Chapter 28. Snoop and the Professor: Simple Life, Simple Dreams
I have had Mom and the Professor all to myself almost every day for the past several months. That means that I get extra sleep, extra walks, extra treats, extra kisses, extra attention, and extra time to play tug with my toys. I get to supervise the Professor when he is trying to clean out the garage, plant flowers in the backyard, and when he tries, unsuccessfully I might add, to keep those crazy squirrels off the bird feeders. There are so many squirrels in our back yard but that is another story. I supervise the Professor when he is on his computer researching and writing his new book and conducting research for an article, although I have no idea what research means. I get to supervise Mom and the Professor when they put together puzzles. Mom and the Professor have been cooking more at home and, of course, I get to sample the cooking more often than ever. Mom works from home two to four days a week, she spends time in zoom meetings on her computer on those days that she is home. I don’t know what a zoom meeting is but I get to sleep under her desk and listen to her meetings. Honestly, I really don’t listen too much, I’d rather just be near her feet and dream about the next treat the Professor will give me when I give him my “poor, poor pitiful me” look. Yes, there’s a Linda Ronstadt song of that name. I also get to sleep at the professor’s feet when he sits out back in the yard and reads. If this is the way life is going to be for a while, then I can’t complain. Simple life and simple dreams with the ones we love. I should sing a song about that. Oh, of course, Linda Ronstadt already has!
Mom and the Professor are watching their social distance on our morning walks when we talk to others in the street or along the path in the woods down from the house. I’m not sure what social distance means except that they don’t get close to the people they are talking to. While they keep their distance, I have noticed that they talk to their neighbors more than before this new normal. Our neighbors down the street have a daughter who has been an ICU nurse for many years but during the pandemic she has been traveling and helping out in the ICUs of hospitals in Arizona and New York. I don’t know where Arizona and New York are and I don’t know what an ICU is but the word “ventilator” scares me. She’s seen some of her friends get sick, but fortunately she has been OK. I could tell that our neighbors are very worried. I certainly understand that and can empathize. Anyway, while all this talking does interfere with my walk, I think that’s a good thing because it gives me more time to check out and talk to the neighborhood dogs, all my buddies. I get to find out more about them and more about their lives and their dreams. After this pandemic, whatever that is, we should all continue to talk and listen to each other more. I mean really talk, listen, and care for each other. I think the world would be a better place. Don’t you?
Just to let you know, I’ve started something new. Like all Beagles, you know that I have to guard my house and yard by looking out the front window and if I see someone coming in my yard or a car in the cul de sac, that’s a funny word isn’t it, I bark at them until Mom and the Professor get up and check it out. I always get a pat on my head for a job well done. But, sometimes Mom and the Professor ignore me, so I decided to just continue to bark even if the intruders or cars are long gone. It makes Mom and the Professor eventually get up and check it out and even though they get a bit annoyed that there is no car or no one is there, I still get that pat on my head. I just love for them to show how much they love me.
I have noticed that when Mom and the Professor leave to go somewhere in the car they take their masks with them. I think they look funny when they put them on, but the Professor insists that it is to protect others. Who can argue with that? I’m not sure why that is important but it certainly is courteous and it is easy to do. But, they do look funny in their masks. I would look even funnier in a mask, so I just wear my bandanna around my neck. Take care, be safe out there, and check on your neighbors every now and then. It’s the right thing to do.
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