Dogged

On pets giving us just what we need, plus some odds and ends and sources of joy.

Hello readers,

What's new in your world?

If you're anything like me, you've probably been wondering how to consume news in a way where you will be well-informed but not overcome with existential dread. I have this habit, developed in journalism school, of reading multiple sources of news first thing in the morning to see what's being covered (and not) and how. I carried that habit with me into my early staff reporting career, and then into freelancerdom, where my intake depends on what I'm curious about in any given moment. Sometimes the links I share here are the result of things I come across that furrow my brow, or bring out my profoundly silly side. Other times, and especially lately, my media meanderings have had me...a wee bit tense? Given what I spelled out last week about migraines, I know I need to manage this news intake better for my own sake. I don't have any foolproof method on how to do this yet, but I can say that it helped me to spend this past weekend alone with Boots, my rascally, high-energy rescue pup. Unless he is fast asleep, it is impossible to doomscroll without repercussions.

About Boots: We found him at the Atlanta Humane Society a couple of years ago. He was this sinewy little fella, and lonely (I assume) because all of his brothers and sisters had been adopted. Me being me, I wondered why he was the last mutt standing from this litter. After all, there was something appealing to me about the way he folded his ears back on his head and looked up at me as if he were this lone baby seal in search of love. Ask anyone in my family and they will tell you that I have a serious-to-the-point-of-being-weird weakness for puppy eyes and ears, and so when this little pup employed his to such great effect, I was a goner. I asked to hold him, and he was very sweet and lovable, so of course he came home with us.

And that is the precise moment he became a total psycho. The living room became his own personal F1 track. He became as chompy as a Great White Shark. There was nothing he wouldn't get into, no mischief he couldn't make. Even better, two days after he came home, I left with my kid to tour a college in Minnesota, so Boots had my spouse right where he wanted him.

Cue "Break My Soul" by Beyonce.

Anyway, training helped. Structure helped. A couple days of puppy playcare a week helped. And Boots has shaped up to be a delightful, though no less rascally, dog. He will still find trouble, given the chance. But he will not lunge at you like an apex predator, which is a very good thing.

So, this past weekend, my kid went back to campus after a week off for Spring Break. My husband went up to Cincinnati to see an Atlanta United match. I had Boots to myself and vice versa. First thing Saturday morning, I thought maybe I'd let him out into the backyard to let him run off some of his seemingly bottomless reserves of energy. So I did, and as he zoomed back and forth through the bushes I began wondering "wait...he doesn't have a pale blue streak on his haunch...(zips right by) what the hell is that pale blue sploosh on his forehead...(zips by in the opposite direction) why are his paws blue...(zips by...) his ears aren't dotted with blue...oh no...why is he turning blue?" Boots looked like he was overjoyed to be in one hell of a paint ball battle, and I couldn't figure out why this was going on and how to corral him so I could clean him up. So I let him have fun for a bit more, and then I lured him inside and wrestled with him as I scrubbed him clean. He was so very sad to lose his warpaint.

When I was done (or at least thought I was), Boots plopped down in a sunbeam and took a nap. I looked down at him as he gently snored, and realized that I had missed a spot.

Oh well.

Anyway, we had a good weekend together, Boots and I. I haven't found the exact source of the blue yet (I think it has something to do with some work we had done on our house a couple of weeks ago), but I did have a really good laugh about the chaos that it wrought. For Boots, I guess this was his way of getting into some good trouble so I could have a break from the bad trouble. Whatever it was, I'll take it.

Here's hoping you're finding moments of joy too.

Paige

Writing prompt: Write about your favorite pet? Why was it your favorite, what are your favorite memories with it, and what sort of lessons did that pet teach you about yourself?

The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.

-- Coretta Scott King

Endnotes

What I'm reading

Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams. Wynn-Williams was a New Zealand diplomat and international lawyer who was pretty idealistic about Facebook in the beginning, and she pitched herself as someone who could help the company navigate its growing global influence. In a sharply-written, often funny, and occasionally profoundly disturbing account, Wynn-Williams gives us an insider's account of the growing social media behemoth, showing how unconcerned they were about making the world a better and more connected place, and how focused they were on growth at all costs, even if that meant the platform was spreading false information that influenced everything from elections to genocide. Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg come out of this looking like nightmare bosses and humans. No wonder the company tried to block this book's publication. No wonder it's a #1 New York Times bestseller anyway. Definitely put this one on your TBR pile. It's something else.

What I'm watching

The four-part Netflix series "Adolescence," about a 13-year-old boy accused of stabbing a female classmate to death. The show has gotten a lot of buzz for its subject matter (bullying, toxic masculinity, the online lives of teenagers, the desire to belong and be popular, etc), its talented young lead actor, and the one-take manner in which it was filmed. It's really, really good, and I don't just say that. The last episode (especially that last scene) obliterated whatever is left of my heart.

What I'm excited about

The rock band Garbage just announced that it will be playing this fall at The Eastern, which is, quite possibly, my favorite venue in Atlanta. Also, food journalist Shane Mitchell's book of essays The Crop Cycle: Stories With Deep Roots has been longlisted for a Pen/America Award. Published by Bitter Southerner Publishing and edited by friend of the newsletter (and friend, period) Alison Law, the eleven essays within are part of the author's quest to better understand the South's tangled love affair with food like peaches, grits, okra, and tomatoes, among other things. Congratulations and cheers to Mitchell and the rest of the Bitter Southerner crew on the fantastic news! More congratulations are in order to chef, writer, and lit agency cousin Klancy Miller, whose next book The Picnic Project will be about unwinding and celebrating friendship and community outdoors with friends over a meal. This seems like a book we really need right now.

Where I hope you'll donate this week

Your local NPR and/or PBS station. They need our support right now.