experience.
In Bastrop, I pulled into a well-lit gas station and then forgot to turn on my headlights when we got back on the road. I saw the flashing lights of a cop car in my rearview mirror and I exited the highway, parked on the shoulder of the road and waited for the cop's face to materialize. Murphy got up. Stopping again? He thrust his big head in front just as the cop walked over to the passenger side. I lowered the window about two inches.
'I have a dog, I said, even though the cop would have seen Murphy's silhouette through the rear window.
He turned his flashlight on Murphy.
'He's extremely gentle,' I said.
'Can I have your driver's license?' he asked.
First I gave him my credit card, and then my Yoga class card. These days MAC does not charge for Yoga, but I had bought it a year ago only to drop out when I found that I was the only one in the entire class of non-Indians who could not sit cross-legged. Anyway, I kept pulling out various cards, like a magician, from a slim slot in my purse -- specially designed for the driver's license. The cop waited patiently, shining his flashlight on my handbag while I rummaged through the many compartments.
'Here it is,' I said, ‘I knew I had it somewhere.'
He disappeared with it and returned some minutes later. 'I'm giving you a warning this time,' he said.
‘Thanks,’ I said. He really was the nicest cop I have ever met and so I asked him for his name, because that’s not always legible on the ticket/notice. ‘I want to blog about this.’
‘Sure,’ he said, giving me his card.
If all cops were like patrol officer Andres Rosales, being apprehended for a traffic violation may not be such an unnerving experience.
After Slumdog Millionaire
Full of clichés though Slumdog Millionaire is, there were some very compelling images that had me revisiting India in my mind. Hence the long silence...
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Slumdog
Our house in Chennai, India, overlooked the Buckingham canal on whose banks mushroomed huts of mud and thatch. From up on the terrace, I could look into the homes, hear laughter and song and gossip and brawls. Dog or slumdog, flung at one another and intended to insult, would have me bristling.
‘Don’t insult dogs.’ I’d yell from the terrace revealing myself.
Everyone in the slums knew us or rather, of us, of our love of dogs and creatures. There were always a bunch of strays hanging about our house and guarding our gates. Many of them victims of abuse and rescued by my mother. These slumdogs showed a love and loyalty that very few humans are capable of.
I was very surprised to read this, http://www.tehelka.com/dotnet/mainheadline.asp?id=1
I love the title, Slumdog Millionaire, and I am looking forward to seeing the movie. Over the years, we have grown accustomed to watching DVD’s at home, because I’m usually so cold in the theatre. But for the first time I feel awkward to admit not having seen a movie that all my friends have and are raving about. So this weekend we shall watch the movie on the big screen.
‘Don’t insult dogs.’ I’d yell from the terrace revealing myself.
Everyone in the slums knew us or rather, of us, of our love of dogs and creatures. There were always a bunch of strays hanging about our house and guarding our gates. Many of them victims of abuse and rescued by my mother. These slumdogs showed a love and loyalty that very few humans are capable of.
I was very surprised to read this, http://www.tehelka.com/dotnet/mainheadline.asp?id=1
I love the title, Slumdog Millionaire, and I am looking forward to seeing the movie. Over the years, we have grown accustomed to watching DVD’s at home, because I’m usually so cold in the theatre. But for the first time I feel awkward to admit not having seen a movie that all my friends have and are raving about. So this weekend we shall watch the movie on the big screen.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
This is Murphy’s 36 x 48 orthopedic bed. He chose it. Like Goldilocks, he tried the variety of snugglies and snoozies I spread on the floor in Petsmart. Too floppy, he said, rolling off a giant pillow. He didn’t like the boxed-in feeling of the ones that look like a fluffy bathtub. Perfect, he said, stretching himself on this one. I’m going to get another of the same – Road Companion – for his car rides.
After Petsmart, I thought I'd go to the grocers, but of course I couldn't take Murphy along, so I had to leave him home. I hate to be separated from him for even a few minutes. I am tempted to keep my sunglasses on when I enter a store, tap a cane and get Murphy to pretend he's my Seeing Eye dog.
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