{"id":8788,"date":"2025-01-11T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-11T00:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/?p=8788"},"modified":"2025-01-13T17:00:48","modified_gmt":"2025-01-13T17:00:48","slug":"a-short-look-at-a-small-dog-and-another-week-in-minnesota","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/a-short-look-at-a-small-dog-and-another-week-in-minnesota\/","title":{"rendered":"A Short Look at a Small Dog, and Another Week in Minnesota"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Shepherds,
Shepherds and sheep visiting Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Magi were still on their way. (January 2, 2024)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I missed Mass on Epiphany Sunday. I’m not happy about that, at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But we had very cold weather outside \u2014 and I’d been noticing a serious mismatch between temperature readings my body was giving me, and what I saw on a room thermometer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m not a 40-year-old kid any more, so I played it safe. Other members of the household have been quite distinctly not up to par, so playing it safe was probably a good idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About all that: getting to Mass is very important. Basically, it’s important because Jesus is there<\/strong> \u2014 which is about as big a deal as it gets. Around here, at any rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of these days I’ll talk about that again, but not today. The Eucharist involves ideas that aren’t part of my native culture, and therefore take a little explaining. This week I lack the vim, vigor, and vitality it’d take to say why I think Jesus was telling us the truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Shepherds,<\/a>Let’s see. Context. Epiphany Sunday was the 12th day of Christmas, the end of Christmas season for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve enjoyed another year of seeing our Christmas display change as the season progressed, with the Magi arriving at the stable on Epiphany Sunday. It’s a good reminder of the events we’re celebrating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, getting to what I’ve been trying to write about this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>San Francisco, Remembered (Eventually)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\"Archdiocese<\/a>It’s been about a half-century since I lived in San Francisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I enjoyed my time there, for the most part, but wasn’t surprised at the city’s 2020 pandemic rules: which were apparently intended to protect San Franciscans from religious cooties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Number-one daughter, when I asked her for ‘what to write about’ ideas, suggested “maybe something from when you were in San Francisco”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That struck me as a good idea. Then, when I sat down to actually write<\/strong> something \u2014 that’s when I realized how long it’s been since I lived “where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“\u2026I left my heart in San Francisco
High on a hill, it calls to me
To be where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars\u2026.”
(“I Left My Heart In San Francisco<\/a>” , Tony Bennett (1953) music, George Cory; lyrics Douglass Cross; via genius.com)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I spent 18 somewhat-eventful months in and around that city, so I know I’ve got anecdotes galore stored somewhere in my mind. But I haven’t accessed them recently. It looks like it may take something in the nature of an archaeological dig to unearth them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Another Happy Dog<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\"Photo<\/a>All I’ve got this week is another dog story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And not even a story. More like a vignette. Which, oddly enough, has little to do with vinaigrette and\/or small ornamental bottles for smelling salts.1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At any rate, my weekly routine in San Francisco included a walk back from a parking ramp near Fisherman’s Wharf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My destination was a boarding house on Powell Street, a few blocks from the top of Nob Hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Man! It’s good to use those names again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The point is that I’d be walking through what at the time was a moderately okay neighborhood during the late evening on the same day each week. That, happily, often brought me within a dozen yards or so of someone walking her dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The human half of the sketch would walk along at a smart clip, which probably suited the dog fine. It was one of those subcompact dogs, about the size of a loaf of bread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Street lighting was adequate, but if the dog hadn’t had very white fur I probably couldn’t have seen the legs clearly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I said last week, I don’t know much about dog breeds. This was probably some particular sort of dog. All I could tell was its size, and the perky set of its tail, ears, and mouth. Its legs, although not in the dachshund class, were not long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matching the human’s speed kept the little dog’s legs moving at a very<\/strong> smart pace. All three of them. Not three dogs. One dog, three legs. Two in front, one in back. And all three keeping the dog moving at what looked like a very happy trot. Or pace, or maybe canter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As far as I could tell, the dog and the human were both enjoying their walk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Jubilee 2025: “Hope Does Not Disappoint”<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I talked about animals and humans last week, and mentioned that I enjoy being human, despite being defective. Instead of repeating what I said, I’ll put a link to “A Dog Named Ulysses” in the ‘related posts’ list, along with whatever else comes to mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But first, something I could have mentioned last week \u2014 2025 is a jubilee year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I may talk about that another time. For now, I’ll share these links:<\/p>\n\n\n\n