Parking Lot Dangers

LIAM WAITING

Parking lots can be dangerous places.
I have seen many accidents, been in a few, and just escaped some. You have the people who walk behind you as you are backing out. Or open their doors into you as you walk by. The most common happening is the one of two people backing out at the same time and whack, smash,  hit each other.
and that is our story for this week-one of backing out and backing off.
I am just out of the Apple store in Manhasset, their parking lot full of frenetic energy, I think the energy is buzzing from the Apple store itself, which is a place of personnel in royal blue, no papers, pens, pencils, just  devices-a whir and blur of anxiety and efficiency and confusion and wonder.   I am done with my visit and back in my car.

I am backing out and have looked both ways several times.  I am good to go. All of a sudden, a woman is jumping at my passenger window. "What is wrong with you?  Didn't you hear me honking?"  First question- not easy to answer.  A lot is wrong with me.  I'll take the second one. I can answer that. "No. Did not hear you honking."  I look and our car rears are almost touching. We have backed out into each other just about.  The woman is really angry. I know I have to take the opposite attitude and not match her anger.  I have to back off.  She is confused by my passivity. I say, "I am sorry."  Her rage evaporates. She advises, "Maybe you should turn off your radio."  That is not the problem.  And I decide to explain the problem to her. I will tell you first. The problem is my hearing aids.  I have them so that I can hear better, but in the car they have static. In both ears I have crackling fireplace-like noise.  I pull one out to show her. Immediately, she becomes a different person.  "Oh, I am sorry, you cannot hear."  I say, "I can hear, just not with my hearing aids in."
As I am saying this, I realize the oxymoronic nature of this statement http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/oxymoronand I go from eyes filled with tears to the urge to laugh out loud.   I have hearing aids so I will hear honking but cannot because my car causes static in them and I cannot hear.  I promise her I will call my audiologist and I vow to remove them when driving. We part on friendly terms. As she returns to her car, another woman drives in the wrong way and nearly hits her.  The wrong way driver is chastised by a fourth woman (who has been watching our encounter),   "You are coming in  the wrong way."   Now those two have an exchange.
Whew, I am out of the limelight.  My woman then backs out first, And I follow. We enter the exiting traffic lane. She on the right,  I am on the left. We have a red light, and wait side by side.  As we wait, a car starts backing up into her on her passenger side and she begins honking at him. First man to enter the fray. As the light turns green, I pass by and turn left, leaving her screaming at her new Nemesis.

WHERE IS THE APPLE STORE?

Note to self. Do not wear hearing aids when driving.
Park far away from store.

IS IT THIS WAY?

Liam waits at home. He knows I went to the Apple store.

SO TIRED OF WAITING

 Woof, Woof

Bugs and Birds

BUG  WATCH

Liam and I are outside.   I have not been out as often as I would like because there are mosquitoes here in New Hyde Park that seem to be the most tenacious and blood thirsty on Long Island. I know this because they bite us and the bites last a week or two. Also because our town documents infestations in several newsletters with dire warnings of Lyme disease. There is a mosquito report link for New Hyde Park, sort of like the pollen, and sunburn indices.
We will check this before even venturing out for some sitting.http://www.accuweather.com/us/ny/new-hyde-park/11040/outdoor-living.asp?type=mosq
If it is not 1 or 2 I should wear netting.

But we are out.  Liam is guarded with his monthly dose of Frontline.  I have not sprayed myself with Bug Off.  Liam will try to lick it and poison himself.  Its ingredients are so strong that nail polish comes off, and affects any reading material by sliming the words off the page, shorting out electronic devices as well as making  wine glasses precarious to hold.  To coat oneself with bug poison probably gives you another future health problem. So I just cover up with clothes.  What is the point of having a yard if you cannot use it?
I have two books, Kindle, BB, camera, NY Times, USA Today, Time magazine, AARP mag and reading glasses.  The birds are out and the planes are zooming overhead at the rate of one every 5 minutes

  All okay.

LISTENING FOR BUZZING BUGS

I have my wine covered.  Liam is on alert.  He hears bug buzzes way before me. My new hearing aids have a quirky side effect.  I now hear the lightning bugs when they light up- I get a static like an old radio-guess their light is electricity-which really is so disappointing because that is the one bug that turns on for you so you know it is there. AKA as firefly, moon bug etc.http://www.firefly.org/common-names-of-fireflies.html

We stay out.   No bites.  Nothing.  Where are the bugs?  The solars come on having soaked up enough sun during the day to delight us at night.
Last plane twinkling by in the sky

SO WEARY

Safe for tonight. Sleepy. Unbitten.

ONE LAST LOOK

Woof, Woof

Weighing in on Father's Day

DON'T WEIGH ME-IT'S FATHER'S DAY

We do not like weighing in.  Liam and me.  His is every Sunday.  Mine Friday when I feel okay with the numbers.  He hates it.  He has no choice. He is a dog. I know how he feels. Paul announces "Liam, weigh- in time"  Paul pulls out the scale which is upstairs.  The sound of it sliding out from under its resting place releases immediate panic in Liam.   Liam will run to me, run down

I AM OUTTA HERE

the stairs and out the door if we let him.   He will then roll on his back. He knows that picking a dog up when he/she  is on his/her back is virtually impossible

TRY TO PICK ME UP, HAHA

Paul does not share our aversion to the scale.  He will climb on it with shoes, belted  heavy jeans, with glasses, shirt, even with full pockets.  I will take off everything even my contact lenses to lower the number on the scale.  Poor Liam is weighed with his collar and all his heavy tags. Paul weighs himself with Liam then without.  He announces the number.  Liam's ideal weight is 33.5 and he maintains it very well.   If it is near 35 pounds we all know that the next week's treats have to be decreased.

However, this Sunday is Father's Day. Paul is not thinking of the weigh- in. We are dining with friends at Crabtree's in the early evening and  Liam is part of the celebration. He will be visited before the outing by our friends.

It has been a scary weekend for  Little Liam.  Friday's ferocious thunderstorms boomed through the area,
accompanied by blinding white yellow lightning.  There were two rounds that night around dusk. Then Saturday night we had fireworks from the carnival nearby.   These noises went on for a good 25 minutes.  I had to hold onto Liam like a human thundershirt-I thought "how could his heart beat so fast and still go on?"  Then all was calm and we had a sleeping dog, which we let lie.   Paul covered him with my robe for comfort.

AFTER THE STORM

Revenge of Liam
But after these unpleasant events in his dog life, Liam awoke Sunday as devil dog.   His energy was at a very high level as was his leaping.  His voice was heard early and insistently.   Liam has a very deep powerful bark.  Maybe pent up emotions from two fright nights?

Our first visitors stopped by about 12 noon.  Liam  body slammed  Paul's brother, nephew, and Daddy Paul. Nephew hid in the car and Liam was put out to the backyard.

LIAM PUT OUT IN YARD

Later our friends from California stopped by pre-dinner to say Hi!  I had texted them to expect one joyful Liam jump after which we could all relax and visit. I envisioned a leisurely sit down in the living room and a walkabout, maybe a mini house tour ( I had hidden away my woman cave items)  Maybe some home improvement suggestions from a devout skilled Habitat for Humanity builder friend, guitar solos.and songs from a Carnegie Hall alumna, a tour of my art collection, and look at my unique garden with withered roses dedicated to my mother ending with some slipping and sliding on our mossy covered pavers-all this in 45 minutes or so before our leaving for dinner.  As this was going on-a surprise Oprah crew would drop in-I am sure O is just looking for such an event for her OWN network.  http://www.oprah.com/own
And a spread in the next O magazine-an article entitled something like "friends visit on a summer night on way to festive dinner." 

Oh what a fantasy.
Reality bites.

Liam jumped, leaped, ran, butted (all with love of course) hid in the bushes and topped it all off with his famous Liam licks.   The projectile force he exhibited and delivered to our guests and to us could have done serious damage. All the recipients were spared lasting injury. I was pretty thoroughly mortified by his behavior which I feel reflects on my failure as a trainer, mother, manager, life coach and host.
We left for our dinner and a backward glance revealed a very content, still, silent  Liam.

The Sunday weigh-in is put off till next week. I am not feeling so sorry for him now. Get out that scale!

I BETTER NOT EAT TOO MUCH

 Woof, Woof

Belmont Steaks

LIAM HOWLING "NEW YORK, NEW YORK"

Start spreading the news....... It was Saturday, June 11, 2011 and Paul and I were on the way home from NYC. It was only 2PM but we were racing to get home to set up for the Belmont, the last race of the Triple Crown- It was not a summery walking around NYC day as it was drizzly and cool, so we decided to come home after only a 2 hour NYC visit.
Our bets were in and one of us was going to win.  Paul asked, "you watch Belmont Stakes?"   What kind of question is that, I am thinking?   Is he ordering me to watch? I say, "that is the plan, we are watching the Belmont."  No, He says, "to eat"  I now think he must have said  "You want Belmont Steaks?" Good one.
Oh,  how clever, I love the play on words-is that what they call a homophone?  Words that sound alike, are spelled different and may have different meanings like steak/stake.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homophone   Paul is homophoning me.
"No,  you misheard,"  he explained,  "not steak/stake."  I said, "you want Belmont snacks?"  Oh, well yeah, I'll take both-steaks (with apologies to veggie friends) and snacks.  Sometimes my hearing loss works out.

With a little teamwork, we got our supplies, steaks and snacks and wine and beer.  Liam had his Kong stuffed toys.

LIAM'S STEAKS

The pack of three was good to go  And we were off!

MY HORSE IS MASTER OF HOUNDS

I had bet Master of Hounds, my Irish horse from the Derby. Liam's pick also-hound bets on hound. Paul had Nehro. The smart handicappers said that one of the following 5 horses would win - Shackleford. Master of Hounds, Animal Kingdom, Mucho Macho Man or Nehro.  We were counting our winnings. I always bet "place" so I know I am a winner, as I have two chances.  Woo hoo.

It was a puddly, squishy muddy track.
Good thing-they did away with the "live" singer and brought Frank back for his iconic rendition of New York, New York. 
New York  Empire State of Mind was booed loudly last year and was not invited back.


Master of Hounds had the #1position, not good. But he just  made the trip from Ireland so this should be nothing. I mean, after a full body scan what is a romp around the track?
None of the top "five" horses finished in the top three. Ruler on Ice won.  Pretty colors. It is just how it goes in racing.  All the top three horses had Long Island connections, which is nice. Some guy even went to Chaminade HS like a friend of ours.
First year in many that neither one of us has won.  Liam was also shut out. He had all his Kong stuffings on Master of Hounds.
Post race, Liam tired of his doggie treats and hung around looking for some steak.

STEAK, I WANT IT, GIVE ME SOME

I explained to him that steak is bad for him, that we ourselves seldom eat it.  He finally gave up and turned his back on us.

NO STEAK, NO PLAYING

 Next Year.

WELL, MAYBE SOME SQUIRRELS ARE RACING

Woof, Woof, New York, New York!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Run Free

OBSERVING NATURE

Paul has had this idea for a long time.  Let Liam run free as fast as he wants in an enclosed patch near our
house. As if he were Lassie -   Lassie was always off leash, ran free and came home.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lassie_%281954_TV_series%29
Nowadays dogs do not run free and do not come home.
We headed over to our town park knowing that dogs are not allowed in but figuring one run for Liam would be worth the risk of being chased.   It was Monday, May 30, 2011, Memorial Day.  All gates to the little park were closed and padlocked. I mean with locks and chains that looked medieval.  No way in, except under.  One of the gates was a bit warped and the space underneath was about 10-12 inches. I knew Paul expected us to go under.  I lay down on my back, Good thing when you are prone is that all body parts fall to the side except for the nose, So I turned my head to the right and pulled myself under. Paul then handed me Liam's leash and Liam went under. No problem for Liam as he is one quarter doxie with a long low back and can go into hot dog mode easily.  Paul got under also.  Now we are inside.  We can do the Liam running free experiment.   Paul walked to the end of the strip. I held on to Liam. Then Paul yelled okay, let him run free.  And wow, he did.

RUNNING FREE TO PAUL OFF LEASH

  He reached Paul and then I called him. Nothing. A rollover.

AFTER ONE RUN

He stood statue still.

I HAVE TO RUN BACK? ARE YOU KIDDING?

I began walking towards him.   Now I am halfway. I call him again. "Liam come home" He runs to me.

OKAY, HERE I COME

And that was that.   He walked over to the nearest tree, stretched into a sit, yawned and the run was over.

UNDER THE TREE AFTER RUNNING FREE

Paul commented, "I thought he would run back and forth until he was exhausted. He would feel so good and so wild and free."  Maybe he did feel good.
As we leashed him and walked to our exit crawl space, a Security truck spotted us and began its trip around to check us out. I was mortified- we are adults who snuck into a private park on Memorial Day, a sacred day.  The truck would have to take a while to make its way to us because it was locked in just as we were. We slid under quick.  I told Paul "Do not  make eye contact with anyone. Just keep your head down till we get away." Whew.  An adventure, Yes, but more for us and less for Liam.
Liam seemed delighted to be  home and in the back yard.

WOW, GLAD THAT RUN IS DONE, YAWN

He is part of our pack. We do not run around, neither does he.

Woof, Woof

Lay Liam Lay

We have a sunny weekend.  And it is the start of summer. Memorial Day weekend. Does not matter that the official summer start date is in June. I know it started today, Saturday, May 28, 2011,  because Leaping Liam did his first rollover of 2011.  Let me explain the title of this week's story (with a nod of course to Bob Dylan) common dog commands are sit, stay, come, leave it.  Somehow Liam added "lay" and he does not even need to be told to do so.  He goes into the "lay" position so quickly it is unstoppable. And from the "lay" position erupts the "rollover."  And let's leave the grammar alone-since it is really "Lie Liam Lie" but then we could not pay homage to Dylan.
http://www.grammarerrors.com/grammar/lielay/

READY TO ROLL

Liam would not do the rollover unless he deemed it a worthy warm wooferful day.  I always know when he is ready.  I have the camera poised and clicking.  He strolls out cautiously, He finds a hot spot.  Then circles the spot. Eases down front legs first then the back, settling into position.   Okay.  Maybe a turn might do. Then back again. Okay. Here we go. Flip one side to the right
rest. Again Ahh!

I have been asked the Holiday weekend question often the last few days

what are your plans?

Are you going away?

I know the suggested ones are bbqs, beach, boating, the Jones Beach Air show, parades, pool.   But no,  This weekend,
the health club
,http://www.twinparkfitness.com/ 

Crabtree's
,http://www.facebook.com/pages/Crabtrees-Restaurant/123761394359663

LIAM RELAXING

hanging with Liam outside

reading

writing

blogging

tweeting

messaging on all my devices. 

and putting out American flags

watching President Obama at Arlington honoring the unknownsnot too far from where my parents are in the Arlington Columbarium
throw in some red wine
and the weekend is good.
  Liam likes to keep it simple
 And sometimes that is fine and it is this year. 

My mother used to say "Does Liam ever stand up?"  Yes, got a standing one. Here's for you Mom.  woof, woof

STANDING LIAM WITH SITTING BUDDHA

Roof Garden Rapture

LIAM HOME WATCHING THE PREAKNESS

The World was supposed to end at 6PM May 21, 2011. Actually, that was just the beginning of the rapture for those who believed.
We were celebrating Paul's birthday early (it was May 24) by having a drink on the Met Roof Garden at 5PM May 21, 2011.  See description of the artist's work if you like:
http://www.metmuseum.org/special/se_event.asp?OccurrenceId={F97033D2-802B-4A64-AC9C-EDE499383A05}

ANTHONY CARO'S SCULPTURE USED A BENCH

The Met Roof Garden is quite a bustling diverse place with folks from all over the world, of all ages and dispositions and bars at each end. A new sculpture exhibit is there overlooking Central Park -it is an outstanding place to soak up NYC energy.

 Liam stayed home to watch the Preakness for us.  He has been practicing his jockey position. You might note the painting above Liam by a Long Island artist, see link    http://markeesullivan.com/background.html

READY FOR THE RIDE

The decibel level of noise on the roof rose with each minute. Hey! why not? We are nearer the clouds -and that is where everyone looks for the end. I was looking at my gin and tonic, protecting it from those careening about aimlessly looking up at the heavens.  See the Roof Garden photos as we near the rapturous end.

NEARING THE 6PM END

RAPTURE

Liam continued hunkering down just as the best riders do.  At 33 pounds he is a light jockey.

THIS IS A LONG RACE

Folks were sitting on the sculptures. The security guard had a full time job chasing folks off  them.  As the 6PM deadline neared, the skies became ominous, stormy, some rain came out.  The buzz from the rapture as well as the buzz from the drinking crowd made it quite fun. We left just before 6 for our dinner resos in the tony Trustees Dining Room.    (Paul is a member of the museum) Well, the dining room was nearly deserted. 

VIEW OF OBELISK FROM OUR TABLE IN DINING ROOM

Our waiter said resos were down 50%. I asked if they had been assumed into the "rapture"   Who knows. We were alone with just a few groups.  Then the skies burst with rain and the water cascaded down the windows.

STORM

The fire alarms all reacted to something and began screeching almost unbearably. Was it really the end?  It was determined nothing was wrong so all of us present were given free drinks- a courtesy for having endured the eardrum breaking whining noise.  Then the skies cleared. 

THE  AFTERMATH

As we started our main dish, folks started arriving. The world had not ended. Maybe some things had. Imperceptibly. Then we began our meal. Rapture.

CARROT GINGER SOUP, CABBAGE IN CENTER

SUBTLE SCALLOP WITH TURNIP SAUCE SPINACH

SHORT RIBS, BEETS, TRI-COLOR CARROTS, RADISH, GREENS

WHEN IS THE BELMONT?

Our horses finished 3rd and 4th.  Out of the money again.  Belmont in 3 weeks. Liam back in position. He has heard his Kentucky Derby pick, Master of Hounds is coming back.  AROOOOOOOOOOOOO

Woof woof