Category: Life

  • Thinking of Autumn and Climate Change

    I put pants on today. Since the last week in June until yesterday, I have been in shorts. It is Summer after all, so that should not come as a shock to anyone. But the fact that I put on a pair of khaki pants, and it is a little humid today so it might not have been the wisest decision, to me marks the start of Fall. That’s right, I am calling it: Today starts the slow and steady decent into the Autumn Season.

    Not too long ago, I made the declaration that I am over Summer. The heat, humidity, and the constant A/C being on, wore me down. I was, and still am, ready for the seasons to change. Today, I took an active step in acclimating myself to this coming Autumn.

    Yet, I don’t think any of us have been able to escape the constant and unrelenting news reports that this Summer was the hottest, and depending on where you lived, either the driest or wettest on record. Once in a 1,000-year droughts, or once in 1,000-year floods keep happening. The heat will only get worse. Meaning that Summers will get longer, making the other seasons shorter. Even talking to my father this weekend, and he isn’t the biggest believer of climate change, he has started to express worry and concern for the future.

    There are many things that I dislike about humanity, and sadly, I think most people are like my father. They didn’t believe climate change would happen, until it happened. I remember being in grade school, so that is the mid-80’s, and every school year we had an Earth Week, where we were taught about cleaning up and throwing away garbage, being respectful of nature, because if the planet started falling apart due to how we treated it, then we are all screwed. And I grew up in Texas, so I know I got the most conservative version of that message.

    Now at least, it seems like everyone is coming around to the truth. That at least makes me hopeful for the future, and for my daughter’s generation. I know two things to be true. One is that humans are great at adapting and overcoming life threating problems. We’ve been doing it for 100,000 years. The second goes back to what I said before, people only believe in something if they experience it first-hand. To me, that’s says that humanity is primed to solve this problem.

    I’m trying to stay optimistic, and keep the faith in all of us working together. I sure hope that’s not misplaced. In the meantime, I will start to think about taking the sweaters out of winter storage.

    (And on that happy note, If you like what you read, be a champ and give a like, or a share, or hell, even leave a comment. Does a body good!)

  • Socializing the Dog

    This is our family dog, Hattie.

    She looks like a puppy, but she isn’t. She’s a rescue from a puppy-mill, and she already had at least one litter by the time we adopted, and got her fixed. She is a smaller dog, which works great with our tiny Manhattan apartment. She likes to nap, as she will do with anyone who sits on the couch long enough. She’s playful, sweet with kids, and if you are a man, she is a huge flirt. She’s so friendly, that if were to get mugged while walking her, she most likely would roll over and show her belly to the mugger.

    That’s our dog.

    Oh, and our dog is a complete terror whenever she gets near another dog. I’m talking about growling, and barking, and jumping, and pulling at her leash. She’s gotten worked up to the point that she’s even bitten my hand when I tried to calm her down. Her behavior around other dogs is so bad, that on walks, other people with dogs know who she is, and they try to avoid her.

    It’s really annoying, and potentially a huge problem if she bites another dog, which makes it all the more frustrating because of how sweet she is with people and kids.

    The odd thing is that when we take her to the groomers and vet, which we warn them about her behavior, they always tell us how sweet she is with them and other dogs… when we’re not around. It’s a fabulous backhanded compliment as the implication is that WE are the problem, not her.

    The only explanation for her behavior I have received is that she is being protective of us, possible due to some abuse or situation from her past. That in Hattie’s mind, she is only doing her job of keeping us safe. I want to believe that’s true, as that sounds really nice, and explains why she’s cool when we aren’t around. Either way, this behavior cannot continue, as we would like to kid to start taking Hattie for walks, but we can’t do that if her behavior is so unpredictable.

    This summer, the kid and I decided that we would try and socialize Hattie by taking her to our local dog run in the park, which has a small pen next to the main fenced area. My thought here was that we would take her to the small pen each day for 15 to 30 minutes, so Hattie could get used to being near other dogs, and hopefully see that there is no threat. I don’t know if this is a good idea, as I just made it up, and isn’t some advice I received from an expert. So success is not guaranteed.

    We have been doing this dog run thing for two weeks now, and we’ll be doing it today. As of this moment, we have not seen any improvement. Hattie goes up to the fence, and other dogs come over. It looks like it will be a big sniff fest, but then Hattie goes nuts and starts barking. The other dogs walk away, leaving Hattie barking, alone at the fence. I am sure this behavior will repeat today.

    Sadly, the thought has already crossed my mind, which is “How long do I have to keep doing this?” At what point should I expect results, and at what point is it apparent that positive results will not be forthcoming?

    I know that the answer is a shrug and a smile. Only time will tell.

    (And… don’t forget to kick a like, or a share my way. A comment would be cool, too.)

  • What A House in the Country Really Means

    This weekend, I thought that we, as a family, we going to go hiking. Turns out that we went and played disc golf. I was a little surprised, as I feel like disc golf is my little hobby, so when the wife and kid want to go and do it with me, I am always taken aback. But I wasn’t going to say no either. The kid did put in one request with the disc golf; we had to get pancakes for lunch after golfing. I could live with that.

    The place we decided to go to was Gunks Disc Golf, which is in Mystic Park, Gardiner, NY. It was a bit out on the country, as it was an hour and a half drive from the City. Most of the drive was on I-87, but soon we were off the interstate, and on two lane highways, and state routes. Trees are everywhere, with houses set back off the road, and I wonder what do these people do for a living out there?

    And the wife and I play the game of wondering if we could get a place out in the country?

    It’s a fun game as we are driving in the car, but as the conversation turns from wishful thinking to is this even possible for us, then reality starts to creep in. We are a one income family, who is in debt. And we can’t do anything until that debt is taken care of. That’s our reality.

    A reality that was in the back of my head the rest of the day. Mystic Park in Gardiner, NY was a very pleasant and nice place. The course was fun, and it ran along Wakill River, which added to the sense that you were deep in nature. And I thought about how nice it would be to have a place near here, that we could spend the Summer, and weekends and holidays. To do that, I have to get a job. There is no way around it, if I want that, I have to bring money in.

    I want to have a home, but to get that, something has to change, and change within me. I’m comfortable where I am, but I also feel like I don’t have the drive and ambition that I used to have. If I wanted something, I used to go and get it. I mean, I wanted to be in NYC and work in theatre, and I went and got it. Now, I question if I could follow through.

    So, when I think about that house in the country, it’s not just a price tag, and expense that we’d have to pay for. It’s also means a change in my attitude and resolve. To achieve it, I have to change. And I can’t say for sure that I want to change.

    (Hey You! If you enjoyed this slightly confessional blog, then be a pal and leave a like, a comment, or share it with your friends. It might actually make my day!)

  • ODDS and ENDS: Tough Questions, Hiking, and The 300th Follower!

    (If you’re here, you’re family!)

    I was very aware that when we had a kid, that at some point she would start asking some tough questions. There are all the cliché questions about babies and sex, and I was ready for things like that, as well as, why do bad things happen if God is good and all powerful? But I wasn’t prepared for when the kid asked me how a search warrant works? The kid walked in while I was watching the news, heard the phrase, “issued a search warrant” and asked the question. Now, I know what a search warrant is, but I can’t 100% say I know how they work. Like, I know a judge grants one, law enforcement executes it, and there is the Fourth Amendment protections, But… (shrug) Now, I just need to figure out how the Electoral College works so I can be ready for that question.

    The weekend is coming, and I have it in my head that we will all go hiking. Hopefully, there won’t be a surprise Summer cold to knock us all off our feet, as I would really like to get out of the City early in the morning, and spend the first half of the day walking along a stream in the woods. This Summer, I feel like we really haven’t hiked as much as we did last year. I know that we still have about two and a half months left before it gets too cold for us, so there is time. But as I sit here, I am thinking about how much I enjoy hiking in the Fall. Cool weather, leaves changing, good excuse to put on my flannel shirts.

    And, I got my 300th Follower! And, I’m pretty sure it’s not a bot. There is always a chance that it could be a bot, but I feel I shouldn’t discriminate against Russian bots. Are they any different from me? I’m trying to get people to come to my page to help my writing career, and they are trying to get people to their page for crypto scams. Who am I to judge?

    (Say! If you happen to not be a bot and found this blog to be high on your enjoyable scale, then please take a moment to like, comment or give it a share. You’d do a body good!)

  • I’m Done with Summer

    Yup, I hit the “I’m done with Summer moment” this weekend. We are currently in our third heatwave in NYC, which makes being in the City pretty unbearable. We have been inside with the a/c, which after awhile begins to feel unnatural and like we are stuck in a bubble. Then added on top of that, I got a summer cold. (We took plenty of Covid tests and they all came back negative.) This all culminated on Sunday when I uttered this demand to the gods, “I’m ready for Fall!”

    This declaration seems to arrive every year at the exact same time; the first week of August. Just like how I will ask for the end of Winter during the first week of February. It’s a pattern and also the rhythm that the clock of my life runs on.

    Yet, I read that from here on out, every year, Summer will start to get hotter and longer, and depending on where you live, you’ll either see more or less rain. Unless we do something, the hospitable human environment that has supported the development of civilization for the past 10,000 years is coming to a close. At least that’s what Neil deGrasse Tyson said.

    I know that’s a dark place to go, but I just want to put on a sweater cuz it’s cold out.