Month: September 2005

Pup 1: Morticia

September 2005 The first dog we fostered was Felicia, who’d been saved from the pound that morning. “Felicia” is a perfectly fine name if you happen to be a petite, buxom woman with frosty pink lipstick, but not if you’re a dog. To be honest, I wasn’t fostering her out of altruism. It was, to be politically incorrect, a rent-to-own situation: i.e., foster to adopt. The first thing I had to do was to dissuade […]

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Steel Drivin’ Man

In 1993 I wrote a National Endowment for the Arts grant to produce a half-hour documentary about the John Henry legend and the small West Virginia town where it took root. Dad was the one who told me about Talcott, reputed to be the site of the legendary race with the steel drill. He and I visited a couple times, climbing down to the railroad tracks and hacking our way through dense and prickly undergrowth […]

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Cave Creek Farm

In his youth, Dad was six feet, eight inches tall. In this teeny picture, he’s dwarfed by one of his nemeses: star thistle. Dad was an exceptionally active and self-reliant guy. Even in his sixties when his left leg started to get weak he didn’t slow down, though little by little a limp crept into his gait. Over the years, as he kept losing strength and then balance, he still managed to keep doing the […]

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Foster Dogs: An Introduction

In recent months I’ve fostered the occasional dog for Milo Foundation, a pet rescue organization up the street from me. I hope my efforts help the organization and the dogs. I know it helps me: I like having a dog around … and I like being able to give it back when I’m done. This part of the blog is dedicated to Otis, the best dog in the world. Here’s a picture of him about […]

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