Fragments From Floyd

"Mommy, I want a puppy!" Abby cried tearfully in her mother's embrace after being bitten and scratched by their unloving adopted pound cat, in their home for the free meals only from his point of view

It is true. A child needs something to love. At first, something merely soft-- a doll, a blanket, even a square of fuzzy flannel--brings them security and fills the need to caress. Soon, they need their affections if not mutual, at least received without malice in return.

Cats grace our homes to be served and admired. But when Abby ran with clutching arms toward our 13-yr-old cat, CJ, it quickly disappeared to the dark safe child-free space under the porch.

In Tsuga, Abby found the object of her affections. No matter how overly-eager or rough her clinging love became, he not only tolerated it, but came back over and over for more.

My only regret, that I missed the action sequence we saw repeated many times in Abby's short stay with us this week. If I had it to do over again, I'd put the camera on "continuous" and have an action sequence to show you:

Frame One: The dog stops in his tracks as he courses over the pasture ahead of us, grandma, grandpa and Abby, on our walk in the cold sunshine. He's found the scent of a mouse or a mole and he buries his muzzle in the tangled grass.

Frame Two: Abby catches up to the dog who is utterly focused on the smell of mole. She throws her arms across him, partly a hug, partly a wrestling hold, leaning on and over him enthralled in puppy love.

Frame Three: The dog suddenly moves on, leaving Abby with no visible means of support. Like a felled tree, she leans and falls toward a face-plant in the frosty grass.

Frame Four: Dog is far outside the frame by now. Abby in pigtails looks up from her reverse snow angel in the grass with a satisfied grin. Get this shot quickly, because in an instant, she'll be up and off and the whole sequence will roll again. And again.

Sometimes, the best shots are the ones that got away.

Have a blessed and peace-filled Christmas, everyone.