I've Always Been Drawn To

Me, I Walk Along And Feel Quietly Defensive, A Recluse In The Land Of We. That's Quite The Loaded Word, 'we.

When You Quit Drinking You Stop Waiting.

I Once Heard A Woman Who Had Lost Her Dog Say That She Felt As Though A Color Were Suddenly Missing From Her World: The Dog Had Introduced To Her Field Of Vision Some Previously Unavailable Hue And Without A Dog, That Color Was Gone. That Seemed To Capture The Experience Of Loving A Dog With Eminent Simplicity. I'd Amend It Only Slightly And Say That If We Are Open To What They Have To Give, Dogs Can Introduce Us To Several Colors With Names Like Wildness, Nurturance, Trust And Joy.

Dogs Possess A Quality That's Rare Among Humans -- The Ability To Make You Feel Valued Just By Being You -- And It Was Something Of A Miracle To Me To Be On The Receiving End Of All That Acceptance. The Dog Didn't Care What I Looked Like, Or What I Did For A Living, Or What A Train Wreck Of A Life I'd Led Before I Got Her, Or What We Did From Day To Day. She Just Wanted To Be With Me, And That Awareness Gave Me A Singular Sensation Of Delight.

Desires Collide; The Wish To Eat Bumping Up Against The Wish To Be Thin, The Desire To Indulge Conflicting With The Injunction To Restrain. Small Wonder Food Makes A Woman Nervous.