Thursday, May 16, 2013

Am I Turning in to Mango?


Momma claims that I am developing some "Mango-esque" traits. Why not? Even an absurdly large, big bully, cry baby, momma's dog had to get some things right. 

Of late I have been sampling some of his favorite meditation locations and discovered that being next to Momma's comfy chair or grabbing the afternoon sun puddle on the living room carpet is quite satisfying.

Which led me to wonder "what was Mango doing in the dog cave every morning?"

Every day, like clockwork, that big old bumbling beast would retire to the dog cave after breakfast to lounge in his bed (albeit sometimes with a poor approximation of actually being "in" the bed).







"Why?" I asked my labraself, "would Captain Velcro opt to be in a room other than where his besotted momma was?"

I thought, "What the heck? I'll give it a try." 

You know what? That walnut brain was on to something. Because I love the peace of having my own quiet time in the morning to meditate and plan my daily activities.

Thus, after breakfast, while Momma reads the daily news in her living room comfy chair, you can now find me in the dog cave, snuggled in my labrasized bed.





Momma thinks this is quite odd since 99.99% of the time I use my couch for relaxing and I am almost always striving to be in the same room with her. But sometimes a guy just needs space. You know what I mean?

How about you? Do you have any habits that your humans find curious, but that actually make sense if they would just use their little brains for a moment?

Dexter done!

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Turkey in the Flower Beds


Hey, Dexter, is it OK if I post that photo of the turkey in the flower beds?

If you must.





























Oh hahaha! Get it? Turkey in the flower beds? Except it's you, see? I crack myself up!

Yes, yes, I get it. Very amusing, I'm sure (if you're twelve). Just post the turkey photo.

OK, OK, here goes....


















Gotcha! Oh man! I am so witty!

Are you off your meds again?

Huh? What? Oh, Dex, you're such a card. This time for sure.










Kind of dorky, isn't it?

Yes, turkeys are like that.

Dexter done!

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Babbling Humans




Ever wonder why humans make extra words sounds when they are attempting to communicate?

What Momma says:

I hope you remembered to poop when you went out after breakfast.

Sounds like:

Blah, blah, blabbity blah blah POOP blobitty OUT blah blah BREAKFAST.



And she wonders why I don't listen to her.

Dexter done!

Monday, April 15, 2013

Mango Momma Reflections


How to begin? 

The bombing at the Boston Marathon.

My first concern was for people I knew who were in the marathon or watching. Selfish, I know, but that's human nature. After that, I scanned reports of friends of friends who were also OK as if every person accounted for would somehow erase the fact that two people are dead, many others seriously injured.

Acts of violence are, sadly, a fact of being human. This is nothing new. History is filled with atrocities committed in the name of the state, religion, or any number of beliefs that eradicating one life will somehow "better" the lives of those left behind. 

When confronted directly with violence, there is no ready response in the catalog of human emotion that will set the mind at ease. 

If I am honest, the overriding emotion is one of fear for my own mortality, followed by fear that all I hold dear could be swiftly taken away. We're all going to die. Most of us, through some insult to our person of disease or age. But for some few, their lives will be ripped away by violent means. And when that happens, the mind reels out of control, seeks reason, seeks answers, seeks something that will make it all logical.

That comfort is not to be found. 

And so we join together in the immediate aftermath. 

But slowly, our ordinary lives will take over. Slowly the shock retreats into the corners of the mind, replaced by the day to day. 

One thing I have learned in life is that there is nothing that can prepare you for the reality of a tragic life event. We can watch all the news footage we want of disasters, man-made or other, offer sympathy, say the right words, but until it happens to you, you will never know what it really means. 

The Boston Marathon bombing didn't happen to me. It did not kill or hurt anybody I know. Which leaves me conflicted. The relief that I am OK, my friends are OK, is overwhelming. Kick up my heels happy making. Not me! Not me! But that relief is countered by an overwhelming sadness that casts a darkness over everything I see and touch in my small, safe world.

I cannot know what the families are feeling. But I am thinking of them. I cannot change human nature. I cannot create a world without violence. But I can try to find the balance between living my life and doing my part to fight against hatred fueled horrors, both locally and globally. 

It isn't easy. Not for me. Not for any of us.


Mango Momma