Keeping Zoey
For Seven Dog Weeks
As I recall, my daughter phoned my wife a few
weeks back and asked, "Has Anna talked to you?"
"No, I’ve not heard from her," Barbara replied.
"Well, she wants y’all to keep her dog [Zoey] when she goes on vacation,"
Rayanne shared.
When Barbara told me what Rayanne had said, I frowned and stated, "That
dog’s not house-trained."
I don’t mind helping my grandchildren, but there’s a limit to what
I’ll do, and keeping a house pet falls outside of that limit. My wife
feels much the same as I do with respect to house pets, but in the case of
our oldest granddaughter’s request, she was willing to make an exception.
The situation had all the earmarks of a good fight, and had I chosen to fight
my wife’s decision, I might have won. Marriage, however, is not about
winning; marriage is about compromise. Thus, I compromised my strongly held
convictions and agreed to our keeping Zoey for the week that Anna would be
in Florida with her dad and his family. But, I did so with the understanding
that the cleanup of any "accidents" that Zoey had indoors would be
Barbara’s responsibility.
As house pets go, Zoey is loveable. She had visited us on a number of occasions
and was accustomed to romping around our living room, playing indoor fetch
with her doggie toys, and enjoying a bit of rough-housing whenever she found
a willing participant. She was six weeks old when Anna got her last Christmas
and now weighs about five pounds. Almost entirely black, Zoey is a mixed
breed, part Yorkshire terrier and part Chihuahua, which lends the name,
"Yorkiewawa," credibility.
I had a few questions for my wife:
"Are you going to be the one to feed Zoey?"
"What will you do with her while you’re at work?"
"What about sleeping arrangements?"
Her answers were:
"I’ll feed her."
"Anna says Zoey will stay in her travel cage."
"Zoey will sleep in her cage."
Zoey may not be housebroken, but she’s smart enough to understand "go
outside" and "leash." Anna had already discovered these were words in
Zoey’s vocabulary of understanding. Whenever she or someone else asks
Zoey if she wants to go outside, Zoey shows signs of comprehension by rapidly
wagging her tail, jumping about, and standing up on her hind legs, and on
occasion doing all three simultaneously. If her leash is where she can see
it, Zoey often fetches it and gets downright beside herself with anticipation
while her handler attempts to snap the leash to her collar.
Anna brought Zoey over to our house early Saturday morning, the weekend before
the Fourth of July, along with an assortment of toys, dog food, doggie treats,
pads, and cage. It was the doggie equivalent of the trappings that humans
transport to parents and sometimes to grandparents whenever the babysitting
chore is overnight or longer, except the feeding schedule was simpler.
"I just leave her food in her dish so she can eat whenever she gets hungry,"
Anna explained. "Be sure and give her a treat each time she uses the bathroom
outside."
I teased Anna about me letting Zoey play in the street, but she didn’t
find that amusing.
"She almost got run over in our subdivision when I let her off her leash
to play," Anna cautioned. "Anyway, she might run away."
Anna bade us goodbye, reminding Zoey to be a good girl while she was gone,
though I don’t think Zoey knew what Anna meant. It wasn’t that
Zoey was not a good girl, but I don’t think Anna had previously left
Zoey anywhere other than at home for more than a day. So, how could she know
how long a week without Anna would be? In dog-years, isn’t there a seven
to one ratio?
It fell my lot to take Zoey outside for most of the outside-times of her
stay with us. I found she enjoyed the out-of-doors. Everything had a smell,
and she wanted to smell everything. I could hardly walk her around the circle
for her stopping to smell something. Birds fascinated her, as did flying
insects, and she longed to chase all things winged.
I was away from home only one night during the week and Barbara spoiled her
by letting her sleep in our bed. Zoey would have preferred to do so when
I returned, but being a light sleeper, I wouldn’t allow it. It was bad
enough that I had to take Zoey outside almost every morning between two-thirty
and three a.m., as I couldn’t sleep through her whimpering in her cage.
Then, as soon as dawn gave way to the full light of day, she was awake and
ready for another trip outside. Of course, Barbara either slept through the
nightly episodes or else dosed right off after being briefly disturbed, leaving
me to deal with insomnia.
By mid-week, Zoey appeared to be missing Anna, or so Barbara observed. I
don’t think I noticed her moping about, but Barbara thought she detected
something amiss. By Friday, Barbara was concerned that Zoey wasn’t eating
much of her dog food. Somehow, my comments about Jason and her feeding Zoey
too much from the table fell on deaf ears. However, in deference to pet lovers
everywhere, I will admit there is a possibility that the dog was actually
forlorn.
Whatever sadness Zoey experienced while Anna was away soon vaporized when
Anna came over late last Saturday afternoon to get her; Zoey could scarcely
contain her enthusiasm. For that matter, she could scarcely contain the contents
of her bladder.
It’s an often heard remark, "I always enjoy seeing my grandchildren
when they arrive, and I enjoy seeing those taillights when they’re leaving."
I’ve said it myself and can now attest it could as easily apply to ones
great-granddog.
New Cell Phone
Sony Ericsson Z520a
Two years ago this past June, during the time I was in Vicksburg for the
Miss Mississippi pageant to support my niece, Felicia Brown, my business
cell phone died. I hastily chose a replacement in nearby Clinton, as I traveled
to work one morning. I had a Nokia brand phone already, so it made sense
to get another Nokia, as my phone charger in my car and my earpiece would
function on the new phone.
Since then, cell phone technology has advanced significantly, and my service
provider, AT&T Wireless was bought out by Cingular. I could have
"migrated" my existing number to Cingular and purchased a new phone in the
migration, but, as opposed to a new customer, the incentives to migrate were
not very great, especially with respect to the price of a new phone. So,
I’ve waited for my old two-year agreement with AT&T to expire before
deciding on a new phone and a new service plan.
SUPERVALU reimburses my cell phone expenses, but when it’s time to get
a new phone, they prefer to "pay" for the ones that are free with the new
plan or upgrade. Naturally, all the phones I might select are not among the
freebies. I’ve known about Bluetooth devices for several years, but
they’ve not been available for cell phones (at a reasonable price) except
for the past year. Bluetooth is a wireless form of communication that allows
computers, cell phones, and other devices to "talk to each other." If one
has noticed someone wearing a headset or earpiece that had no visible, exposed
wire, chances are it was a Bluetooth device that communicated with the cell
phone in the user’s pocket or purse. The earpiece is not only a hands
free option, but it can communicate up to thirty feet away from the phone,
which is sort of handy if one wants to pump gas and talk on the phone at
the same time, all while the phone is inside the car or truck.
When I was at the point of making a decision concerning a new phone, I made
sure the phones at the top of my lists had Bluetooth technology. I was also
interested in a phone with voice dialing and had a speakerphone. That I finally
chose to purchase a Sony Ericsson phone was predicated by the ease of
transferring contact information from my personal cell phone to my business
cell phone. I only had to remove the SmartCard from my personal phone and
put it in the new phone long enough to transfer all the stored contacts to
my new phone. Yes, there were some contacts in my old business phone that
were not also in my personal phone, but by staying with Sony Ericsson, I
grabbed most of them at once versus keying in each, one at a time. I also
learned how to move contacts stored in my laptop computer (also a Bluetooth
device) to my new cell phone, further simplifying the process of getting
contact information into a new phone.
I purchased my newest phone directly from a Cingular customer service
representative, after spending a frustrating hour or so trying to buy one
online. On the Internet, I was able to choose the phone I wanted, the calling
plan, and could make it all the way to the checkout, but there the software
kept rejecting my billing and shipping information because my current zip
code didn’t match the zip code used at the time SUPERVALU bought my
first cell phone through our office in Atlanta. I was just at the point of
becoming a new customer rather than one who was migrating from one provider
to another, when I was told that, as a new customer, I would lose my old
phone number. After weighing my options, I decided to keep my old number
rather than experience the pain of notifying all of my contacts of my new
number.
Because SUPERVALU is a corporate customer of Cingular, I get a modest discount
on whichever calling plan I choose. The service representative that I talked
to suggested a couple of options, such as a text messaging plan, and a plan
for accessing the Internet via my new phone. I wasn’t interested in
either, but I had earlier decided upon a voice dialing feature that appealed
to me. The plan allows me to add up to 2200 contacts online, plenty of room
for the name and number of every SUPERVALU store serviced out of Indianola.
Once I’ve entered the information for a contact, I simply speak, "Star
eight" and my phone dials into the Cingular system. An automated attendant
employs voice recognition to interpret and associate my speech with the names
of my contacts.
I have setup my stores by account number, so I merely speak, "Dial nine zero
four four," if I want the system to call store 9044.
The automated attendant states the name of the contact, in this example it
would be heard as "ninety hundred forty-four," and the number is dialed.
It works equally as well if I simply speak all ten digits of the phone number
I want to have dialed for me. Some of my contacts have multiple phones, such
as, home, work, and wireless.
So, if I request the attendant dial "Barbara Carter," I will be asked to
state which of Barbara’s phones are to be called, unless I specify the
phone at the beginning, such as, "Call Barbara Carter at work."
There are "smart phones" that provide similar features using integrated voice
recognition technology, but such phones cost several hundred dollars. Through
Cingular, I get the same sort of service for an affordable $4.99 per month.
Will the new soon wear off my latest cell phone? Of course, and I’ll
likely be wishing for whatever new feature arrives before this time next
year. Meanwhile, my new phone has all the features I currently need. I’ve
not purchased a Bluetooth earpiece, but that may not be too far into the
future.
Old-Time
Garden By Carl Wayne
I ate my first home-raised tomatoes of the year this week. A sweet woman
in Columbus had her husband bring some to the store while I was there. They
were delicious in both the BLT and the bacon cheeseburger that I consumed
at suppertime. An RRN contributor, Carl Wayne Hardeman, has me hankering
to raise my own in his recent writing:
"My wife Mimi is a Graham, one of the most numerous Scottish clans in the
world. The Grahams, Russells, and Warrens settled in Pontotoc County MS in
the mid 1800's. Family lore says those three families immigrated together
to South Carolina before moving to Alabama and Tennessee on the Tennessee
River before settling in Pontotoc County."
"A body from the burns and braes of the old sod would today feel quite at
home reading the names on the headstones in the Sand Springs Cemetery. One
set of Grahams migrated to east Texas to raise cotton, and until the last
few years had an annual reunion with the Pontotoc County Grahams in the old
Hurricane Community schoolhouse. Family love and pride are dear to their
hearts."
"Many men in the Graham family have James as their first name, but are known
familiarly by their second name, like my daddy-in-law James Ralph, and his
daddy, James Sanford. I suspect some Jacobite loyalty in their
history."
"Another tradition is naming the eldest son the mother's family name, thus
Graham has become a common given name, too. The family suggested James Carl
for our son, which would have parts of my name and Mimi's daddy and both
of Mimi's granddaddies. I don't know why we didn't think that was important
at the time, and frankly, he was and is Michael to us."
"These families of Scottish descent are good, hardworking, God fearing, self
sufficient people. Most of them were farmers, and some still are, and most
keep a garden to eat from. My daddy-in-law and Opal, my momma-in-law, have
had to scale back their gardening due to the effects of about eighty years
of hard work."
"These families farmed the rich loam of the bottoms between the
heavily wooded ridges of the Pontotoc Ridge system in northwest Pontotoc
County, where the ridges begin to trend to the east. Smoketop Hill is a prominent
ridge, and Duncan Creek and Mud Creek flow through there."
"When we visited them Saturday before Father's Day, Ralph said he wanted
to show me Clovis Russell's garden. Clovis is his second cousin, and maintains
a large garden and many fruit trees at the golden age of 86, soon
to be 87. I suspect Ralph wanted me to get a second opinion in addition to
his on how to garden, which might not be exactly the same as my Master Gardener
training."
"First thing I wanted to see was his large fig tree which was loaded with
small green figs. They turn golden when ripe. His pear tree and several apple
trees were also laden with green fruit. He must stay very busy when they
get ripe."
"My other interest was his two long rows of lush Better Boy tomato plants,
covered in green tomatoes. The ground was dry enough to look and feel like
powder. He hills it up around the vines. Clovis does not believe in watering
tomatoes, saying they will get waterlogged and the skins will split. I know
enough not to argue with a man who has raised tomatoes all his life, though
my Master Gardening training screamed inside me to get those vines some water.
Certainly the vines were lush, and the leaves were not curling. He was hoping
for rain this weekend. I suspect the dryness helps prevent early blight since
the bacteria thrive in warm wet dirt. My momma always said hydrant water
will keep a garden alive, but it takes rain to make one grow. I suspect something
to do with the ions in the air."
"Since all gardening is an experiment, which Mimi says is so true in my case,
I'll have to try some of my tomato vines next year like Mr Clovis Russell.
Who knows, I may even make half as large a crop as he does, which is more
than I'm going to have this year it appears."
Shared by Carl Wayne Hardeman, Collierville, TN
Bodock Beau D.L.
Mocks High Court
For late night comedians, even the Supreme Court provides fodder for the
humor-mill. Note how the humor incorporates association with present news
or items of interest.
David Letterman: Top Signs The Supreme Court Doesn't Give A Darn
-
Opinion based on coin flip so they could make 2:40 showing of "Superman Returns"
-
Tough to concentrate with Ruth Bader Ginsburg trying on bikinis
-
Spent last two days hearing arguments between Barbara Walters and Star Jones
-
All gavels make crazy "boing" sound
-
Recesses now take place at area Hooters
-
Chief Justice John Roberts demands to be called "J. Ro"
-
After heated debate, ruled 7-to-2 that Aerosmith does indeed rock.
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