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Dog Day
Melting with Dignity
[ 2 minute read ]
I will expand on this today, after 12 noon - after 12:01 in the afternoon.
My brain is dull. On days like today I used to just say to myself, 'Whatever I do today will have no meaningful impact on tomorrow, so I will just read a book.' The lethargy of a Dog Day has struck me.
A Dog Day is really supposed to be the hot and sultry days of Summer, when the heat is oppressive and there is bad luck and mad dogs. I just read that!
I had nothing going on in my head this morning until I thrashed my brain and blew across it to remove the chaff. There, left open and bare was 'dog day'. The problem was, I had mis-labelled it. Well, actually the label was torn and all I could see was, 'dull'. That isn't a Dog Day, so I looked it up, even though I had it as a windless day somewhere in The Doldrums (sailing).
What a vision! What a wonderful scene. An oppressively hot Summer day and everyone languid in their slumps and a mad dog barking at the air. I love days like that. A few Summers ago, it was really hot and there were only a few people slowly walking their dogs who dared to face the relentless sun. Personally, looking back, I think they should have chucked water on their dogs every now and again. How many would have joyfully leaped after a bucket of water surprised them? I would have chucked it and my neighbours would have elegantly and politely squeezed water from a bottle after asking their dog for permission. They would never have improvised with an empty tomato sauce 'squeezy' bottle though; better to look sensible than be sensitive. Dogs lose heat through their paws on cold ground, and gain it on hot roads and paths. Today, when it is zero degrees outside, I would tie a couple of battery-powered hair dryers to my dog, if I had a dog, or maybe a hot water bottle.
I try to make positive contributions when I can. Oops! The image of a mad dog barking at the air came into my head right then; Hmmm!
It was getting close to being called a drought in that Summer. Someone made a surprising comment to me:
'It is so hot, isn't it?'
'It is a good thing,' I replied. 'It means that the elderly people have something more exciting to do than their daily crossword. They have to plan their day to avoid the heat and to stay hydrated. You know, with spreadsheets, charts, lists, and cold water.'
He laughed.
I just love the idea of mad dogs barking at the air, and then puzzled, looking around to see who made the racket.