Wally’s Great Adventures (23)


hello peeps, wally here. big news today but before we get to that, let me share the update on my trip to the vet. i weighed in at 11 lbs. dad said he was surprised it was that high given the piles i dropped under the dining room table 2 days in a row. I was going to tell dad to have him try pop-a-squat and go poo poo on the frozen grass when its freezing cold outside but i’m sure that would have pushed him over the edge. the vet told mom that i should be 2x my current weight when i’m full grown, that’s 22 lbs. mom was so happy that i will be at smaller end for frenchies. dad said that must account for my Napoleon complex as i bully sully all the time, even though sully is 3-4x my size. i didn’t know what dad meant, but you know positive-dad, it couldn’t have been good, will worry about this napoleon thing later. I stopped shivering after the vet’s helpers gave me so many excellent cookies, but next time i won’t forget that at the vet, excellent cookies come with a giant needle stuck up your poo poo hole, fool me once…i mean really. so, as you can see from the pictures, this shot has made me very sleepy, so i’ve been napping all day.

oh, before i forget, the BIG story. dad has been mumbling all afternoon ‘that i’ve lost my son, i’ve lost my son.’ You remember that last post (#22) about Eric AD (After Dana). well, dana marched eric right out the front door, and she said she was taking eric for a pedicure. dad said pedi what? ‘say what?!?!’ dad was stuttering now. dana repeated “pedicure.” sully and i watched dad, he didn’t look well. he kept mumbling ‘he’s gone’, ‘he’s lost now.’ finally dad told dana that ‘the MEN (sully, me and dad) will stay home.’ for evidence, mom took a picture of dana and eric getting a pedicure and sent it to dad. dad said ‘good god, he actually did it.’ Not sure if dad will ever recover but i’ll be sure to keep you posted. that’s all for today everyone, back to nap time. Wally.

 

Wally’s Great Adventures (22)


hello peeps, wally here. big story today (this week, this month, past 3 months) has been DANA, erics grrrrrr grrrrllll girrrllll friend. dad explained to me that there was a period in history called AD and BD. mom corrected him (always doing that) and said, no, its BC and AD. he said NO, it is BD and AD, that is eric “before Dana – BD” and eric “after Dana – AD”, dad calls it a human transformation. dad and i spotted eric spotted doing laundry (huh?). dana sent us a photo of eric vacuuming. (say what?). eric was spotted in kitchen putting dirty dishes in dishwasher. (mirage?) eric now drinks hot tea (drinks what?). eric wears matching raybans and matching faherty fleece sweatshirts with dana. eric sits and has civil conversations with his parents (important note, this is when Dana is present). so dana has been like what dad calls manna from heaven. we celebrated dana’s birthday the other day and i helped her blow out her candles (not really, but i would have liked some cake). dana gives the best hugs. i love dana. and dad said i best love her so she never leaves because then we will get the old eric BD. that’s all for tonight everyone. have a good night. Wally.

 

Monday Morning Wake-Up Call

What would it be like, I wondered, to live with that heightened sensitivity to the lives given for ours? To consider the tree in the Kleenex, the algae in the toothpaste, the oaks in the floor, the grapes in the wine; to follow back the thread of life in everything and pay it respect? Once you start, it’s hard to stop, and you begin to feel yourself awash in gifts.

—  Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and The Teachings of Plants (Milkweed Editions, September 16, 2013) (via acti-veg)

Wally’s Great Adventures (21)

hello peeps, wally here. mom went to run errands and left dad in charge, and thats when the good times roll. I love mom but she treats me like a little baby, baby, little baby – she puts up cardboard boxes blocking my access to all rooms but the kitchen and family room. while dad lets me explore, he treats me like a grown up. I love dad. he gets behind his computer and totally forgets about me so i can go on adventures. i walk from room to room smelling cool things. i crawled into erics open suitcase under his bed, found his leather belt, got myself comfortable, and started gnawing on it. it felt so good on my teeth. 10 minutes later i heard dad calling for me. I got really quiet because this was a great time for dad and me to play hide and seek. dad started yelling louder. “WALLY! THIS ISNT FUNNY!” i barked to let dad know where to find me. dad came running in the room…WALLY, I TOLD YOU TO STAY OUT OF TROUBLE. he dragged eric’s suitcase out from under the bed and there i was, laying on my tummy with erics belt in my mouth. i barked at him: peek-a-boo dad! dad asked me to open my mouth, he stuck in his giant fingers and made me gag, and he pulled out blobs of leather gunk. WALLY! he said, your tongue is red, mom is going to freak! dad carried me into the bathroom and started to wash my tongue with a wash cloth. i bit down on the wash cloth and dad’s finger. WALLY, THAT f*cking HURT! dad yelled. well dad how would like me to wash your tongue with a giant wash cloth. so while dad was putting a bandaid on his little boo-boo, he let me explore in the bathroom. after we were done, dad tucked me in for a nap and he went back to work. see the last pic? dad noticed i had red eye and freaked. he told me i had better not say anything to mom or he would blame me for doing bad shit with the belt and now i had pink eye. that’s all for tonight everyone. have a good night. Wally.

Walking. ’tis the season.

955 consecutive (almost) days. Like in a row. Forecast is for rain, and more rain. I can hear it tapping on the gutters and the hood of the car. Wally is sleeping, he looks up out of the corner of his eye, no chance i’m going out in this, no chance. You’re on your own dad.

We’re now 45 days from 1,000, and duty calls. I trudge downstairs out the door, and drive to Cove Island Park.

I’m sitting in the parking lot, car is running, heater blows. Wind gusts up to 44 mph splash buckets of rain against the car, the wipers slapping from side to side struggle to chase it all off the windshield.

I need to find something, anything to record that I was here. You did it. You were here. But, it’s not letting up and there’s no chance I’m going out in this.

I cue up George Winston’s December, and like the magic of the season, it turns the soul to a softer place.

I turn the heat up to 71° F and sit and listen, to the heater blowing, the music, and the wind and rain. Krouse: “Nothing is more comforting than the sound of rain when you’re not in it.”

Continue reading “Walking. ’tis the season.”