Rescue Me

If I put off sharing some follow up thoughts on rescues another day or two, I am sure to forget what I was planning to share.  No, I don't think this is due to Senior Cognitive Impairment (getting old and forgetful), but I can't be sure.
Now, where was I? (kidding)

Last time, I told you about two rescued dogs.  And I saw several spelling, grammatical errors as I quickly read through it the day after.  Not mistakes with the dogs.  Errors in the writing.  Too bad for those of you who are picky about such things...

Both Hairy (and I shall refrain, if I remember, from the annoying habit of inserting "BDE" after this dog's name) and Scooter (current, and probably last name.  Not Scooter's last name, but the last name he will have. He only has one name.  Currently.  He has had four.  But no last names-just his only names) experienced rescues.

I wrote about those because I wanted to talk about the fact that we all need rescuing at times, that there are different kinds of rescues and rescuers, and that our experiences in being involved in rescues can be instructive.  Hmm-that sounds like a lot.  And it is late (for me).  So I will write some and see how it goes.

First-we all need rescuing.  The obvious is that, as mortals in this world, we need the rescuing that comes from the Infinite Atonement.  More thoughts about that another time.
But there are other times in life when we need rescuing.  Some are matters of life and death, others just seem like matters of life and death, but aren't really.  Sometimes we don't know that we are being rescued, but the act changes our direction enough to drastically change our lives in the long term.

Scooter probably didn't know he needed to be rescued-and we are still working on it.  I'm not sure how his life was pre-Nat, but I'm sure it was different from how it is now.  Scoot acts as if he was either beaten and abused or that he grew up in a wild environment.  It is taking him a long time to adapt to a new, and, we hope, better life.  And his life was spared from the fate that awaits many "unwanted" dogs.  Nat's action to adopt this hound has changed his life, but Scooter is still trying to figure it out and build trust with these kind people with whom he lives.

Hairy (notice, if you will, that I did not add the annoying "BDE") didn't have a clue that he needed rescuing.  He was just enjoying a nice doggy-paddle across the canal on a fine summer day.  Then the bottom fell out and he was in the rolling waters under the small drop off in the canal.  He was working as hard as he could to get out of the back-flowing current that kept rolling him under the falls, but was not strong enough on his own to get out of the vicious cycle.   He needed someone to rescue him from drowning in the murky canal water.

Let's talk about Hairy (tempting, but I won't do it...) first.  There are times in our lives when we need rescuing, and it is obvious that we do.  Sometimes we are clueless, then, suddenly, we realize we are in over our heads.  Example from the scriptures-The Savior and his closest disciples had just met with a multitude and fed them spiritually and physically.  He wanted time alone to commune with His Father, and the twelve got on a boat to cross to the other side of Galilee. When they were about four miles out from shore, they were caught in a violent storm.  It was in the darkest time of the night-around three in the morning-the "fourth watch"-and they were struggling for their very lives.  I don't know if the Savior had been watching their struggles from a hill on the shore, but I know that He was aware of their predicament and their desperate need. You remember the story.  He came to them, walking on the sea, in their greatest hour of need, to calm the storm and save them.  I would imagine that they thought they needed saving sometime before the fourth watch, but that is when He came.  Peter had an adventure when he saw the Lord, but that is another tale.
There are times in our lives when we are rolling around in murky canal water, struggling with all of our strength, but we can't get out.  Or when we are out in the dark stormy night that has seemed to go on forever and we just know we will perish.  We are crying for help but none seems to be coming-until it arrives to save us just as we are going down, we are sure, for the last time.  Even the rescue may not be the most wonderful experience (we think).  We may have enough faith to take a few steps on the the rolling swells of the sea, but then start to sink and need to be rescued again.  Maybe our rescuer pulls our ear until it feels like it is going to come off, then we are in the water again.  And when we are finally pulled out, we are tossed onto the hard ground and thumped on.  "...All these things shall be for (your) good".

OK-late enough.  I just have a few things to say about Scooter, then make a couple of more points, and be done with this.  That's how it goes tonight...

'Night.

Rescues and Rescue(d) Dogs

Several weeks ago, Natalie "rescued" a dog.  A dog named Homer.  Then Watson.  Then ResDog (my favorite).  And finally, Scooter.  No-don't get confused now.  She didn't rescue four dogs-just one dog that had four names.  Now he has one-Scooter.
Nat was excited and very happy to have a dog.  Then her eyes started to water and her nose began to run.  No, it wasn't Tears and Snot of Joy from having her own pooch-even though she was quite happy to have a hound-it was allergies.  To her new doggie.
Then she went back to real-life work, leaving home early in the morning and coming home late in the evening.  Scooter (Watson then, or was it RD?) spent the day chewing his bed and "collecting" Nat's clothing to make a bed he wanted.
Phone call from Natalie: "What was I thinking?!  I am gone almost all day and Watson (now Scooter-don't get confused) spends the day either eating my apartment or locked in his kennel.  Maybe I need to take (insert name of dog here) back to Rover Rescue."
I thought that might not be a bad idea, but Mom thought it would be nice to have a dog around.  She likes dogs.  So, we now have Scooter (correct current name) at our house.
"Scooter" stuck as this hound's moniker (I'll wait while you ask your parents what that means) because it fits.  You know how most dogs will come up and slobber all over you if you offer them anything remotely resembling people food?  Or even road kill?  Well, Scooter stays away from you in the house.  He will come no closer than 5.37 feet to you.  You can call, coax, lie on your back and whine, or even offer BACON!  And he will keep his distance.  If you try to walk up to him to pet him, he scoots away.  He is really good at it.  He scoots and scoots.  The only time he acts doggy-like is when you go to the front door, put on shoes and rattle the leash.  Then he is your best friend, sitting on your feet and wagging his tail.
Mom and I have, for the past few weeks, housed, fed, made nice noises and tried everything-including offering pig parts to eat-to try to get Scooter to be our friend.  We have taken this hound on walks-long walks along the canal and in the hills-every stinkin' day.  I even passed up a bike ride yesterday on a sunny afternoon to take this stand-offish canine for a walk since Mom was working and he hadn't had one all day.  He is your best friend on walks, but, once home, he reverts to Scooter.  The exception is Natalie.  Now, we have had this dog for the past few weeks at our house.  Daily feeding, walking, poop gathering, trying to play with, rolling on the floor and whining like a puppy has been done.  Do you think this dog would begin to act like he likes being around us?  No way! Other than walks, he maintains his 5.37 ft distance.
 But-when Nat's car gets within our zip code, Scoot picks up his ears, gets a doggy smile on his chops and starts wagging his tail!  And when he hears the door, he Scoots-to the door!  To jump and wag and be all excited that his Rescuer is here!
You need to remember that Nat sees this dog once or twice a week-she is allowing us to do the daily feeding, walking, clean-up, etc with this hound.  But it is obvious that Scooter knows that, without Nat, he may well not be rescued yet.  And he is quick and generous in showing his gratitude to her.
And it is obvious that Nat likes this Scooter dog as well.

OK-stay in there.  This won't be long, but I need to tell you about another dog rescue.
Hairy (Best Dog Ever) came to us as a puppy.  Buffy (whoever came up with THAT name?) help raise him.  He wasn't a rescue dog-we actually got him through my brother Steve, who belonged to Max, who deserves his own stories.  Maybe another time.
Where was I-Oh-Hairy (named for obvious reasons.  I think you may still find some of his follicles in our home) was the BDE.  I will tell you about some of his adventures another time.
Today, I am going to share just one short Hairy tale.  Hairy himself only had a short tail.  But I digress.
When Hairy (BDE) was a few months old, Natalie, her friend and I took Hairy for a walk along the canal.  It was a nice summer day, and the canal was running fairly high.  Hairy (BDE) decided to see how the water was.  He had not been in the water before, but I was not concerned because I grew up knowing that all animals, except monkeys and humans can swim from birth.  Now, don't you believe this-ask aunt Em if you want to know this is true, but that is what my Dad told us when I was young, and it stuck with me.  Anyway-I knew Hairy (BDE) would be just fine swimming in the canal.  Well, he swam across the canal, then decided he needed to swim back to be with his pack (that would be us) again.  He hopped back into the water and started paddling.  Dog paddling.  Well, what kind of paddling would you think he would do?  Anyway, he got in the flowing canal just a little ways above a two-foot high fall under a bridge over the canal.
I could see it would be questionable if Hairy (BDE) would make it across the canal before the flow took him over the little falls.  And I could see, in the backwash of the falls, flotsam and jetsam (ask your folks!) rolling around, caught in the reverse flow under the falls.  Hairy (BDE) was not very big yet, and I could imagine him being caught in the rolling current himself.
We were cheering him on, but, as he got most of the way across it was clear that he wasn't going to make it.
The flow took him over the falls.  We held our breath-hoping Hairy (BDE) would do the same-waiting to see his soggy self pop up out of the water.
We didn't see him.  And he had been in there too long.
I told Nat and her buddy to stay on the canal road, and I hustled down under the bridge and reached into the water where I saw a black and white fur ball cycle around.
I reached in as far as I could, felt a furry ear and pulled as hard as I could. I got Hairy (BDE) close to the surface, but the combination of canal current, my grip not strong enough and the ear not being a convenient handle, caused me to loose hold of that ear.  I thought Hairy (BDE) was soon to be the late Hairy (BDE).
I knew I had one more chance.  I saw him cycling around again, thrust my arm into the churning water (sounding pretty exciting, don't you think?) and caught hold of his collar!  A nice, firm, reliable handle.
I pulled the sopping lump of fur out of the current and threw him up on the road.  You need to know that I had one leg in the canal, one hand braced on the underworks of the bridge and the other fishing for dogs, so I didn't have the option to gently cradle him in my arms and gently lay him on the bank.
So he got dog-tossed.
Hairy (BDE) had glazed-over eyes (not a good thing) and wasn't moving much.  The Toss, however, had forced him to expel canal water out of his snout (a good thing. One should avoid getting canal water in one's snout and lungs), and he move some.  I still was not convinced that the Dog was not Gone.  He did not look good.  We thumped on him a bit and got more water out.
Then Hairy (BDE) took in a breath, did a doggy gag-cough (you know what I mean).  Got more nasty canal water out, shook his head, got up, and took a few shaky steps.  Then he did something wonderful.  Hairy (BDE) did the Dog Shake!  What a wonderful thing to see!  Especially since we thought he was probably Doggone!  Don't you wish you could shake water off like a dog?  From your nose to the end of your tail-if you had a tail?
Anyway, Hairy (BDE) did a decent Dog Shake, then smiled, got his bright eyes back and wagged his stubby tail!  And we were all happy, relieved, blessed that Hairy (BDE) was back!

OK-my intent with this entry was to tell a couple of rescue stories, then pontificate (that one is worth looking up-not the Pope-related definition) on rescuing.  Since I have gone way    too     long    ,    I will share some thoughts on rescuing and rescues next time.  So you have time to consider these stories.  There may well be a quiz.  With grades.  But no prizes.  Maybe bacon.

Did I Tell You About My....

It is a few days past New Year's Day.  The Holiday season is about done.  We still have a trip to Pullman the end of this week to visit with family there and have a late Christmas with them.
I don't think I made any resolutions again this year.
Not that I don't need any.  But I don't know about setting goals with the turn of the calendar.  Why not decide to make changes when you see changes need to be made?  Why not another calendar-related occasion?  Your birthday, or in the fall when the school season begins.
Or, again, why not when you do some introspection and come to realize that there are some things you can do to help you be a better person.

Oh, I think this time of year is often a time of reflection and introspection.  Good thing, as long as we remember that the view forward through the proverbial windshield is much larger and more important than the minimized view we get from the rear view mirror.  We sometimes spend too much energy on fretting about what has gone before (objects in mirror are larger than they appear-at least in our minds sometimes).
Maybe we need to spend a bit more time  and energy on creating what we can as we go forward.

A couple of thoughts from the past few days-

I read that Benjamin Franklin would ask himself two questions every day.
In the morning-"What Good shall I do today?
In the evening- "What Good have I done today?

I think this is a good place to start-to have some daily introspection about if we have done "Good".
And if you need definition of "Good", just sing to yourself some of the lines to "Have I Done Any Good in the World Today?"  "Good" has to do with serving others, being uplifting, sharing burdens, etc.  If you want a chuckle, find the "old" lyrics to this hymn...

OK-I will let you in on one thing I have been trying to do better in the past few weeks.  It seems, whenever I am conversing, that it is easy to act like Topper--the guy who sometimes makes appearances in Dilbert.  Whatever you have done, achieved, accomplished, -I have done better.  A patient tells me about his bike riding, and I feel the need to tell him about the miles I put in (in a most humble way, of course!).  Brag on your grandkids, well, just wait as I tell you how amazingly marvelous mine are. When we were new grandparents, I even resorted to bragging about how well our grandbabies could fill their diapers in response to other new grandparents letting me know how their two year old grandbabies were reading Shakespeare and playing Mozart. You get the idea.  I know when I am doing this because the person I am talking with starts to get the glazed look in his eyes.

I know that we all benefit from others listening to and hearing us and helping build us up.  But-that is our job to do for others.  So, I have been really trying to not "Topper" others, but to listen and compliment others on their conquests and achievements.
I have noticed, as I have made an effort to do this, that-now don't be surprised-I am not at all diminished when I let others feel good about themselves!  And I actually feel great when I help them recognize what they have accomplished, how they have grown, what good they have done!

I read once that Mark Twain said he could live a whole month on a good compliment.  My experience is that this is about right.  I am learning that it is grand to be the source of those compliments for others-even if I just acknowledge their bragging about themselves.  I don't need to outdo them to have a sense of self worth, and I can be supportive of them.
Of course, this has to be done sincerely, and that is tough sometimes.

OK-enough rambling for now.

If you make resolutions for the New Year, good for you!  I hope we all take the opportunity to check in daily and think about the Good we can do and the Good we have done.

And, when you have a minute, ask me about my grandkids, kids, cabin, most recent home repair, bike ride, hike or, especially, my wife!