Dear fellow list listener and reader,

A STORY OF A little BOY AND A small DOG
     "What Did You Learn In Life Today George?

   One day recently with the cold December winds settling the temperature
into the low twenties I relearned several valuable lessons; lessons I
seemingly had forgotten.........{ In 9 pt. type}
Think small. Yes come on down here and join me as I tell you this story
about a little boy by the name of  stevie and a  small dog who goes by the
name of Dillon       .
           On this typically chilled New England afternoon my mood was
drooping as fast as the temperature. Thinking small is only one of the
tenets  by which I try to guide my life. Another is try to accomplish
something every day. Not as easy as one might think if one is weighted down
by Parkinsons disease. On this particular Monday, although there was plenty
of time of time on the clock, this was one day I was ready to throw in the
towel and go back to bed but for such a curmudgeon I'm a fairly positive
thinker and so I put one step in front of the other knowing that I could
always wash the dishes before the midnight hour arrived. OK we can all get
up now. Just wanted to show you the ground view.{Resume 12 pt type}
          For hours I had called or visited  any number of friends and
merchants but no one could help me. Neither printer could print for me; a
framer couldn't frame for me; a record store couldn't find a record  for
me; a newspaper reporter couldn't do a side-bar story on me and my video; a
friend, who earlier in the day asked me for a ride since her daughter is 16
and just got her driving licence and really needed the car, no longer
needed the ride . I was unable to get on the phone with several friends,
WGBH-TV; the Nurse Manager for Nurse's Training at a local hospital and to
boot it was only shortly after the lunch hour. This was not going to be a
fun day or so I thought  at least until  I rediscovered a still another
tenet  which goes something  like : "If it isn't working from where you are
then take it somewhere else."
          And so I got into my car intending on going no where in
particularly but thinking that I might do well to go to the gym and work
off the gathering frustration. Instead  I went to the horseback riding
school for handicapped people [I'm on the waiting list for lessons]. to see
if there were any lessons being taught that day and then my bad luck broke
for there was indeed a 3 year old due to arrive at any moment for an hours
lesson. Stevie, dispite having slept on the way over appeared focused,eager
and very much in control of himself and his nearby environment although he
decided to look at or wave to  the onlookers only on occasion. He did not
appear frightened of the horse nor at all challenged by the gentle
instructions issued by his side-walker. He rode the horse sitting up, lying
down on his back and across the saddle area getting a good stretching. He
experiences dystonia in his legs which makes his walking difficult but in
his year and a half on a horse had improved his balance and his
walking/running showed that improvement according to his mom who most
kindly answered my many questions.
       But probable Stevie's most remarkable obseverable feature is to be
found in his eyes......I thought I recognized the clearness of his
thinking, an intense sense of wisdom well beyond  his years but maybe not.
I saw little seriousness, sadness or frustration for himself or his
health.. What I did notice was a dollop of bemusement and a bunch [ that's
two handfuls] of humor. He enjoyed playing tricks on me. By the riding area
there is a platform with stairs at one end and a ramp at the other. He
would make in haste toward the stairs in his tottering gate looking to all
his and my world  [and perhaps only mine on second thought] that he was
going to go airborne down those huge dangerous stairs. I instinctively
reached out my hand which he took but as I was preparing to support his
decent down these giant stairs he would let go of my hand and with a
gleeful sound he went the other way down the ramp. He repeated this
activity until he was satisfied that I would never catch on to his little
game as evidenced by my outreached hand.
     Running came next. No small fete with dystonia gripping his legs but
off he went  only to fall but recover each time as I reached down for him.
He certainly established his independence from me but this spirited
response told me of what was there but not to be seen by  my eyes. He is a
strong of mind person who values his interdependence with his mom, his
teachers, his [for an hour or so] horse, Smoky and this grateful recipient
of today's lesson......That the handicap comes to only what Stevie/ George
allow it to be. In fact it may  not be a handicap at all. Only a physical
limitation leaving much room for our heart and mind to grow.
                            ***********************************
And then there is "The Matter of Sally's Dog "  or should it be called 'A
Lick In Time.... "
     As I was leaving "school" today I became reacquainted  with  Dillon  a
Jack Russell kind of dog who I had met a few weeks ago on my first visit
to this riding school. Dillon isn't noted for being laid back, reserved, I
could care less about your problem kind of dog. No sir , Dillon gets right
to the matter at hand or face. You see, Dillon
figures the whole world would be a better place if every one would lick
[and lick ] one another. Dillon reasons that it would not be possible for
say, a batterer to batter his "Loved Ones" if he were busy licking their
face.  How could a bunch of young folk ever
"party hearty" if a bunch of jack Russells or parents [hey, there's a novel
idea] were there and every time a young-en tried to pick up a bottle some
ones leap on to them and lick their face?
        Do you think different breeds of dogs would have a different
approach/philosophy to the "party hearty" type gathering ? Would big Labs
simply sit on the party goers?
Would Irish Sheep dogs  "herd" them out of harms ways. What about
Chihusahuas? [Yes what about them!  The little......!] Wouldn't their
incessant low pitched and sharp barking send every one home early?
        A local chief of police recently proposed renting buses to
transport offending party goers to holding and processing centers. With out
discussing the meritlessness  of this proposal doesn't it make more sense
for people to blow their dog whistles. Within  minutes the neighborhood
would  be flooded with dogs all set to do their things; the Labs to sit
upon, the Irish Sheep dogs to herd, the Seeing Eye dog to see their blind
drunk charges home, the brave Chihusahuas to nip at the heals of the
slow-to-disperse etc.
       Sorry for the digression Dillon but your lick in time encouraged me
to spread the word. [ DROP A DIME__LICK A CRIME ] Back to the
scene....December cold, my feet and face are cold, frozen you might say and
Sally  lets Dillon out of her car where he had  been for the past hour and
he made a beeline for everyone at the exact same moment resulting in there
a sniff, here a sniff.... There a bark, here a bark. This dog is totally
unorganized!!  Ready he was to climb up my leg but settled instead to be
picked up. And was his tiny body shivering ....combination of the cold and
excitement. I don'tthink Sally knew what to say..."Should I take Dillon off
his hands?  Should I take George off Dillon's paws!"  Maybe I wasn't
holding him correctly. Like there is a correct way of holding this moving
bundle of cold energy. Maybe she took me to be a dog napper. Then I thought
I noticed a sense of relief come over her face when I tucked  Dillon inside
my  sport coat. He  began to relax as the warmth from my chest and arms
made its way into his frame and in gratitude or as a result of his
perpetual motion he leaned back and licked my face.... My coat, my hands,
my glasses..... Anything that could be licked . As I handed Dillon back to
Sally I was aware of this quick, small jolt of pain that sometimes comes at
times of departure but this brief jolt was insignificant when compared to
the pleasure of the hour.
         So thanks to you, Steve and Dillon, for reminding me of some old
but forgotten tenets about how I should live my life=8A
           "Think small"
           "If it isn't working from where you are then take it somewhere el=
se."
           " Accomplish something every day by putting one foot in front of
the other
                   instead of your mouth"
           " Avoid saying ' for me' too many times in a given day"
  Recent additions
           "Be grateful for being who you are for you could be the local
Chief of Police"
           " Drop a dine....Lick a crime"
           " When you are cold get inside someone's coat"   OK,  OK I just
made that one up.

Love with an attitude
   george


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