See Riley Run

"If I don't have anything funny or interesting to say, I won't say anything at all." -Ann Mellen

This is a fine maxim, an admirable rule to live by, except it's a little impractical-in life and especially in the blogosphere (a word I hate, by the way. I imagine all the blather we've collectively created polluting a sunny, cloudless sky like so many insects. Swarms of word gnats. Word plague and pestilence). The thing is, despite my lofty aspirations, full time funny and interesting is a lot of work! Especially with #2 daughter getting ready to graduate, #1 daughter getting ready to transfer to a different university, and husband and me daytripping to concerts and music festivals left and right like the responsible adults we are. It's been a busy couple of weeks!

The blog has been neglected but I can assure you, Riley has not. #1 daughter has taken up running, which means Riley has taken up running. This arrangement works out much better for Riley than his training partner who has to put up with him ping ponging all over the sidewalk in an attempt to avoid the utility covers and other sidewalk mines strategically positioned to obliterate his very existence. As I've mentioned, Riley is terrified of all things flat, stationary and harmless, but he is not afraid of passing dogs whatever their size or demeanor, and Riley is an excitable boy. His idea of "meeting" on leash includes enough lunging and vocalizing to provoke an otherwise perfectly nice animal into a feeding frenzy. (Riley has been neutered but I swear the jewels grow back every time we snap on a leash and the extra testosterone makes him a just a little bit crazy.) He walks very nicely, and his leash "aggression" is fast improving but even still, #1 daughter can only run with him for about a mile and a half before exasperation sets in and they walk the rest of the way home. It's a testament to his charm and good looks that she continues to invite him along at all.

Speaking of charm and good looks, #1 daughter comes with a boyfriend and he and Riley have a special relationship. By that I mean boyfriend lets Riley get away with murder and in turn, Riley worships the ground he walks on. All this mutual adoration makes #1 daughter and boyfriend less a couple than a threesome, so when they planned a post-run, Saturday afternoon date downtown, Riley got to go, too. They came home with these great photos and reported that Riley flirted with all the passing ladies (the human ladies. I've seen his work with the canine ladies and he really has no effective moves. Again, Riley has been neutered but in an imaginary, post-apocalyptic world, if it was on Riley to save his species, I'd worry about extinction.)

A final word on charm and good looks: I'm new to this blogging thing but it's my good intention to post more often. Even if I'm feeling charmless and trollish. Even if I'm writing from under a bridge.

Charm and good looks