Random thoughts

I was reminded today of having a strange man walk in the front door of my house when I was about 12. I think it was the turning moment in my life that makes me want all the doors locked. He was, essentially, harmless. Of course we did not know that. He made it about half way across the room, before my Dad backed him back out the door. The man smelled of alcohol and was rambling about the gospel. We discovered, later, that he lived several houses down. Weird how stuff like that comes to mind.

Recently, I was thinking about a dog of mine. Jazz was a big, German Shepherd/Husky mix. One day I was out in the yard with Jazz, when he had to decide between something he wanted and minding me. With obvious regret, he minded me. There is a kid out there that doesn't know how lucky he was, or how hard it was for Jazz...and me. We only have control, when it is given to us. Allowed. Do you ever think about that? Jazz allowed me to keep him from mauling that kid. He wanted to take that kid out. He was capable of it. It is unlikely that I could have physically stopped it. I yelled, "Jazz, no!" He stopped, and looked between me and the kid. You could almost see the calculation, was it going to be worth it? He came back to me. I would not be surprised if the kid wet himself. He really should have. The dog had murderous intentions, it was obvious. The kid was an ass that had tormented and teased the dog at every opportunity. Kid was in my yard that day. Dog felt he had the right to protect his yard. Most dogs think we are the alpha. We make the rules, because they allow it. Cats, on the other hand, do not allow it. They think we are foolish for believing we can control anything. Kids fall somewhere in the middle. Some kids allow us the control, others laugh at our foolishness. Think I'm wrong? An adult sets a rule. Kid's options, follow or break the rule. Kid follows the rule, life is good. Kid breaks the rule, and kid gets punished. Kid's options, follow the rule from now on, or not, follow punishment, or not. It's those, or nots, that are a problem. Let me give an example: Kid breaks curfew. Kid gets grounded. Kid sneaks out window. Kid gets caught. Grounding is extended. Out the window again. See a pattern? That kid can disregard any attempt by the adult to make rules. So what does a parent do with a child that refuses to accept that the parent is in control? That is every parent's nightmare.

Okay, enough from my past. For now.