Doug Smith, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
By Bill Stokes
Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes one of the character traits shared by dogs and humans and birds is the lifelong challenge of “fitting in”– to a pack or a flock or a tribe; and this verity came home to roost in recent days as the keeper and Phyllis moved into a new independent living facility on Madison’s west side, and began the process of assuming their places within the resident population.
Early indications—a morning bagel/coffee gathering–are that the “fitting in” will be as seamless and pleasant as some similar earlier experiences: Initial meetings to fit-in with prospective inlaws comes to mind, complete with the good feeling that comes with ultimate acceptance.
The universal fitting-in is, of course, essential to every life form on Earth, and is no less important to the keeper and Phyllis than it is to the geese that form up in V formations to fly out to the corn fields, or the reptiles that curl together into a ball to survive the winter.
Not fitting in is to be bullied and shunned; and the wholesale application of that leads to wars and distraught teenagers and border misery with kids in cages and desperate people on survival missions. It is contrary to basic decency and the survival of democracy.
The keeper will be taking his fitting-in cues from Phyllis who is better at it than he is, given his inclination to rarely have an unexpressed thought even with his mouth full of cream cheese and bagel.
