Volcanic Panic

The HEADLINES nearly read: Woman Erupts at Sam's;

     After searching her local Sam's Club store for toilet tissue and paper towels, the gray headed lady asked a nearby employee where they kept their toiletries.  The man appeared not to understand her question. In her frustration the woman began to speak louder, "Where do you keep the TOILET TISSUE?"

     "We don't have any toilet tissue." the young man responded.

     "Seriously, you don't have toilet tissue! Where might I find paper towels?" she inquired.

     "See them empty shelves from floor to ceiling," the young man pointed to two empty rows of metal shelving. "We haven't had any toilet tissue or paper towels  in two days, and I don't know when we will get 'em in."

     When the older woman's voice sprang from alto to soprano and the cement floor began to quiver with anxiety and frustration, a smiling lady appeared in her Sam's vest, decorated with pins and charms. "Mam, can I help you?"

     The gray headed lady later explained to this reporter, that in that instant she realized that no form of sanitizes or aerosols would be available either, her mind felt like it would erupt over the panic set in from the Corona Virus, especially since she wasn't concerned about the damn virus. Instead, her panic came from the fact that she had no toilet tissue at home.
   
     "When will you have toilet tissue on your shelves?"  She replied slowly and clearly in a monotone word by word question.

     "Mam, they told us yesterday that all of our shipments were going to Nashville and we do not know when we will have tissues, paper towels, alcohol, or hand sanitizers."

     Before the volcano could erupt the disaster was averted The gray headed lady bowed her head as face turned flush. Through her tears she whispered, "I am sorry. I am so sorry." The unknown woman turned walking away from the crowded rows of people.

Lucky, for me there was no reporter. What I realized on the drive from Sam's Club to Target was the ability of the mind to scan, create scenes, multiply emotions, and tell a story in the heartbeat of a nano moment. Before I understood that the materials were diverted to Nashville I felt anger at our population of people who were collecting and hoarding items that the rest of us would not have access to. Isn't this how we felt when Russia threatened us with missiles? Before a second breath could be taken the word Nashville turned my mind to the horrific damage from the tornado last week, and the lives lost, hearts broken, community torn apart by a storm. My emotions dropped to sudden sadness and humility. Who was I to think that I was the only one who needed toilet tissue. 

By the time I walked into Target expecting the same result, my mind had gone so far back to remember when my parents told stories of living through the depression and World War II. Would we now begin standing in line for basic supplies? Could we even begin the phantom the sacrifices our parents and grandparents made? My heart and chest sunk when I realized that I was the spoiled American. Easy to look around and think "they" could not live without their cell phones, Starbucks, fancy cars......Well, I wouldn't like it either.

I braced for defeat walking into Target. Much to my surprise I found their shelves filled with toilet tissue, paper towels, and Kleenex.

However, the search for rubbing alcohol proved to be futile. The pharmacy told me that when they did receive a supply of alcohol it was gone in ten minutes, and the same held true for hand sanitizer.
They did however, have six  bottles of little girl sparkly hand sanitizer left. I fell in full blown laughter by then. I didn't even have sanitizer on the list, but now my curiosity was aroused. I had to see the bottle.

Won't I look cute with clean sparkly hands now. 

Puppy Dog Love

 Who's in charge?

After thirteen years of loving Lucy, we still laugh at how well she has us trained in the art of fetching the ball when she wants us to play, in fixing her food first thing in the morning before we've enjoyed a silent time of reverie, or when she demands a walk, no matter how cold or windy.

Patience.
We call our behavior 'puppy dog love' because when we first brought her home, she was the most pitiful lost terrified animal we had ever been around. She would not leave our bedroom until we carried her outside. She would not tinkle/poop unless we stayed in the yard with her. She didn’t bark or whimper. After she climbing a tree chasing an animal, she still didn't know she was a dog. In her attempt to protect me from a squirrel, she managed to chase the squirrel up my leg and then barked at me. For the full story read here: Walking Pell-Mell

Who trained whom?
We regularly watched The Dog Whisperer, Cesar, on television. I read The Loved Dog by Tamar Geller, and I took Lucy to Dog Obedience school.  After six months of patiently loving and training Lucy she discovered a new life as a loved house dog and companion.

The Lucy alarm!
The first time she barked in the back yard, the neighbor and I both ran to her to see what happened. Like a child who just took a first step she barked again for her newly formed audience. Ever since that first bark, she has continued to greet strangers and guests with a ferocious barking howl, until the guests give her time to sniff and pronounce them worthy of coming into her home..

 Good cows. Good cows.
When we lived on Quivira Drive in Hutchinson, across the road from 40 acres of prairie, we often played hide and go seek in the tall grasses with Lucy. She relished the excitement of finding one of her lost cows. We still play in our yard hiding behind trees, or in our house Jack will turn to Lucy, who sleeps at his feet by the television and call, "Where's Letty?"  Instantly, she searches the rooms until she finds me, then herds us both together. Sadly,  she is aging faster than we are, with her hips quivering and back legs slipping Jack sometimes drives her to the park where she sniffs and saunters in slow-mo, as we stand shivering in the cold mumbling words to ourselves while waiting on our loved dog.

Togetherness.
Jack and I spend time talking about our goosey dog and how much she has become a part of our daily routine. Through her training of us, her cows one or both of us walk with her daily; she begs routinely from Jack at the dinner table; even though she is deaf, she still hears cabinets closing when Jack is in the kitchen and like magic arrives at his side waiting on a crumb to fall to the ground.  At the dinner hour she herds us into the kitchen to fix her dinner and sit together as a family. She much prefers to keep her cows in one room together with her.

Puppy Dog Love.  

Off and on these last two years she has gone through weeks of severe gastrointestinal issues that ruin carpet and make me nauseous. We love on her and feed her a special fat free Gastrointestinal canned dog food. The Vet prescribed medicine for her nervous stomach and pain pills for her aching hips.   In my childhood our father would have taken her to the country one day and put her out of misery. Now, Lucy looks at us with those brown eyes and says, "I am sorry. I am sorry. Please don't be mad." Jack and I work as a team to clean up and then our hearts weep inside.

Hugs and tears.

Just before Valentine's, as she lay on the cold tile exhausted from being sick for three days, we said our good-byes to her, knowing that she probably would die during the night. When she didn't wake us early the next morning, I lay in bed and quietly cried. Then suddenly I felt a bump against the bed, and felt her paw reaching for me. Like a startled bird I leaped out of bed and found Lucy standing there with her tail wagging ever so slightly.

Belly rub and massage on a sunny winter day. 

I Love Lucy.  

Valentine's came this year with surprises and gifts from Letty to Jack and Jack to Letty. Lucy doesn't like to be left out. When Jack bought a dozen radiant red roses and a box of hot tamales, my favorite candy, Lucy signed the card with him. One year she even a bought a special Valentine card just for me. She knows that we are a team and she is proud of her cows.  

Nova hosts a show called Dog Tales that explains the science behind why dogs like being with people Click on this link to learn more Nova's Dog Tales.