Neighbors & Friends

It sure was a splendiforous Holiday season from most everyone's perspective but mine. For some reason I don't get to go to the parties that I know for sure were taking place all around us because I heard lots of laughter and some of it was Meme's and Poppy's.  They think I can't hear with the doors shut, but I can.  And I let them know it one night in my own special way. 

Still, I have to say that Christmas morning was pretty special even for me.  It was "just us" and I knew something good was going to happen when the stockings arrived on the bed.  There were 3 ... one for each of us.  I had treats and bones and best of all a piece of rawhide which is usually a big no-no for me, but this was a very special day.  So all the presents were opened and everyone was pretty happy with their bounty.  Only problem was I didn't smell anything cooking which meant, one more time, I was left home alone.

We live in a community with lots of neighbors.  When you fly in, the houses look like they are attached ... that's how close together they are.  Even though Meme grew up without another house in sight, she always wished she had neighbors.  All grown up she lived in an apartment in New York City for years and years. And Poppy, too, was used to the city with neighbors close by. So Meme has memories of what she calls the "sweet innocent life of the country" while Poppy remembers the "exciting sweet life of the streets". They often argue.... whoops! I mean "discuss" the pros and cons of both.

If they asked me I'd vote for neighborhood living.  When I go out for my romps, I like to see people and other dogs. It just makes life much more interesting. But the truth is every house is filled with people who live separate lives from us and love their dogs as much as I am loved.  People have stuff they have to do, jobs they need to go to, kids they have to take care of or parents who need their help. There's always something going on that puts people into their cars and takes them down the street and out onto the highways ... sometimes just for an hour or two and sometimes for days or weeks at a time. And when they drive out of their driveways and out onto the street they wave at their neighbors as they pass; if they have a few extra minutes they'll stop, roll down the window and talk for a bit. But then they go on their way and their neighbors go back in their houses and they may not see each other again for weeks at a time.

Hanukkah came very close to Christmas this year so in December there were people celebrating special holidays all over the world.  Everyone everywhere was just friendlier and on our street there were lots of decorations and lights. The back of our house looks across a lake and the people on the other side put up the prettiest holiday lights I ever did see.  Meme considers those lights part of our decorations and she "frames" our view with tiny white lights on our patio trees. The bright festive lights sparkled on the water like dancing fireflies on a New England Spring evening. And then there were the parties with neighbors inviting neighbors into their homes so they could get a chance to know each other better than a quick wave as they go about their lives.

There's something about the season and something almost magical comes over just about everyone this time of year.  People reach out to their neighbors inviting them to share some time with their families and friends.  And while I'm left home to wait for Meme and Poppy to come back, I also know what it means to live in a place we now call "home", a place once alien and so far from everything they'd ever known and loved.

So with the holidays behind us we begin a brand new spanking year.  It's a time everyone starts fresh with a clean slate, an empty canvas with a brand new set of crayons, the mistakes of last year set to rest ... when we promise ourselves that this year will be different and we'll stick to all our resolutions.  I know there's one thing I hope and my family share .... that all the camaraderie that everyone shared over the holidays continues and everyone doesn't go back in their houses closing the door behind them, waving quickly from their cars as they drive down the street.   We're all in this together; we all face the big stuff that comes our way so maybe we can keep that warm, friendly feeling going all year long.  We sure can try.

 'Til Next Time,

Molly

Taking the Long Way Home ...

We're safely home after another endless road trip which pretty much amounts to me lying on three of my beds in the back seat of the car with cushions all around (Meme's definition of doggie air bags). In order to drink a simple splash of water I whimper a little so Meme will whip out this special water bottle that she squeezes and water dribbles pathetically into a sort of bowl that's attached.

We stop at weird parking lots along the highway with rest rooms and some pretty pathetic grass for me. Heaven forbid I set paw in the 'pristine' picnic areas. I totally don't get this because I'll put my little white paws up against their dirty shoes any day of the week, but I digress. We visit McDonalds and Wendy's and then overnight at the Hampton Inn which is totally boring because I can't even look out the window!

After a couple of days we finally get where we're going and we move all the stuff from the car into a strange house with all sorts of unusual smells, lots of sand outside to run in and more water than anyone could ever drink but for some reason I'm not allowed to. No sooner I adjust to breaking every routine I've ever known, we load everything back in the car, go through the whole fast food, parking lots, Hampton Inn thing again and end up back where we started from!!! Humans can be pretty confusing sometimes.

About a century ago; or was it sometime in the last century ... I get confused ... Meme's family would pack everyone into the car (3 kids and 2 very large dogs) and drive from Connecticut to Cape Cod where they would rent a little cottage for a week or two . Now mind you, the littlest kid sat in the front seat between Mom and Dad on top of all the sheets and towels and the other 2 kids, along with 2 giant dogs, were in the back seat with the dogs' heads hanging out the window with their drool running down the glass. And there they would all be for the next 4 hours or so counting license plates from different states, singing along together, with the littlest one in the front screaming "Where's my Cape Cod?" about a mile down the road from their house. No SUV, no station wagon, no DVD player, iPods, video games, no seat belts or child-safe seats ... just their 4-door Ford with the metallic green paint tooling down the road off on a holiday together. It was the best of times.

Meme has such wonderful memories of those vacations that the older she gets the more she wants to be back there. She does whatever it takes to recreate those moments kicking it up a notch by renting right on the beach looking out over the Atlantic ocean. They started out renting on Cape Cod a few years ago, but the older they get the harder the drive is for them so they keep moving closer to home. Poppy says why can't we just drive the 12 miles to our own ocean??? Why not just go to the beach every day and out to dinner every night right here? Meme just shakes her head in disbelief ... he just doesn't get it.

When you drive the back roads to Topsail Island you pass through a town called Fair Bluff. It's gone in an instant; you barely have time to draw a breath and if you're talking or not paying attention, you may miss it. For Meme it was like stepping back in time. We didn't go that route on our way up to Topsail, but we drove that way coming home. It's too bad Meme was at the wheel or she'd have pictures to share, but she says maybe it's meant to be left etched only in her mind.

With all the hours of driving and tons of days soaking up the sun and Topsail Beach, it's funny that little town stood out for her, but it did. Just about 40 miles from bustling Myrtle Beach, Fair Bluff rests along the Lumber River in Columbus County, NC. She laughed as we passed a sign saying "city limits" until she was reminded of the 'cities' in the 50's. As quickly as we entered the city it was gone and we drove past trees along the river covered with Spanish moss and on through the rolling countryside as if it never happened. But now she knows it's there ... Fairbluff. In a time when we yearn for a better world, Meme thinks this just possibly may be a town called "Hope" and a link to better times down the road.

But I've got my tail in front of my head again so let's get back to our vacation. We visited Topsail last year and Meme ached to go back. So before Poppy even knew what was happening poor guy was trudging up the stairs with bags and boxes for 9 days at the beach. He's getting a little long in the tooth for this, but Meme keeps saying the next time she'll pack more lightly. But what she actually does is buy lighter packing bags and puts all the same stuff in smaller boxes so each one may weigh less, but he ends up making a gizillion treks up the stairs!! He says why can't Meme find a house that isn't on stilts but she keeps explaining they couldn't see the ocean!!! It just never ends with those two. You have no idea what I have to put up with.

Once I settled in with all my favorite things close by me, we really did have a super duper time relaxing, sitting on the deck, taking walks on the beach and looking for shells. They also left me behind and went out to dinner, but I don't want to bring that memory back. The first couple of days there was a ton of rain as hurricanes passed way to our east. The waves were huge and I wouldn't go near them. But by the 3rd day the clouds slowly opened up to the most beautiful clear skies and soon after the fierce ocean we'd been greeted by quieted to beautiful rolling waves breaking along the shore and Meme was never far from her camera.

We brought home stones washed by the sea and shells thrown up by the waves and we've got hundreds of pictures to remind us of all those perfect days looking out over an ever changing sky and ocean. And still Meme thinks about the city of Fair Bluff where just for an instant following a perfect vacation, she was reminded of a time long ago when life was so much simpler and held so much promise.

Sometimes the back way can take a bit longer. But sometimes the answers lie in veering off the beaten track even if it takes us a little out of our way. One thing is sure, the ocean will always be there and hopefully so will the houses that lie along its coast. But when you come to a fork in the road, taking the road less traveled can sometimes make all the difference.

'Til next time ...

Molly

If you'd like to see more of our vacation pictures, just click here:

picasaweb.google.com/106137413221576546805/TripToTopsailIslandSeptember2011



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In Sickness and in Health

Okay .... I really try to hold my tongue sometimes because Meme tells me it's very easy to offend people these days and it's something she says is "just not done".

But I have to say it ... enough with the sanitizing, de-germification, anti-bacterial fumigation, and so forth and so on. And time to stop blaming all these viruses on the pigs and the birds, next thing you know you'll blame the dogs ... ENOUGH!!!

You don't have to listen to me. Meme knows this stuff. She's lived a looooong time and according to her (you just gotta trust this woman, believe me), the more germs you kill around you the better chance you're going to get sick. I'm not saying there aren't germs out there because there are, billions and billions as Carl Sagan would say. Gosh I miss that guy! But I digress.

I can see you now ... you're thinking what does a dumb dog know? Or even dumb Meme? But hear me out. In my eight years on this earth I have never had a cold or a flu bug and I have never used a paw sanitizer or an anti-bacterial wipe in my whole life. Heck, I'll eat off the floor, the road, you name it!!!

My explanation for my well being is simple and short. I have one hefty immune system that comes from constantly sticking my nose and mouth where feet and heaven knows what else have been. I've got my antibodies working twenty four seven. And look at me ... the picture of health and I'm no spring chicken.

I travel with Meme and Poppy and we stop at those 'in and out' motels along Route 95. You know the ones ... you never see another living being from the time you arrive 'til the time you leave, just cars coming in and driving out? Meme says some people go into these rooms with a cartload of cleaners and disinfectants and pretty much steralize the room before even setting foot in there. They make sure to wear slippers and spray that smelly Lysol stuff all over the phones and remotes. They pull the cover off the bed and throw it in the corner of the room or on top of the wardrobe (Meme admits she does do this sometimes).

Don't get me wrong. Of course we need to take certain precautions. Just wash your hands to Happy Birthday and leave it at that. And, sure, you might pick up a little virus along the way, but getting a little sick now and then reminds you how great it is to feel good! You know how it goes. You're down with a cold for a week or so, just miserable, rolling around in bed, drinking fluids, downing Vicks cough medicine (admit it, you sort of like that part), you just want to die. And then one day you wake up and say "Hey! I feel better!" You bound out of bed and you feel so strong you could fight a bull! And you fly into the day just happy to be alive. So you need those little illnesses now and then just to remind you how well your body works when everything is chugging along the way it should.

Seriously, ease up on yourself. You don't have to clean every surface you touch. You were given a good strong body to combat all those awful germs. Keep your kitchen counters clean, careful with your cutting boards, and wash your hands frequently.

You'll be fine. Trust me.

'Til Next Time,

Molly