Attribution: Photo by Fabian Kleiser on Unsplash
By Bill Stokes
Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper and Phyllis in noting yet again that with very few exceptions all living things do something to prepare to survive the coming winter. Plants drop their sensitive parts and stand as invulnerable stems. Most mammals crawl into holes and sleep. And those birds with time-conditioned brains flock up and head south.
As the most advanced form of life, humans, despite having witnessed these natural survival techniques down through the ages, have been unable to evolve a meaningful one of their own. The best they have been able to do is build lavish dog and cat houses, and then move in with the felines and canines to keep the food dishes full and tend to waste disposal issues.
Basic logic leads to the conclusion that people are being led in their winter survival activities by the cats and dogs who figured it all out long ago.
Though the keeper and Phyllis currently do not live with any animals, they have memories of past experiences in that regard and it is of some concern for them to realize that if they really want to get ready for winter in a natural way they need to get either a dog or a cat.
Not going to happen, Phyllis says, and the keeper tends to agree as he contemplates being on the command end of a leash on sub-zero winter walks or in dealing with a litter box.
What does it say about someone who feels he is ready for winter by dint of such obscure dog and cat reasoning?
Does anybody really want to know?
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