On a day like today, when the populations of the world huddled together on top of the earth's axis, watching, waiting, to see what will shake out of Egypt and change the world order forever, Sugar took the pause that refreshes.
Aware there was not a single thing she could do to affect the outcome, bored already with the displays of camels, horses, Molotov cocktails lighting the Cairo night sky, one eyelid drooping as the crowds pumped their fists and shouted slogans, Sugar decided to take a Zen day. She said no to learning anything new. She's watched ABC's Christiane Amanpour's interview with Hosni Mubarak and feels she now knows everything she needs to know till tomorrow's NEW news.
Sphinx-like, her world turns moment by moment. She doesn't remember the past and doesn't fret about the future. She's not a current events junkie like her Human. If she could speak English she'd say, WTF, there's always something horrible going on...where's my pickled tongue?
I admonished her. "Sugar," I said. "Where's your sense of civic duty? We must remain active and vigilant to survive in this world, Sugar. We planned to learn the Stay today." Sugar yawned till her eyes rolled back in her skull, then lay her belly on the floor and stretched her legs out as far as they would go.
Oh, I thought. She wants to start by doing some Yoga. I unrolled my purple mat. Lay on the mat, flat on my back, yawned and stretched my legs and arms out as far as they would go. All the while Sugar licked my face, both nostrils, two ear canals, and nibbled the chin hair I've been too lazy to pluck. In my Zen haze I wondered whether Sugar could eventually be trained to nip off that coarse hair, but never mind, it was only a daydream.
Yes, I exhaled. I'm setting a good example for my dog. She IS learning something today. She's learning how to step back from the world, learning perspective. Thank God puppies have Humans to teach them how to think and conduct their lives. Otherwise, they'd live in abject misery -- like your average Egyptian.
"Tomorrow we'll learn the Stay", I mumbled to Sugar. If there is a tomorrow, my internal Jewish voice jumped in.
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