Tag Archives: dogs

Letters to Diane – 18

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Hi there.

Today is Tuesday and, yes, I’ve taken my pills. Well, actually I’ve only taken half of them. I’ll down the remainder later this afternoon. If I remember.

It’s raining cats and dogs here because an atmospheric river is passing over us. Has been for a couple of days. Here’s what it’s doing to the back yard.

Yup. It’s running pretty hard, making the trip to the Columbia River a quick one. I suspect getting to Astoria quickly is possible, too.

Max and I made our morning trip around the block a while ago. He kind of dictates our route by making it known to me which direction he wants to go. For instance, we’ll be walking down the sidewalk and he’ll see something on the other side of the street that insterests him. He stops, steps off the curb, and looks up at me with his little puppy-dog eyes waiting to see if I’m getting the message. While doing this, he does not pull on the leash, he just stands there waiting to see what I’m going to do.

Before committing to his wishes, we have a little discussion about why it’s necessary for us to make sure there no cars coming because I don’t want a flat dog. He seems to understand but I insist that he looks at me the entire time I’m explaining this to him.

Then we go. On the other side of the street is a large bush that he knows is a place where many dogs before him have left their messages. Sometimes it takes 10-15 minutes to decipher she was there before him. After leaving his response he turns with excitement and heads for the next bush. Turns out he knows all the dogs in the neighborhood so it takes a while to catch up on their activities.

Here’s something new:

The deer showed up and Jeff put them together. It had to be done outside because they are all coated with glitter. The little deer in front were put together in the house so there was litter everywhere. It’s been cleaned up, but it was a mess. Now all six of them live in the front yard. As soon as the photos show up in the ‘cloud’ I’ll show you. I suppose you could just fly by and look yourself, but I’ll send you photos anyway.

Hey! It showed up:

The annual Christmas parade has turned into quite an event last Saturday. This is the one where the group travel around the town accepting food gifts to help the food bank. The parade started on our street just this side of Meadow Park and eventually cruised by Daniel and Jennie’s home. I was invited to join them for the festivities on Matzen Street where many friends and family were gathered.

That’s Jennie holding Jasper back so he won’t get run over. Like all St. Helens’ parades, candy is thrown to the masses and the kids clean the street up. The only candy I got was a piece of bubble gum Lydia left on her chair. I chewed it gleefully.

I still haven’t solved the garage door opener problem. I finally gave up a couple days ago and just unplugged it. If it doesn’t magically resurrect its self when I plug it back in, I will have to give up a little of my masculine nature and call the buiilder for help. It’s very frustrating.

Terri is still sending me messages of encouragement and reminding me to take my pills. It’s nice to know people care.

I think this is enough for today. I miss you terribly even though I see you everywhere. I love you.

Day 151 – Wednesday – NAS Lemoore

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We left Tehachapi bright and early this morning with NAS Lemoore in our crosshairs. Today’s drive was about 150 miles, a little longer than the norm, but doable. It was actually a nice trip watching the scenery change from brown to green.

Just before we pulled out of Mt. Valley RV Park, the airport people started launching gliders. I have proof.

The tow plane took the glider to the end of the mountain range before turning it loose. Once it was free it quickly disappeared from my view. Honestly, it disappeared prior to that because they were so far away, I could only guess at where they were.

Since I was driving, there are no other photos of this trip, but I have a doozy for you that I captured after we got checked in at Bldg. 951. After I paid for our stay, I encountered Diane and Max who were out for a little stroll on real grass. Diane stopped me and said I needed to look at what’s in front of the rear wheel. Being a good husband, I immediately went there and looked.

His head was flat, so I didn’t think I was in danger, but these things give me the creepies. I suppose it’s possible that I may have run over it with the front tire when I pulled up to the curb. Considering its location, I’m pretty sure it got a taste of the rear tire, too. I did not stop to look. Perhaps tomorrow we’ll drive over there and see if it’s gone. If it is I will be on the lookout because I’ll be sure it’s out looking for me.

Once we got connected on pad 06, I took Max for a walk in the dog park. He’s been here before so it’s no big deal for him, other than the fact he gets to do it without a leash.

That’s him behind the tree just to the left of the bench on the fence line. This is the big dog side of the park. We had to pretend he weights 26 lbs. or more because that’s the rule. No one was there to check, and we were alone, so I took a chance.

Max circumvented the fence line smelling pretty much everything in his path.

On the way back to the bus we stopped here.

He wasn’t impressed. He’s seen grass before but that doesn’t mean anything since he’s color blind. It does, however, smell different. So, of course, he went about sniffing as many blades of grass as he could before I convinced him to move on down the road.

When we got back to the RV some of Diane’s friends flew over and gave us a little show.

If she could, she’d swap me out for a fighter pilot in a heartbeat. Can’t say I blame her because it looks like fun. They earn more money, too.

This is a photo of the RV Park taken from the dog park. You can see our bus just to the left of the 5th wheel in the middle.

As you can see, there’ plenty of room at the inn. Also, that tall fence on the left encompasses a golf driving range. Some of the balls wind up in the adjoining dog park so they became mine. I almost filled one of Max’s poop bags with them. Thankfully, it was brand new.

Next to park is the swimming pool that’s still full of water – it was 70 degrees here when we checked in. The pool has some nifty water slides, too.

I mentioned the temperature above. It was very pleasant when we got here, and we got to sit outside enjoying it for a bit. Later, it cooled down considerably. Not nearly as cold as it was in Tehachapi. It was 25 degrees this morning. I wisely left our water hose in its container and used the onboard fresh water instead.

Diane devoted her afternoon to doing our laundry. She noticed that I was almost out of underwear and figured it was time to get it done. I helped, when she let me.

The laundry is free, by the way. After the laundry was done, we took a trip to McDonald’s for a simple supper. It’s right across the street from the laundromat so we could have easily walked there, but Diane thought it would be more fun to use the drive thru. She got a fish sandwich, and I had a chicken sandwich. We both had milkshakes. It only cost us $27.00+. Not much of a bargain. Tomorrow I’m cooking.

We hope all is well with everyone.

Ciao.

Max says, “Hi”.

Day 71 – Sunday – No Agenda

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It was around 12 degrees outside this morning when I got up at 0630 so I turned on the fireplace and went back to bed. It’s not a real fireplace. It’s an electric portable one that we store under the bed when we travel. So, technically, it’s a heater that looks a little like a fireplace. It works perfectly to keep the house warm.

Twelve degrees was an exaggeration, too. It was more like 20 … no, it was actually 47. Still, for Arizona, that’s cold, don’t you think?

Diane and I both wear Fitbit devices to keep track of our sleeping patterns and how many steps we take throughout out days. It’s interesting to see how well we sleep but it doesn’t work every night because one of us forgets to switch the mode to do that. This morning, I found that I got a 77 last night. Not too bad but being in the 80’s is better. I don’t do that very often.

The reason for my low scores is that no matter when I go to bed, I wake up between 0500-0600 every morning. That’s when my brain turns on. I’d really like to go back to sleep, but a lot of stuff is going on behind my eyes making it difficult. Most days the theme in my head is a reenactment of the dog fight Max and I got in while visiting a park in Imperial Beach, CA. I shared this many posts ago, so I won’t subject you to another rendition of that event. The repetitive morning episodes has convinced me that my continuous exposure to that event is PTSD.

Yup. Most people who suffer from PTSD were exposed to traumatic events related to warfare, not dog fights, right? Well, I’m sure PTSD can be triggered by any traumatic event. I speak as an expert though I’m not one. The point where I have to get up to end the memory is when I extract Max from the jaws of this big dog who was doing his best to kill my little friend. I always prevail but lingering in the back of my mind is the fear of what could have happened had I not been close enough to intervene.

OK now. I got that out of my head, and we can move on to something more pleasant.

It’s another beautiful day here in Tucson. Bright clear skies, and just a little chilly out there now. Diane said it’s supposed to be around 81 today, according to the weather people. It’s yo-yo weather; up and down. Yesterday evening, before the sun went down, we were lounging on the patio, and it was perfect. We haven’t had many days like that because previously it was just too hot. Being from the NW, we run out of sweat quickly, so it’s no fun being outside in the heat, watching your skin just wrinkle up and flake off in little, tiny pieces. It’s like having dandruff all over the exposed parts. Not very attractive. I think I read in a comic book that after a while the flaking stops, and everything just turns brown. I don’t know how long that will take, but it hasn’t happened, yet. My little stick figure legs will never get brown because it’s just too chilly for short pants. There’s just something about walking around in short pants on a clear, sunny day, and having to walk fast to stay warm just isn’t appealing. So, I wear long pants so Max, and I can just walk slowly, enjoying the scenery without feeling the need to shiver.

Around noon Diane went to the commissary to, once again, replenish our depleted food supply. Max and I stayed home and took a long walk. When we got home, I reclined on the couch to watch TV for a bit and fell asleep for a little while. Thankfully, I woke up before Diane returned so I was alert and able to help carry everything into the bus. I did it in four trips and everything fit in the proper place depending on whether or not it was frozen, cooled, or just happy in a warm cupboard.

Then we ate what was left of the meatloaf, the potatoes and a new can of peas. Both the peas and potatoes were smothered in an excessive amount of butter and a little sprinkle of salt and pepper. The meatloaf received an additional layer of ketchup. Sunday Linner was very good.

To end the day, we were blessed with this …

Good night.

Nineteenth Day – Max had a Date

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Today Max’s little left eye was giving him fits and a close observation revealed that it was terribly inflamed. Yesterday we thought it might just be some sand or something got in it to cause the irritation and saline drops seemed to help. Today it’s worse. So, Diane made an appointment with a clinic in Chula Vista. At one point in our married life, that was once our place of residence, a long time ago. Bed hair and all, he’s ready to go.

The appointment was at 1030, and it wasn’t a minor drive from where we currently live. The quickest was south through Imperial Beach because Chula Vista is south of San Diego. It’s a logistical thing.

We found PetSmart with no problems. The Banfield Vet Clinic apparently is an integral part of PetSmart wherever PetSmart is located. There are lots of them. The doctor greeted Max who just discovered one of the best friends he never met.

Max loves his doctors, no matter where they are. They are always a little bit taken back by the joy he demonstrates when they come into the room. Actually, he’s pretty ecstatic whenever he sees a stranger or someone, he sees every day. He’s pretty consistent about that. What a guy, right?

After the doc visit, we went back to Camper World to get another piece of equipment that will allow us to get wi-fi connected to the dish receiver so we can watch Netflix. That’s really important.

While I was making that purchase Diane stayed in the car with Max and found a good place to eat lunch near the center of San Diego proper. It’s called “Lazy Dog” because they actually cater to dogs. Interesting place.

When we were shown to our table, we got water all around. Max got a big bowl of it.

Diane had fish and chips, I had yakisoba noodles and shrimp, and Max had a chicken bowl on brown rice sprinkled with peas and carrots. Pretty nifty. He gobbled it right up, all the way down to the rice. He probably at some of it, but our waiter said the dogs usually don’t eat the rice. Still, he really liked it. When he was done, he just sat under our table and watched all the activity around us.

After lunch we returned to Fiddler’s Cove where we remained the rest of the day.

Ciao

Twelfth Day – Dish Debacle at Fiddler’s Cove

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This morning, I woke up with an optimistic feeling about my chances of defeating the Dish Gremlins that have plagued us since our arrival here. It’s very perplexing to have such difficulty with a system that has functioned perfectly for us all up and down the west coast, into Montana & Utah, and pretty much ever where else. Then we started this adventure, and we’re currently parked in probably one of the best areas in the world for complete access to every satellite ever launched in the last 150 years. There must be something about going south that Dish just doesn’t like. Making matters worse (for me) the Dish support folk’s solution for everything is to rescan the channels, over and over. I’m really tired of doing that.

I guess I’m just being a whiner, aren’t I? But that doesn’t really matter because I’m the customer which makes me always right. Right? Now I must pause and plan the rest of my day. It’s only 0930 but I’m sure I need a nap.

No, no nap. Not yet, anyway. Instead, we put Max in the car and headed to Imperial Beach so Diane could get her toes done. She does that once in a while. Max and I dropped her at the nail place and continued on to the Veteran’s Dog Park so Max could run free. He hasn’t done that in a while.

When we got to the park there were 3 big dogs who greeted to him, and everything seemed to be Ok. Then, all the sudden one of the big guys got a little pushy and Max objected with a growl, then the fight was on. The big dog grabbed Max by the neck and shook him like a dishrag and I was sure he was going to die. It was pretty horrible. Ignoring all the things about getting into the middle of a dog fight, I got into the middle of it because no one else seemed to be doing anything.

I succeeded in getting Max away from the big dog and he seemed to be OK and I was amazed. I later found one puncture wound on the back of Max’s neck and that was all. Me? My right arm and hand were well used in the extraction and I’m OK with that. Max survived. Had I not intervened when I did, I have no doubt he would have died.

The owner of the attack dog helped clean up my wounds using some supplies provided by a gentleman who apparently lives in his car in the parking lot. Then I went back to the toenail place to get Diane. She was a little surprised to find me with my right arm all bandaged up and, after hearing the story, took Max back to the RV and took me to the Sharp Coronado Hospital Emergency Department. It’s interesting because they appear to be working in the parking lot and that’s where patients wait until the doc can see them. I asked the nurse about that, and she said they’ve been working that way for the last two years. Seems to work OK because from the time I checked in, saw the doctor, got cleaned up, got my tetanus shot, drove to Walgreen’s for my prescription, then back to the RV was about 1.5 hours. That would never happen at home.

The wounds were much more impressive while they were bleeding and lost their splendor once they were cleaned up and bandaged.

Now it’s all wrapped up. And they hurt, especially the one on my forearm. I’m looking forward to seeing how colorful my arm is tomorrow.

Other damage is to both shoulders and my left shoulder was almost normal again. I guess I am destined to have sore shoulders forever. That sounds like a complaint, I know, but I’d do it again to save our little dog.

The dog that gnarled on us is the one on the left. The more I think about the attack, the more I’m convinced that Max was the instigator. We know how touchy he is to be bumped by a foot and I’m pretty sure he threw the first punch. So, perhaps he learned a lesson. Doubt it, but you never can tell.

We’re sitting outside on our patio digesting our supper and thankful that Max appears to be back to his normal, loveable self.

What a day.

Happy Summer Solstice

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Once again it’s time to say farewell to the current spring weather and welcome, with open arms, the rush we get from the exceedingly hot summer we’re projected to have. It’s already hot, so it won’t be a surprise.

Max has been banned from running willy-nilly in the neighbor’s yard so I’ve tethered him to one of the patio posts so he can reach most of the yard. He doesn’t seem to mind and he finds fun stuff to do. Like this morning. I found a baby mouse, adorned with copious amounts of dog-slobber, laying on the patio. It was about 1.5 inches long and still kicking, but not in a running mood. It may not have been able to run. But, it did react to my touch. Tiny little thing. I’m such a sucker for tiny little things.

I gathered him up with the thought I’d put him out of harms way. I know, we set traps for their parents, but when they are so tiny they seem to be quite harmless.

Today is supposed to be pushing 90 degrees. Right now, it’s noon and the heat is definitely upon us.

So, I started writing this on June 25 which just happens to be one month ago. I have an excuse for that and I’ll be happy to share it with you as soon as I remember what it is. For now, I’ll just ramble on like normal.

Max got me in trouble yesterday so he can no longer roam freely about our back yard. He’s miffed, I’m sure, but we’ve had this talk more than once. He has this uncontrollable urge to run as fast as he can to our neighbor’s yard so make sure there aren’t any deer lingering around the feeding station erected just for them. Dogs aren’t allowed. I’ve been working with him to control that urge in favor of a tasty treat, but yesterday he just couldn’t help himself.

I went after him right away to get him back, but I wasn’t fast enough to keep him from running off 4 baby deer. I didn’t see them personally, but my neighbor made sure I knew what a vile thing Max had just done. In his defense, he’s a dog, a little dog, and likes to chase things. Deer are the most fun because he likes the way they just bounce up and down when fleeing full speed. Squirrels are a close second. They stymie Max because of their climbing prowess, and they know Max can’t climb trees. Yet. But he’s working on it.

A couple of days ago we ran across his little guy. His name is Rocket and he’s also a rescue. After a lengthy investigation they determined that they weren’t related. Even though there was a hint of recognition between them they decided that something just didn’t smell right, and we went on our own ways. They could pass as brothers. Kinda freaky.

 Yesterday I caught Diane digging around in a cupboard she normally leaves alone because it’s out of reach. It was a handy place for me to hide “stuff” until she found the 1950’s step stool.

I’m going to have to move that thing to the garage so she won’t fall down and break something. Now I must find a new hidey place for my secret stuff. I don’t know why I’m going on about hiding things. If there was ever anything on that top shelf that I put there, it’s a sure bet I can’t remember what it might be. On the upside of her investigation, she found my Cheerios. I’ve been looking all over the house for those.

Here’s a sunset from a couple days ago.

The weather has been pretty warm late into the night but has cooled off some. We had quite a few 100+ days and a lot of 90+ days. We’re down into the mid 80’s now but we hear it will be going back up again. Half the state is on fire, the mid-west and eastern states are suffering from horrible weather. We feel blessed to be living in the right part of Oregon where hot weather seems to be the only problem we’re experiencing and that’s not really a problem. If it gets too hot, I’ll just go lay in the creek with Max.

Here’s Diane’s new tow car for the RV.

It’s not really new, it’s a 2020. And, it’s not really a tow car yet because I haven’t added the parts it needs to make it one. I have them sitting in the garage, just waiting for me to get into the right mood to do it.

Today I finished turning the fluorescent lights into LEDs in the RV. It’s a simple process, really, but it took me 3 days to figure out how easy. Once I did that, it was a snap. In all, I replaced eleven dual bulb fixtures with sticky strip LEDs. All the work I did, of course, was above my head which isn’t something my arms are fond of. Plus, one of the last two times a stumbled and fell, my left shoulder took a beating and isn’t behaving well at all. So, most of the work was done with my right arm. Kind of tricky when it’s a two-handed job.

That’s all I’ve got for now.

Ciao.

Me & Louie

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Hi there. It’s me, Max. I have a complaint.

My home has been invaded by a cat. His name is Louie. He’s a very friendly guy and I’d like to get to know him better but every time I try to get him to move, by lunging at him, he hides under the bed. He apparently doesn’t understand that I need him to run so I can chase him. That’s what cats and dogs do. The dog chases the cat until the cat’s had enough and simply stands his ground all humped up, ready for a battle. Louie doesn’t do that. He just gets out of the way.

I went to see my doctor the other day for my one year check up. Yup, I’ve lived in the same home for a whole year. It’s been pretty sweet. My humans told me my ‘Gotcha Day’ was February 14 last year. That was Mother’s Day in 2023. I know that’s true because I’ve heard them talking.

Going to the doctor is fun and I have a really good time there. I’ve noticed that most dogs that go there aren’t appreciative of the trip and the opportunity to collect a whole library of new smells. Sometimes my nose gets to going to hard it makes me sneeze. I guess that’s nature’s way of clearing my nasal passage, making room for me to collect new nose treats. I love those.

While waiting for the doctor, who I adore, I cleared the waiting room perimeter a couple of times then I waited longingly for her by the door. I don’t get to see her very often which means, I guess, that I’m in pretty good shape.

That’s my doctor on the left. She loves me and lets me lick her nose.

After a couple of shots I was dismissed and we departed the facility. I think one of the shots was for rabies which I needed so my humans can keep me legally licensed. It turns out that the shots knocked me down for a few days so I didn’t do much.

Now I’m back. So, keep an eye out on what’s been going on.

Farewell 2023

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Since today is the last day of the year, and it’s been a while since I’ve shared anything with you, I thought it might be OK if I ended it with a recap of what we’ve been doing all year long. It will only take a couple of minutes.

January – Went to Hawaii for a couple of weeks.

February – Winnebago Friends visited and parked in our front yard for a few days. Then we visited Beverly Beach State Park.

March – Had all the carpet removed from our new home so LVP could be installed everywhere. We also invested in new counter tops in kitchen and both bathrooms.

April – Flew to Fort Lauderdale to spend some time acclimating ourselves before cruising through the Panama Canal. Visited Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, San Diego, Vancouver BC, and Seattle.

May – Stayed in Salem for a few days for Jeran’s graduation. Adopted Max after a trip to Albany after Church on Mother’s Day. Mid-month we camped out at the Cornelius Eagles Lodge visiting with our Winnebago friends.

June – Visited Nehalem Bay State Park for a few days. Diane got a pedicure, and I got a haircut. Ended the month visiting in a Chehalis Eagles’ parking lot with our Winnie Friends.

July – Stayed close to home.

August – Packed the motorhome preparing for September trip to Utah. Yes, it took most of the month because Diane planned a looong trip.

September – Started the RV trip with 4 of our Winnebago Friends, and their 2 RVs. It lasted the entire month. Really, it did. It actually had to because it was on our schedule and reservations had been made. Halfway thru the month our friends had to leave and head back north for home. We continued on spending a few extra days in St. George, UT. During that time, we left the RV sitting and drove to Surprise, AZ to visit big brother Jack for a couple of days.

October – Finished the Utah trip on the 10th, after spending ten days on the Oregon Coast. Gilligan turned 16 on the 5th.

November – Spent a few days for Friendsgiving in Gresham parked in front of our friend’s home.

December – Visited friends in Keizer and parked in their driveway with another RV. Also took a trip to Seaside for a few days for Diane’s Birthday.

After going through all of that I can see that we were pretty busy all year. When I started this, I wasn’t convinced that we were so busy, but Diane’s Calendar Entries don’t lie. Plus, during all that time, everyone in our entire family, and yours too, probably, had a birthday in there somewhere. We went a lot of places and saw a lot of stuff.

I’ve kinda lost my touch for getting info out regularly and I’m sorry about that. This recap will have to do for now and I’ll just make a revelation to do better in 2024. Or is it that other “R” word, resolution. Yes, that’s it! Resolution! I’m going to make one of those. I shared with Diane that it’s been at least 15 years since I didn’t honor my resolution because I didn’t fail even one time. Nope. I resolved to NOT gain 125 pounds during the new year and worked really hard to make it work. So far so good. But now I’m going to have to be more regular next year.

It’s 9:45 pm right now and past my bedtime so I’m going to wrap this up. Diane and I wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year. Be kind to one another and stay safe.

Ciao

Dirt, Animals, & Health

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Yesterday, or maybe the day before, one of the news stories was about a family with 9 kids who live on a farm. The significance of the story is that these kids don’t get sick. Apparently a study was done to determine how our association with animals affect our ability to avoid various ailments. The results revealed that children who have kittens are 31% less likely to catch certain “things” (I can’t remember if it was a generalization, or specific illnesses), and those who grow up with puppies are better off at 60%+ avoidance.

That’s pretty significant and I’m sure a lot of money was spent to get those results.

Back to the farm kids … they all grew up with a wide variety of animals and during the course of attending to their chores they had to interact with all of them … cows, chickens, pigs, dogs, cats, horses … and they never got sick. Isn’t that amazing?

From this you may conclude that to remain healthy we must be near, and interact with, as many variety of animals as possible. That’s possible for people with the right vocation, but not realistic for the general public. So, we get our kids puppies, kittens, fish, lizards, snakes, rats, and hamsters. A far more simple solution. Pets are fun, and we learn a lot from them.

After seeing this ‘riveting’ news story I looked at Diane, and she looked at me, and we both wondered why a story like this was on the national news. Interesting. All it did for us, mainly me, was reaffirm a long held belief that it’s OK to eat something you’ve dropped on the floor. I’ve done that my entire life and have been blessed with a fairly disease free existence. It’s not the animals, you see, it’s the germs they carry. Kids with pets share their food with Fido and Mittens. They aren’t afraid to eat off the floor.

Our current society is becoming sterile to the point where kids just aren’t allowed to experience a little dirt which, I believe, helps bolster the immune system. Pets help by being friends to their children. Additionally, they carry around a lot of things that help develop their kids immune systems.

When our son, Jeff, was little he was dirty all the time. We always had pets, but he just liked playing in the yard. One of his favorite sayings when he was urged to wash before supper was, “God made dirt, and dirt don’t hurt.”

Kinda makes you go hmmmmmmmm, doesn’t it?