…my huckleberry friend…

My brother has stopped in Houston on his cross-country road trip and was just telling me a story about the late Bailey, pictured at left in 2008. One year David and Bailey were hiking with a group in the mountains outside Bozeman, Montana, when the guide explained that it was huckleberry season. She told them to be on the lookout for this tasty fruit, and indeed, now and then they’d come upon a bush with a few scattered berries on it, not really enough to sate anyone’s appetite. (Maybe the grizzlies had gotten there first?)

Finally my brother looked up the slope and saw Bailey pulling and dragging at some kind of bush. When he went up to check it out, Bailey was “shopping” from a bush containing hundreds of huckleberries. Smart dog: The guide dubbed him Huckleberry Hound. I guess Bailey thought he was in the Hanna-Barbera family, considering how his human dad was dressed one long ago Halloween:

Far right, a generic version of Quick Draw McGraw.

Also on that trip, the group decided to go tubing down the Madison River. Because the river is fed from within the geyser basins of Yellowstone, the water is warm. It was my brother’s idea that while they tubed, Bailey could run alongside them on the bank. But once they set off, Bailey, of the Schipperke water-traveling breed, plunged into the river and swam to my brother, who then had to complete the trip with a wet dog sitting on him.

Bailey still travels with David. Right now he’s hanging out with the first dogs of The Compound, Pete and Stevie. I guess some people might think my family is a little strange, but I think we have a sense of humor and perspective about bonds of love that are never really broken.

Spirit Day

Originally posted by neo_prodigy at Spirit Day and reposted by mary919 and jeffpalmatier.

 

It’s been decided. On October 20, 2010, please wear purple in honor of the six gay boys who committed suicide in recent weeks/months due to homophobic abuse in their homes or at their schools. Purple represents Spirit on the LGBTQ flag and that’s exactly what we’d like all of you to have with you: spirit. Please know that times will get better and that you will meet people who will love you and respect you for who you are, no matter your sexuality. Please wear purple on October 20. Tell your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, and schools.

RIP Tyler Clementi, Seth Walsh
RIP Justin Aaberg, Raymond Chase
RIP Asher Brown and Billy Lucas

REBLOG to spread a message of love, unity, and peace.

Button Sunday

Love her or hate her, after thirty-four years, today we say goodbye to “Cathy” from Cathy Guisewite’s comic strip.

It’s become fashionable to mock “Cathy,” but hers was the first female-centered comic strip as women began their shift to the workplace during the women’s movement. She wasn’t a super hero, or an orphaned child, or a kindly old busybody who solved problems, just an Every Girl facing the same problems and challenges that her many readers grappled with.

Goodbye, Cathy–and congratulations–I hear you and Irving are expecting a girl!

Some celebrating on September 10


September 10 is the birthday of my friend Denece. My father taught me the value of having a Virgo in my life, and Denece and Jim have upheld that tradition. Every year when I think of Denece on her birthday (and send a card that will always get there late, because I have a bad habit of doing that), there are a ton of special things to connect to her. One of the biggest is that she brought yet another Virgo into my life: our dog Margot. Denece is the one who saw Margot’s photo on Twyla’s Friends and told us about her. Since Margot was about a year old when we adopted her in September of 2000, we gave her my father’s birthday (September 16). But I figure she’s special enough to celebrate on Denece’s birthday, too.


In this photo, Denece is squatting between Timmy and me at a signing for I’m Your Man. The photo, taken by my mother’s good friend (and professional photographer) Amber Ratisseau in 2005, is one of a group of photos that are some of my all-time favorites. That was a great signing at Borders with all the TJB writing partners, my mother, and some of our closest friends there.

Happy birthday, Denece, and thanks for all the terrific things you’ve brought to my life.

As y’all know, Friday night is usually Craft Night at The Compound, when sewing, painting, knitting, sketching, and who knows what else may happen. This week, our Friday was even better because a couple of real babes dropped by.


Lila and Hanley. They colored…


…watched a little TV…


and tried to decide who had the better toys.

I had a blast watching them and hanging out with Lynne, Lindsey, Rhonda, Tim, Tom, and the usual dog suspects. Thanks, all, for a great night.

And another one’s gone.

I can’t even begin to number how many movies I’ve seen at the Angelika. Independent films, art films, even some big releases. Tom and I used to meet James with Joe and maybe Steve V for dinner and a movie. The cafe was fun, with interesting food and good people watching. Some nights you’d spy a Houston athlete or a member of ZZ Top at another table. This is the theater where I trained myself to buy bottled water instead of Coke–but I still bought popcorn.

The hue and cry you heard from the direction of Houston this past Sunday was the shocked reaction to this note on the door: