Dog Gone News

DOGS. No, we don't have one... to the chagrin of certain lab-loving family members. However, there is this very quaint, small community, phenomenon that happens up here regarding these canine loved ones. Each day, on the local radio stations, there is an interruption to the regular broadcast to bring us the "Dog Gone News." A friendly man shares a description of all the lost dogs on the Kenai Peninsula along with the real full names and phone numbers of the kind souls who have found them. Now keep in mind that the Kenai is big, relatively speaking. We're talking about the size of my home state of New Hampshire - a little more than 9,000 square miles. So you hear about the lost Golden from the coastal town of Homer found by Sally Sweetshoes, or the lost young Husky from the mountains of Moose Pass found by Wayne Wildman. They share the success stories too... "Nine year old Joe from Seward wants to give a big thanks to the kind folks down at the laundry mat on Fourth Street who returned his lost Chihuahua, Boogers!" So I admit, I have no idea if the NASDAQ rise or fell today, but I can tell you that Rhonda Neill found Buster near K-Beach earlier this week if any of you are looking for him! I just think that's neat.

FISH. Look out stuffie menagerie, Indigo has upgraded to living animals. Yes, in addition to ZigZag the moose-alert kitty, we now have Berry the Beta fish. Indigo has been saving her allowance (25 cents a week for doing 10 household chores like setting the table) and finally had enough in her coin cup to buy a fish. J, in a rare moment of non-penny-pinchingness, tossed in the extra dough when Indigo picked out a particularly lovely Beta that cost twice as much as expected. However, some trouble ensued when father and daughter walked out of the pet store and Indigo declared, "Isn't she beautiful? What should I name her?" and J fessed up and said, "Technically, she is a he, but you can call her whatever you want." After a brief discussion about sexual selection and the tendency for male species to exhibit fancier coloration than their female counterparts who also need to stay camouflaged to protect their young (I kid you not... this is what you get living with two science teachers), Indigo decided to keep the male fish. Phew. But the conversation continued at dinner as Indigo began to explore the concept of gender identity. "But what if she, or he, feels fancy? I mean maybe she, or he, feels like a girl?" Honestly, it was an awesome conversation and after tying in the transgendered boxer recently featured in Sports Illustrated among other examples, Indigo decided to go with the gender-neutral name, Berry (notice the "e", not "a"), and let him/her bask in our unconditional love.

Indigo and Berry.

Beautiful.

CATS. An old friend recently called into question the happy-go-lucky content of The Alaska Adventure with the comment, "A little bit of me wonders though if it isn't all sunshine and roses..." Well I'll tell you that for the last six months, sunshine has not been a common part of our vocabulary and roses don't have a shot in hell surviving the sub-zero temperatures. Now metaphorically, and this could just be my Susie Sunshine perspective on the world, we all really do find that Alaska's simple living, strong sense of community, and epic outdoor connection, coupled with a loving family, is pretty darn joy-inspiring. That said, I do leave out most of the humdrum or frustrating aspects of our day-to-day affairs. In an attempt to provide a balanced view, I will tell you this: Yesterday, ZigZag was accidentally locked overnight in the garage with Ice Cream Newton's door open. This morning, after a leisurely breakfast, Indigo commented, "I haven't seen ZigZag this morning, have you guys?" at which point Team Leslie jumped for the door to the garage. Two words. Cat pee. Which, if you have never driven to work in its presence, does not smell like roses.

Argh.