Dog’s Gotta Do What A Dog’s Gotta Do

Rich people too

Opposite worlds

I find myself in a state of total overwhelm when I return to the midwest from my perch overlooking the Caribbean Sea in Jamaica.

I know living in Jamaica sounds like a luxury ride but my husband and I live modestly in a developing nation that is very edgy.

Difficult at times.

A return to the world from which I came is a return to an opposite end of an economic and cultural spectrum.

It truly takes my breath away.

I am happy that my family and their friends enjoy a richly endowed life.

I wrote Child of Plenty and The Vast Landscape of American Waste commenting on some of my observations last time I was there.

Waste is something I am sensitive to given the poverty I see every day.

Challenging words

On this return to K.C. I had a wonderful opportunity to spend important time reasoning with a good friend.

Happily this friend reads my work on Medium. His views and criticisms of my articles are immeasurably invaluable to me. In this game often no one challenges your thought. Especially when you’re no one.

Personally, I find this a gift. I treasure and welcome the input I’m given.

I consider writing a long game that won’t grow without critical input.

An outing

Bumping along in his SUV we tour surrounding city spots. Chewing ideas on all manner of topics.

He opened his reflection on one of my posts. Saying something like…

It’s hard not to come off being unnecessarily critical like you did when you wrote about the rich woman and her dogs.

Here’s the snippet of which he spoke:

Day after

Good morning! Fun party. I love your salt water pool.

Thanks. It was a fun evening.

We are all on the deck enjoying the beautiful edge of fall in Kansas City.

Two ladies from the party the night before join us to collect children who have slept over.

The conversation quickly moves from salutary greetings into analysis of the poolside discussion with another guest.

She said she takes her two Golden Retrievers to the groomer for a bath once a week.

Those are big dogs. They’re probably not easy to manage.

I’d hose ’em down and move on.

I am surprised your daughter didn’t say, “Throw ’em in the lake!”

Agreed, that must be expensive.

That’s not the half of it! She gives them…

swimming lessons!

Golden Retrievers are hunting dogs. Bred to retrieve wild game in water, returning the prize, to their owner.

They love to swim.

I guess the suburban variety forgot their purpose in life.

I’m sure the groomer is laughing their way to the bank.

I shouldn’t judge.

My rethink

His comment made me re-examine my thought.

Yes, I was openly critical of the rich woman.

Thinking deeply about my reaction to my daughter’s friend’s conversation I recall I grew up raising and breeding hunting dogs. I know and love them well. I raised them at a residential lake. We were in and out of water all the time. Exercise was boundless.

I am looking at this through a window of $7.00 in my bank account. I don’t know life with limitless financial resources.

Reconsidering this lady’s spending to groom and provide swimming lessons for hunting dogs I stepped into some potential justifications.

These could cause what in my world is an outlandish expense.

• Golden Retrievers thrive with water and swimming
• She may not have easy access to an appropriate body of water
• She probably doesn’t have the skill to train them
• She may not have the physical strength, time or energy
• She has this money
• Spending money to make her life easier and her dogs happy is perfectly reasonable

Harsh judgement

What my friend pointed out read like a harsh judgement for actions that staggered me with the cost.

I reacted from my perspective of my minimalist economy. Compared to my world this was an astronomical extravagance.

It’s never good to compare yourself to someone else.

I need to think before I judge someone on the basis of a dash of conversation. I was not very empathetic or positive in my approach to understand. I made an immediate judgement of waste.

Sahil Bloom said it so well, “Every single person you see is fighting a battle you’ll never know anything about.”

Lucky am I to have good friends that push me to think deeper than my first blush. There’s always more than meets the ear.

Thank you for reading until the end.

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Blessings from Jamaica!