Sunday, 23 June
 |
| Hop Scotch |
Good
Morning Justin…
The
other day the dog, Jake, had his long coat of fur shaved very short so he could
better endure the heat of summer. He now
looks half the size of before. Where he
once reminded me of an Eskimo’s dog, the kind that pulls a sled across snow, he
now appears as a young coyote, not yet fully grown. It was the same last summer. More than once people have asked me on our
walks where the other dog was, thinking I had two to care for. No, this is still just Jake. He is so much happier not having to wear that
long, heavy coat in the sweltering heat.
Imagine you getting bundled up in a thick winter overcoat before
stepping outside to bask in the tropical sun.
It might not drive me mad but
you best stay clear of me. I would be
very irritable. Offering me a tall, cool
lemonade would only serve to illustrate the ridiculous nature of my
predicament. What’s this – lemonade on
ice? I’ve got an idea. Why not relieve me of this horrendous
coat? It’s driving me crazy carrying
this steam room about.
So
Jake is now happier but he still does as before and spends the heat of the day
sprawled out beneath the deep shade of a tree.
He mostly spends his nights sleeping directly beneath the starry
sky. Small, curious stars also fly about
the yard during early evening. It’s the
fireflies working very hard to stay aloft.
They make ungainly fliers with bodies almost too large for their
wings. The phosphorous lamp that is
their tail is a beacon slowly flashing on and off to announce their
availability to the opposite sex. Hey, I’m
over here. Why don’t we get together on
some leaf and make it happen? The rendezvous
is likely to be a simple romance. Your
first task is to make sure you’re dealing with the same species and, once that
is affirmed, you need only discover your lover’s complementary organ. It’s the single’s dream of carefree, no guilt
sex.
As
we move up the evolutionary ladder it becomes increasingly challenging to make
a couple. Some birds have elaborate
dance steps as part of their mating ritual.
You frustrate your partner to no end if you can’t get your moves
straight. Was it left step, right step,
left step then extend my wings before I hold up a piece of nesting material or
do I flap my wings after I show her the sprig?
Never mind. She’s moved on to
someone else.
Imagine
the difficulty in being a porcupine.
These solitary creatures meet only one day out of the year. It’s like everything happens only on Sadie
Hawkins Day. If you lose track of the
day you’re plain out of luck. Here I am
running around the forest in hormone overdose mode only to find the place is
deserted because the big day was yesterday.
There’s a beaver stream nearby. I
think I will hit on the one with the cute aspen twigs.
Of
course, the signals, rituals and charming behavioral cues involved in human
courtship can seem complex, contradictory and confusing. People write books on the subject. We all have favorite songs relating the highs
and lows of romance. As a ‘for instance,’
here’s a lyric from way back when:
I’m
getting married in the morning,
Ding,
Dong, the bells are going to chime…
To
possibly being followed one day by the Hall and Oates lyric
She’s gone oh I, oh I’d
Better to learn how to face it…
She’s gone – what went wrong?
Of
course, these are musty examples from long ago. They've been replaced by contemporary renderings but the emotions
expressed are the same – exhilaration and loss.
Every one of us carries songs like these within us from a very young age
because the feelings and experience they express are universal. We have no problem relating to their basic
message. Love is a blend of honey and
thorns. I think I was aware of both by
the tender age of seven – loved, then dumped for another in the second
grade. It’s all love. It may strike you on any given day. A simple trip to the pet store to buy your
turtle food may result in a young lady giving you an extra moment of her
day. You find it’s just enough to set
the phosphorus in your cheeks all aglow.
Love,
Dad
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