Barley is there.
I'm staying home from work today, so I got to take Barley on his morning walk. Every time we passed someone on the street, I put my head down so we could walk by quickly and avoid early-morning conversation. Not Barley. Like most dogs, he tried to greet everyone we passed. Unlike many dogs (and unlike any human), his whole body quaked with excitement each time he thought he might be able to greet someone: "Did that front door just open? Let's go see! Let's go see!"
Halfway through our walk, I thought I'd try to adopt Barley's life philosophy. It seems to make him happy, after all. So as one of our neighbors left his house and walked to his car, I offered him a cheery "Good morning!" He looked at Barley, looked at me, then got in his car and drove away without saying a word. I looked down at Barley, who sat down on the sidewalk, let out a long sigh and watched sadly as our neighbor's car drove away. "Why didn't he want to play with me?"
The next time we saw someone, I figured I'd learned my lesson. I said nothing, put my head down and tried to walk by. Ever the optimist, Barley greeted her with his trademark excitement. She replied with a "Hey, fella!" and came over to pet him and ask his name. "You made my day," she told him before she got in her car and went to work.
I wish people could be more like Barley.
6 comments:
Write a book: "Everything I learned I learned from my dog."
I should! Right now, I appear to be learning how to get myself tangled in the curtains while napping in a sunbeam.
I love this post! This is one reason I wish that I was more of a dog person. Although, when Tula runs out onto the front step to roll around on the cement, we do tend to draw in a few neighbors.
At the risk of suggesting what some people might consider a terrible book, have you read Marley and Me?
I have read it! Someone (Carol Berg!) told me that the dog doesn't die at the end, so I could read it. As I was about 3/4 through it, I noticed that the chapter titles ahead were "Borrowed Time" and what not. By then, I was too emotionally invested in the book (and in Marley) to put it down. I remember bawling at the kitchen table as I plodded through the last few chapters.
After I finished it, though, I was so glad I had read it. The experience reminded me of having a pet. You know how the relationship will end, but all the joy and love along the way makes it worthwhile.
The best thing about dog enthusiasm is that it's available/applied in a blanket form (as you alluded to); everybody gets it.
Stella has a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for runners. She thinks they exist solely to entertain her and lunges for them every time they pass us. It freaks most of them out, understandably.
And do you know how many people would read the book if they knew the end? Ah ha! Sometimes deception is good. . just a few times here and there.
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