Better Living Through Zoology: "Cats and Dogs Living Together - Mass Hysteria!"

Once upon a time my friends Luke and Nicky bought a house. It turned out their house was a popular hangout spot for cats, especially one particular pregnant cat. Well, she gave birth to five kittens in the crawl space under their house, and then promptly disappeared. A day later the Great Waco Flood of '07 (pronounced "aught seven") started. So my friend Luke crawled under his house in six inches of rainwater to rescue five soaking wet newborn kittens and give them a new home in his guest bathroom. They were not appreciative.

A few weeks later Luke and Nicky went out of town, and a friend house-sat for them. When they returned, there were six kittens in their bathroom, where there once had been five. They called their friend. Seems a sixth kitten, unrelated to the previous brood, had appeared on the porch looking very alone and cute, as kittens tend to do. The friend figured, "Well, they've already got five, another shouldn't make much difference."

But it did.

They started looking for homes for their kittens. After much deliberation, Jeni and I took home cat #6, now called Chewie. (Luke and Nicky found it too hard to give cats away after this, and are now the proud owners of five cats.)

So we brought a 9lb. cat into a house with an 85lb. dog and a 40lb. dog. How did it go? See the picture above? The one where the dog is curious, nervous, and excited all at the same time, and the cat is all stressed out and poofy? That's how it went for the first two weeks.

After that things started to calm down a bit. The cat would perch on the chair or the couch and swat at the dogs' tails as they went by. The cat would hide behind corners and jump at the dogs, and the dogs would run away. Eventually the big white one began to play with the cat, licking her in the face, and occasionally putting her entire head into her mouth. Wacky fun!

The red one never really took to the cat, and appears to have taken on the strategy of ignoring her and hoping she goes away. Now we live in a house where we get to see sights like this on a regular basis:




Ain't interspecies love grand?

The Devil, You Know

Today I received a very nice gift, pictured to the left there. The picture is not great, but it is, in fact, a plush puppet of the devil. Old Scratch, El Diablo, Beelzebul, Lucifer. He has half closed eyes (several people have mentioned he looked stoned), a sweet black cape, and an awesome goatee.

I first saw him in a Christian book store (which is a store that sells Christian books, but not necessarily a book store run in obedience to Christ, if you know what I mean.) I annoyed my wife for a good half hour, following her around the store saying things with him like "Let's go to Las Vegas!" and "Wouldn't you like to try some marijuana?" (My devil voice, by the by, sounds sort of like an English butler and sort of like Stewie from Family Guy - I hate that show, just so you know.)

I resisted the urge to purchase him outright, because I didn't need a devil puppet. But if someone gives me a devil puppet, by golly I'll take him.

Two things you should know.

1) I love puppets. Puppets may be the most fun kind of toy. I have never used them to evangelize children, which I can only assume was original intent of Muppet Satan, but I have known and loved people who have used puppets as a ministry tool. Me, I just think they're fun. When I was a college minister and stressed out undergrads came into my office, we would make paper bag puppets of Biblical characters for relaxation. One time I made a Moses and my friend Jennifer made the Burning Bush. That made for some fun performances.

2) I believe in the devil. As with the angels, the Bible is spare on details about demons in general and the devil in particular, but they are in there a lot. I believe there are spiritual forces which stand in opposition to the will of God being accomplished on earth.

I do not believe that Christians can be possessed - the Holy Spirit is all over that. There are three beings in the whole Bible who have direct contact with the devil - God, Jesus, and the archangel Michael (four if you count Judas), just to put it in perspective. I do not believe demons cause microphones to short out in church services or parking places to be filled up when you are in a hurry. If I were the devil (I'm not), and I were trying to mount a rebellion against God, Christ, and all His people, I would not fiddle around with microphones and parking places. I'd go for the jugular and probably try to foster and instigate racism, poverty, and gross misrepresentation of Jesus and the Gospel. But maybe that's just me.

So if I believe in the devil, why I am excited to have a partially cute devil puppet?

Martin Luther, please explain:
"The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to the texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn."

And from Thomas More:
"The devil, that proud spirit, cannot bear to be mocked."

So, as the Apostle Paul said, "Be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil."

And as that great modern poet put it, "If the devil doesn't like it he can sit on a tack."

P.S. Don't ever do a Google image search on "devil puppet." You'll get half a screen of plush devil puppets, and half of screen of Black Metal band websites.

Magical, Mythical, Marvelous Milk

Milk is good. Cookies, cake, pancakes, meatloaf, chicken and dumplings, and all forms of pasta aren't really complete, in my opinion, without a cold glass of milk.

Lots of people like milk. Every time I go to the grocery store, there's always more than one person in the milk section (hereafter referred to as "Milk") picking their preferred percentage. "Milk" is a strange place. It's not like "Bread", where everyone basically knows what they want and just grab. It's not like "Eggs" or "Fruit" where people take their time because they don't want defective merchandise. And it's not like "Cheese", where people are just overwhelmed with choices.

People hover around "Milk" for one reason - "sell by" dates. At the milk factory, the sell-by fairies hover about, stamping the jugs in their purplish ink with the date at which the milk inside will become no good. It's magic. Sometimes a sell-by fairy will accidentally release too much magic, and make the milk inside invincible.

At least, I think that's what the other people in "Milk" are thinking. Each person seems to pick up and inspect a half-dozen cartons, or reach deep into the back of "Milk", for the magical milk jug that won't expire until next Christmas.

Maybe these people have burned in the past by poor "Milk" management. Maybe they grabbed the first carton they saw, got home, and realized their milk had already expired. But - I always grab the first carton I see, and the only time a jug of milk has gone bad on me is when I've gone out of town and left my milk at home alone.

My friends, there are no sell-by fairies. There is no magical milk. There's no reason to cry over...unspoiled milk. Together, we can keep "Milk" loiter-free.

P.S. Soy milk. Milk does not come from beans. Milk comes from mammals. Best I can figure, juice comes from beans. Soy milk is bean juice. Goodnight.

Bible Verses That Freak Me Out #11 - Zaccheus - Luke 19:1-10

"And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, "Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house." - Luke 19:5

A little different flavor today. This verse freaked me out last week, but did so because it made made me really love Jesus. Anyone who has loved someone for a long time knows what I'm talking about. You have someone that you always love, day in and day out, but occasionally they do something above and beyond (or maybe something they always do, but you notice in a special way) and on that day you really love that person. Well, when Jesus invited Himself over to Zaccheus' house, it made me really love Him.

Normally, when someone invites themselves over to your house, it isn't a life-changing experience. Most would consider it rude. And Jesus isn't asking, He's telling.

Jesus does this a lot actually. People will be conversing with Jesus, or just sitting there minding their own business, and Jesus will command them to do something:

"Give me a drink."
"You must be born again."
"Follow me."
"You give them something to eat."
"Fill up the water jars."
"Put the net on the other side of the boat."
"Come out of him!"
"Talitha Koum! (a personal favorite - "Little girl, get up!)"
"Go wash in the pool of Siloam."
"Go into town and untie the first donkey's colt you see."
"Lazarus, come forth."
"Pick up your mat and walk."
"Hustle down out of that tree - I'm coming over."

It's like He thinks He has the authority to just tell people what to do.

Anyway, He invites Himself over, and before they get there the man has some sort of breakdown and decides to diversify his portfolio by getting rid of half of it, and then paying back people he cheated with the other half.

I think we can say Jesus wasn't naive. He knew this guy was a cheat, a thief, and a Roman collaborator with a Napoleon complex. But He also knew something everyone else hadn't realized - Zaccheus was lost. He was just wandering around, making things up as he went along. He didn't know the way. When he tried to follow the crowd he ended up in a tree.

Jesus invites Himself over (inviting criticism in the process), and it changed the man's life. Kinda freaks me out.

Don't Stop Believing - In Your Dreams

My wife has cool dreams. It was in one her dreams that I did something incredibly cool - but since I didn't dream it, it sounds like bragging. You'll have to ask her about it sometime. Suffice it to say that it involved barbarians.

I will tell you what I think is the best dream she has had, though. It seems the band "Journey" was coming to Waco on their new world tour, and Jeni had a friend of a friend who was on their crew. For some reason, neither Ross Valory or his former replacement Randy Jackson could make it, so the band needed a bass guitar player.

Enter: Jeni.

(If any of you are good at Photoshop and would like to put my wife's face in the above photo, I would be forever grateful.)

Jeni was pretty excited to get to play, but told her friend she didn't know that many "Journey" songs, and the friend promised to get her a greatest hits album to practice with. Well, the night of the big concert came, and Jeni was all decked out in her do-rag, baggy jeans, white t-shirt, and red Converse high tops, but she still didn't know the music. About thirty minutes before the show she grabbed the stage manager, and he hooked her up. So, with a mere thirty minutes of practice time, my wife played bass guitar for "Journey."

My favorite part is that she also dreamed she was at the grocery store a few days later, and a little girl saw her and excitedly said, "Hey, aren't you the bass player for Journey?!?"

Interpretation:

Here's what I could gather from the free Internet dream interpretation site -

"Journey" - To dream that you are going on a journey, signifies profits, self-discovery or progress. The scenery you see in your journey is telling of your feelings and circumstances you may be currently experiencing. To dream that your friends go on a journey, signifies delightful and welcomed change and harmony.

"Concert" - To dream that you are at a concert, represents harmony and cooperation in a situation or relationship of your waking life. You are experiencing an uplift in your spirits.

Just for fun - "Barbarian" - To see a barbarian in your dream, represents the savage and instinctual aspect of your character.

Here's the ones I made up:

"Bass Guitar" - To see a bass guitar in your dream signifies that you keep your emotions under control, and that you seek to be a source of strength and consistency for others. If you are playing the bass, and you and the lead guitar lean against each others' backs to play, this signifies that you are totally awesome.

"Journey (band)" - To see the band Journey in your dream signifies that you had some good times in late 70s and early 80s, and you are trying to recapture those feelings. To dream that you are a member of the band shows that you will have conflict with a lead singer in the near future.
Alternatively, this may indicate that you are a small town girl, living in a lonely world. Don't stop believing, hold on to the feeling - streetlight people. Woh-oh-oh.

Swimming With Jesus in Your Dreams

About three years back, I had the coolest dream I have had so far in my life. I was out on the ocean in a speedboat with Jesus. I was wearing a swimsuit, He was wearing His traditional white robe. There was no land in sight, and I decided to go swimming. Normally, I would be terrified to swim in the ocean - the vastness of unseen depths gives me the shivers. But because I was with Jesus, I guess I figured I would be fine. I swam for a while and then got back in the boat. Then Jesus got in the water, robe and all, and started doing a stroke I had never seen before - sort of a side-stroke/butterfly combination - and He was going FAST. So fast that I cranked up the engine and started keeping pace with Him in the water, and eventually had it at full throttle, with Jesus easily swimming alongside. At that point, my wife woke me up and told me I was making strange noises.

Using the very official free internet dream interpretation site, here's what I have gathered:

Jesus - "To see Jesus in your dream, foretells that your greatest desires and goals will be realized. This dream serves to console and strengthen you in your times of adversity, hardship and struggle. You will rise above any situation and circumstance and become victorious."

Ocean - "To see an ocean in your dream, represents the state of your emotions and feelings. It is indicative of some spiritual refreshment, tranquility and renewal.
To dream that you are traveling across the ocean, signifies new found freedom and independence. You are showing great courage."

Boat - "To dream that you are in or see a boat, signifies you ability to cope and express your emotions. Pay particular attention to the condition and state of the waters, whether is is calm or violent, clear or murky, etc. Are you "smooth sailing"? Alternatively, you may be ready to confront your unconscious and unknown aspects of yourself. To dream that you are trying to jump off a boat, suggests that you want to dive directly in and confront those difficult emotions and approach your problems head on."

Robe - "To see or wear a robe in your dream, signifies personal issues that you need to confront. The dream may also refer to your secret desire to let loose."

Swimming, as we learned yesterday, suggests you are "exploring aspects of your subconscious mind and emotions." There was no entry on what it means when Jesus swims a new stroke and you race Him in a speedboat, but feel free to make one up and put it in a comment!

P.S. After writing this, I found myself humming the hymn "Living for Jesus," with slightly different lyrics. Here's the original first verse:

Living for Jesus a life that is true/ Striving to please Him in all that I do/ Yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free/ This is the pathway of blessing for me

Here's my version:

Swimming with Jesus a stroke that is new/ Out on the ocean so deep and so blue/
Pushing the throttle, as far as 'twill go/ Jesus will keep pace, as though 'twere slow

Enjoy!

Penguins and the Interpretation of Dreams

Last night I dreamed I was a penguin. A cartoon penguin, like the ones in Mary Poppins, but without the bow-tie. I heard, as if being narrated in one of those nature shows, that I and other penguins like me were on the decline because we had lost the skills needed to work together to catch fish. I remember trying to rally the other penguins around me to prove the narrator wrong, and together we caught some fish and some small crabs and ate them. Raw. As I think back, that sounds disgusting, but in my dream I remember thinking the fish in particular was quite good. After eating some of the crab, I heard the narrator say that I would eat up to seven times my weight in crab in a week. I thought "Man, I better pick up the pace" and "I'm not sure I like crab that much." Later in the dream I was a person again. I don't normally remember my dreams, but this one was awesome. A cartoon penguin! My subconscious mind is a strange place, I tell you what.

As far as interpretation goes, I have no idea, I leave that one up to you.

Later this week I'll tell you about the time I swam in the ocean with Jesus, and about the time my wife got to do something really cool.

P.S. I did a little "research" on dream interpretation (I typed "dream interpretation" into Google and read the first link that didn't also advertise serenity crystals). I found a site with a list of stuff people have dreamed about and a short description of what it may mean. Here are some relevant to the post above.

Penguin - "To see a penguin in your dream, signifies that your problems are not as serious as you may think. It serves as a reminder for you to keep your cool and remain level-headed. Alternatively, a penguin seen in your dream suggests that you are being weighed down by your emotions or by a negative situation. You need to find some balance and inner harmony."

I was pleasantly surprised to find "penguin" in the list, by the way.

Cartoon - "To dream that your real life is depicted in a cartoon world, signifies that you are perceiving the world in a comical and unserious manner. This dream may also serve as an escape from the stressful realities of your life. It is your way of obtaining moments of lightheartedness and fun. Additionally, you may need to learn to laugh at yourself and at your mistakes."

Crab - "To see a crab in your dream, signifies your perseverance and tenacity. On an extreme note, you maybe be too clingy and dependent and hanging on to a hopeless endeavor."

Swimming - "To dream that you are swimming, suggests that you are exploring aspects of your unconscious mind and emotions. The dream may be a sign that you are seeking some sort of emotional support. It is a common dream image for people going through therapy. To dream that you are swimming underwater, suggests that you are completely submerged in your own feelings. You are forcing yourself to deal with your emotional difficulties."

I was disappointed that there weren't any entries for "raw fish," or "nature show narrator." But, after reading the above, and deciding that they were written by the same qualified people who write the notes on the inside of fortune cookies, I decided to try my hand at it.

Raw Fish - "To dream that you are eating raw fish signifies your willingness to confront uncomfortable circumstances in your life. By ingesting an aquatic animal, you hope to gain its power to move fluidly through chaotic situations. Alternatively, this may signify that you live in Japan or California."

Nature Show Narrator - "To dream that your actions are being narrated by another suggests that you feel your life's course is determined by forces beyond your control. If the narrator is Morgan Freeman, David Attenborough, or Peter Coyote, this signifies that you watch too much National Geographic channel."

Bible Verses That Freak Me Out #10 - Mo' Money, Mo' Problems - "When you give to the poor" - Matthew 6:1-4

"Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you." - Matthew 6:1-4

I have trouble with this verse. Not so much because I like people to know when I give to the poor (although I do), but for another reason. I have been the beneficiary of the generosity of strangers. I have received significant help in my education from people I have never met. I have met for class and worship in buildings, have rested comfortably on benches, have studied in libraries, all sponsored by people I do not know. But I know their names. I know them because they are on shiny plaques, or doorways, or large gilt letters on the front of the building.

I am very, very grateful that these people gave, either from their abundance, or out of their need, to further the education, and particularly the religious education, of whippersnappers such as myself.

But...I wonder sometimes if the gilt letters are the pinnacle of the honor they will receive for their gifts, because of the verses above.

Perhaps they did not have a choice. Perhaps they gave their gift, and the trustees of the library, or the chapel, or the bench said with a loud decree (and a trumpet), "Henceforth, this bench shall be the Desmond R. G. Underwood bench!" I don't know what I'd do in such a situation - would I have the chutzpah to say, "That's alright guys, let's just leave it anonymous" - ?

Like I say - the verse freaks me out.

Movie Moment - Morgan Freeman and My First Date With My Wife

The year was 1998. It was Christmas break after my freshman year of college, and this nice girl I had become friends with had made the trek down to Palestine, Tx to visit my family. I needed a date - something good. But we were in Palestine, so we settled for the movies. I don't remember what else was on, but based on the list of releases from January 1998, and what I know about Palestine's six screen theater, our choices were - Wag the Dog, Half Baked, Spice World, Fallen, Titanic (still out), and Hard Rain. We had both seen Titanic, I don't like scary movies, so Spice World and Fallen were out, so that narrowed the field a bit. I decided to trust Morgan Freeman.

It's not hard to see why. At the time I had only seen Driving Miss Daisy, Glory, The Shawshank Redemption, and Se7en. Robin Hood Prince of Thieves and Unforgiven were also in his recent past. I had not seen them yet, but I heard good things. So we went to see Hard Rain.

It was...not great. It turns out Morgan Freeman can't carry an entire movie by himself. But that's really the only bad thing you can say about the man.

Since then, I've been a little more careful in my Morgan Freeman selections, and tried to weed out the shows like Hard Rain and Deep Impact, that are trying to buy a little credibility with a casting coup (I'm looking at you High Crimes and Sum of All Fears!). Since then, it's been Million Dollar Baby, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, March of the Penguins, Bruce Almighty, and Lucky Number Slevin (in no particular order). Not bad, I think.

Morgan Freeman movies I haven't seen yet and would like to: Feast of Love, Gone Baby Gone, Amistad, and maybe The Bonfire of the Vanities and Nurse Betty. Prolific, isn't he?

Oh, despite the so-so movie (with a particularly horrible end - the end credits rolled to: "Flood" by Jars of Clay), Jeni and had our first kiss later that evening. Thank you, Morgan Freeman, and I'm glad you're feeling better.

Bible Verses That Freak Me Out #9 - Mo' Money, Mo Problems - "Camel through the eye of a needle" - Matthew 19:23-24

You know something Jesus talks about A LOT? Money.

There are a lot of preacher types these days who talk about money, they aren't hard to find. But they don't talk about money like Jesus did.

"Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." - Matthew 19:23-24

We had a "Jerusalem Marketplace" themed Vacation Bible School at our church about a month back, and on the last day we had two camels, named Richard and Ibrahim, hanging out at the soccer field. Camels are big. Up to nine feet tall at the hump. See, Jesus is saying here that it's really hard for rich people to line up their desires with God's. Darn near impossible.
Saturday Night Live had a very funny skit a few years back with Bill Pullman as a billionaire whose "life is changed" by the above verse. He reads Matthew 19:24 and devotes his fortune to making it easy for a camel to go through the eye of a needle by genetically engineering tiny camels and building very large needles. Classic line: "We pureed a camel and poured it through the needle, but we think that might be cheating. We have lawyers looking into it."

Movie Moment - The Three Best Lines From Lord of the Rings

I will present them in order of awesomeness.

#3 - Return of the King
"We will burn, burn like the heathen kings of old!" - Denethor

#2 - Fellowship of the Ring
"It must taken to Mount Doom and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came!" - Elrond

#1 - The Two Towers
"I fought my enemy and smote his ruin upon the mountainside." - Gandalf

My favorite piece of Lord of the Rings trivia is that Tolkien was asked by his publisher to write a sequel to The Hobbit. He turned in The Lord of the Rings as a one volume work, with a three-hundred page appendix.

How to Tell If You Have Olympic Fever...

Olympic Fever is a serious but temporary illness. It occurs every two years, but is usually strongest every four years during the summer. It is spread by NBC and related media outlets. Olympic Fever was common in ancient Greece, and was treated with head wrappings of olive branches and by running around naked. It went into remission for several thousand years before reappearing over a century ago. It has gained in strength ever since.

This author first suffered the disease in 1988, during the so-called Korean Strain of the illness.

Common symptoms include:
*The appearance of new vocabulary - you may find yourself talking about shuttlecocks, Djibouti, and modern pentathlon.
* The sudden development of an interest in lapel pins.
* Running around your house with things which are lit on fire, such as candles, the newspaper, or your tax return, while humming the "Chariots of Fire" theme.
* You suddenly become an expert on sports you have never watched before, such as rowing, and that crazy one where they ride bikes around an indoor track, and enthusiastically debate others about them.

The only cure is to ride it out! Game on!

Bible Verses That Freak Me Out #8 - "Because of the angels:" - 1 Corinthians 11:10

"Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels." - 1 Corinthians 11:10

Uh, what?

Occasionally St. Paul likes to crank out one of these anecdotal little statements which anybody in 1st century Corinth would have said, "Oh, sure" to, but makes us say - "Uh, what?"

What makes this one really fun is that last little phrase, "because of the angels." If you look at ten different commentaries on this verse, you're going to get ten different interpretations. The moral of that story is - no one has any idea what this verse means, so it's open season! Fortunately, it doesn't have anything to do with essential doctrine, so it's ok that we don't understand it. But we're gonna give it a shot anyway.

As we have discussed previously, the Bible talks a lot about angels, but not so much in the way of explanation. So here's my groundless, completely made up exegesis of this passage:

It is common to the point of ubiquity to portray angels in sculpture and painted art with pretty hair. From earliest times to the Renaissance, angels are pictured with luscious locks, adorned with manes worthy of a Garnier Fructis commercial. The most logical explanation is that angels, for all that they are powerful agents of God, are obsessed with hair care. Women should cover their heads when praying or prophesying in order to prevent the heavenly servants of the Lord from being distracted by their hairstyles. What would be worse than to have a squadron of the heavenly host assigned to your worship service, and for their work to be distracted by Sister Agatha's newly teased pompadour? Suddenly the armies of heaven are transformed into gossipy old ladies, trading tips on how to use a flaming sword as a hair straightener, and asking why the Angel of Death can't add some highlights and liven up a bit. Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head - whether stovepipe hat, big furry Russian Cossack hat, or Napoleon-style 18th century French army hat - because of the angels. Angels do not care about hats, as their halos prevent them from wearing any.

Bible Verses That Freak Me Out #7 - "This was the guilt of Sodom" - Ezekiel 16:49

Everybody knows about Sodom and Gomorrah - they were gay, so God smote them.

Problem is, Sodom is referenced a lot in the Bible, and the vast majority of those have nothing to do with sex.

Take for example Ezekiel 16:49 -

"Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy."

That's from the fairly rigidly translated New American Standard. The New International Version says they were "arrogant, overfed, and unconcerned."

I knew a Romanian graduate student who told me that in his country one tradition about the city of Sodom was that the people of the city would embrace visitors, and then proceed to pick their pockets. Once their pockets were empty, they would take knives and start to cut scraps off of their clothes. After a few minutes in town, once well-dressed visitors were left penniless and in rags.

As the American church struggles with its response to homosexuality, we need not forget to struggle against being "arrogant, overfed, and unconcerned."

Belated Purpose Statement: Better Living Through Zoology

In my house live two creatures who, left to their own devices, are driven by instinct to form a pack with similar animals and hunt down and kill moose. They might go after other game, but really, they want moose. Look into their eyes! You can see it...."Moooooose."

But through the magic of domestication, they accept Jeni and I as one of them. We are part of the pack, and on our better days, leaders of the pack (vroom, vroom).

Everyday they greet us at the door with wagging tails. They follow us around from room to room, just wanting to be near. They accept us as we are, and love us even when we're crabby or impatient or smell bad or don't pay enough attention to them.

These are the animals I see everyday, and miss when they aren't around. They are a huge part of my life - a source of joy, comfort in hard times, and devoted despite my imperfection. The fact that they are relatives of wolves and African wild dogs just adds to the wonder of it all. It is a great gift and a grave responsibility to live in a world with dogs, whales, kangaroos, and tigers. The 85 lb. lab named Bernice, who looks like a small polar bear, and the dumpy red mutt named Rose, who looks like a potato grew red hair and came to life - the Eeyore to Bernice's Tigger - remind me of this every day.

And then there's the cat... she doesn't show up on film for some reason. The Druids believed cats were the reincarnated souls of wicked people. Can't imagine where they got that idea...