Gone To The Dogs

It was another decent weekend. Weather wasn’t all that great, as by Saturday afternoon it clouded up and started raining, but overall I was with people I wanted to be with and that’s the most important part.

Thursday after work I hit the roof and yard. Living in a pine tree forest we get the trifecta of dropping pine needles, pine cones, and also these little things that look like miniature pine cones. We are in the mini-pine cone phase as we’ve just gone through the falling pine dust. Needless to say my gutters were completely impacted so I needed to get those cleaned out.

As I get old heading up to the roof with a leaf blower gets to be more and more menacing. My paternal grandfather fell off his 2-story house when he was 76, which led to his overall downfall and death a year later. Back in the spring of 2019 my dad was up on his roof because of a spring storm and a large tree branch that landed there. My dad is a smart guy and a handy one, but sometimes he makes some questionable decisions, like going up on the roof in 50 year rubber fishing boots. He had zero traction and his feet went out underneath him, which led to him falling and rolling off the roof. Two things: My parents house is a one-story ranch and he landed in a bush. Those factors were pivotal in him not getting hurt any worse than he did.

So I’m perfectly aware of the dangers of goofing around on a roof. Our house is one-story, but we have vaulted ceilings, so it’s higher than the average Midwestern ranch-style home. I didn’t fall, but as I was at the plateau of the roof my right knee started hurting. So going down the back of the roof to get the gutters in the backyard every step was taken gingerly and with a wince. I did what I had to do up there and got down safely, but late that night around midnight I woke up to the worst charlie horse I’ve ever had in my life in my left calf. It was one of those where it felt like my foot was going to curl back like a party favor. I jumped out of bed and started stretching furiously and rubbing the back of my calf. It hurt like hell. I finally got the spasm to calm down but by then my muscle was really sore.

The soreness was pretty pronounced all day Friday. I cleaned the house when I got home from work, stretching my leg about every half hour, which helped greatly. Rest of Friday night was in my chair watching TV and an ice pack on my calf.

Saturday morning my wife and I got up and were going to head over to our daughter’s apartment to hang out with the grandpuppy Celeste for a couple hours. Our daughter is trying to get all of her hours in at school so she can be done. She retakes her final a week from today, and her graduation is tonight. So once those are done she just needs to finish up her hours and she’s done. Of course we’re happy to go over on a Saturday and hang out with the pooch. When we got there we opened the door to the trash strewn all over the kitchen floor as our kiddo forgot to lock her trash. Great way to start the morning.

After my wife took Celeste out for a walk and I cleaned the place up we ended up walking downtown to get lunch. In downtown Columbia City they were having the Prism Festival which was basically a celebration of Pride Month. There were all kinds of vendors and food trucks setting up, and a guy with a keyboard and a PA system set up in the gazebo that’s on the courthouse lawn. He started out playing some Thelonious Monk, then segued into Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” and finished up with Radiohead’s “Karma Police”. We ate at Pickle’s Cafe that’s in downtown. We sat outside with the pooch and she was so well behaved. The wife got a blueberry pulled pork panini and I got a turkey and artichoke heart panini. Someone had left nearly an entire PB&J on their plate outside and one of the staff asked if Celeste could have it. If Celeste could have spoke she would have said “Hell yes!” We all had a nice lunch.

We were over there for close to three hours, then we bid Celeste and fond adieu. Stopped and grabbed my wife a Peanut Buster Parfait from Dairy Queen and I bought myself a 6-pack of beer from Service Liquors and went home. My wife took a two hour nap, while I got chicken breast cooked for chicken tacos later that night. Had a couple beers and watched the documentary Cropsey. Pretty harrowing true crime doc about kids that disappeared in Staten Island between the 70s and 80s, and the weirdo that was suspected of taking them. The guy was an orderly at the Willowbrook Hospital that was on Staten Island for the mentally insane. Highly recommend it if you haven’t seen it.

Even though Celeste has hair that does tend to bother my allergies a bit I love spending time with her. And I love getting pics from my oldest of the Siamese cat that’s currently living with her(it’s their girlfriend’s cat). They’ll send videos of the cat battling toys and being generally goofy. If I’m being honest I prefer the company of animals to humans anymore. There’s no complications, except for the occasional mess or trash can cleanup. It’s simpler with animals. Let’s eat, let’s play, let’s go for a poop walk(they’re pooping, I’m walking), and let’s cuddle. Those are rules I can live by. I have my built-in community of humans I love being around, but outside of that I’m just not interested.

Plus, with our old pooch Otto being 13 1/2 he’s not much for playing or cuddling anymore. He likes his treats, naps, and quick poop walks in the morning with my wife. So being around a dog that loves all those things(she is only 4), it’s reminder of what it’s like having a young pup.

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Sadly, I don’t have much faith in people anymore. Being at the Pride Festival on Saturday it was so nice seeing people coming together and enjoying each others company, and feeling like they didn’t have to hide who they truly are. Our oldest being part of the LGBTQ community I want to see everyone being comfortable in their own skin and free of fear of retribution, so being in small town Indiana and seeing something like this happening feels monumental to me. It felt like a big step seeing that festival happening in that town.

But even though everything seemed great, I was still waiting for some narrow-minded, bigoted a-holes to show up and ruin it. I’m wired for pessimism, even though I want to be an optimist. I grew up in a time where the religious folks did their thing and the rest of us did our thing. Believe what you want to believe, fine. But don’t push your beliefs onto those that don’t believe. And if you don’t agree with others “lifestyles”, then don’t show up and yell at them. It’s not affecting you and yours, so bugger off.

But there’s this bold indignation that’s permeated the religious here nowadays. They don’t view people as being human if they’re not following their personal game plan. And they like to let you know as much as they can. I know people firsthand like this, and I’ve removed them from my life permanently. Some former acquaintances, some extended family. I’m 50 years old, so I can make the choice to cut ties and not show up for reunions or holiday gatherings. Believe me, if being around someone makes you uncomfortable then the best thing you can do is hit the eject button. Best thing I ever did for myself.

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Hope the weekend was good for you. And I hope you live your life the way you want to live, and spend it with whom you want to spend it with. And if you’re that person that wants to preach to others how they should live, maybe think twice about making their life harder. Maybe just pray for them in your own time, and keep your opinions private. Nobody cares about what you believe and how you worship. Nobody wants to know about your political affiliations or your thoughts on being gay, bi, trans, or queer. And if you’re concerned about saving lives, as my hero Bill Hicks once said, “go lock arms at the gates of a cemetery and not a doctor’s office.”

You know, just shut your damn mouth and move on.