So....here I am telling Annie that no she can't go...
Amy Draft Delete

So....here I am telling Annie that no she can't go outside for the fifth time in two hours. She just wants to see the new Jack Russell puppy....or the English bulldog....or the boxer/pit bull mix...or....ok, so we have a lot of dogs in our apartment complex.

...so I gave in and let her out. I peeked around the corner and spotted the full-fledged pit bull. I won't ever forget the first time I encountered him. He came out of nowhere--large and unleashed. After my experience with Roy and Smoky (Longfield pit bull pets), I expected him to swallow Annie in one bite. But his owner, a twenties-something male in a basketball jersey, with a cigarette dangling from his lip, quickly reassured me.

Pit Bull Owner (lazily, giving me the once-over): It's ok. Hades is cool. He's cool.

Me (doubtfully as the pit bull, apparently named Hades, steps closer to sniff Annie's female areas): Um...all right. What a pretty dog.

Pit Bull Owner: Thanks. Come on, Hades.

So, I suppose I could have let Annie and Hades nose each other a little tonight. But I don't know his nighttime personality. I think I'll keep it that way.


On another note, how do you explain to high school freshmen that Odysseus was not really faithful to Penelope, but then again he kind of was? How do you say no to a goddess? Poor Penelope. Poor naive children I get to teach the Odyssey to. And next year they get Oedipus. And then The Scarlet Letter. Is all good literature about sex?

And yes, Grete, Pear Tree refers to both Hurston and Mansfield: Their Eyes Were Watching God and "Bliss". Two of my favorites.