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LIFE CHALLENGES? LET DOGS DECIDE

We wake up to life challenges every day and ignore them. Why? Because we wake up like we always wake up. Waking up is not the challenge. We can disagree, but you know I’m right.

GIVING UP AT THE RIGHT TIME

Giving up is the same as quitting? Or something more insidious? Quitting feels so final, like, “All done here.” Giving up delivers a different message.

DISPLACED WORKERS ‘RETIRED’ FROM OLD JOBS

Displaced workers retire? From what? Ask a Coos Bay logger about it, or a Charleston commercial fisherman. What did they retire from? Getting jacked around by new ideas on sustainability.

LIFETIME LEARNING MEANS HOMEWORK FOREVER?

Lifetime learning means not quitting until you figure things out. It also means knowing what you don’t know and when to call an expert. This is when it gets dicey. You know what you don’t know, but still wonder if the experts know more. These are the lessons of when to listen and learn.

PROTECTING VOWS, THE ONES YOU MAKE AND BREAK

Doesn’t ‘protecting vows’ sound like something a fraud would say? “You protect those vows, boy, while I work the crowd.” Eventually the whole idea turns into another ‘gray area.’ But it shouldn’t, and here’s why:

DOG APPRECIATION CLASS FROM START TO NOW

How it started: Dog appreciation lasted sixteen years with Daisy, who was about this size. For a long haired miniature dachshund, she cast a giant shadow. Daisy was a dog of many talents.

GRADUATING DOGS ARE EDUCATIONAL

Graduating dogs from obedience training is a win/win for everyone. A well mannered dog is a joy for everyone. Well mannered dog owners take that joy and run. So should you.

NURTURING YEARS, OR CHECKING OUT

Nurturing years change over time. From the duties of planting and raising nasturtiums in third grade, to raising kids in your thirties, the stakes rise. Then everyone grows up and no longer need nurturing? No, that’s not how it works.

DOG PARK POLITICS FOR COMMON GOOD

Does a dog park seem like a strange place for politics? Not when the engagement leads to common good for everyone. When common good is the goal, a dog park is the perfect model. Here’s why:

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS OF THE FUTURE WITH CHILL

Happy birthdays seem to tail off the older you get, and that’s just sad. We all get excited for little kids’ birthdays, but what happens when they get older? Around my place they get better. Here’s why: