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Dept. of Miscellany

Things, things, things.

First - I was coming home on the Red Line last night, after a union meeting. The car was fairly full, and I sat across the aisle from a lady, probably in her 30s, who was sitting quietly, with her dog in her lap. It was one of those Boston bull dog breeds, looking vaguely anxious at all the kerfuffle around it. I leaned over and let her lick me, which pleased her human and excited her. Unfortunately, it excited her a bit too much, because she then twisted around in her human's lap and licked the cheek of the lady sitting next to them, a younger woman who had gotten on the train when I did. I'd noticed her before, because she sort of looked universityish and nervous. 

Well, the lick obviously surprised her, and it became clear within split-seconds that it must have badly frightened her, because she leapt up and yelled at the top of her voice (I'm recalling as best I can) "Jesus! Your dog - I'm allergic, you're not supposed to bring dogs - that's so rude! Fuck you!" before stalking down to some other seat in the car.

Now, a) it was obvious that she'd been shocked, appeared to be badly frightened, and was, technically, right; you're not really supposed to bring your pets onto the CTA. Still, the overreaction was a bit much, and the obvious risibility of someone accusing someone else of being rude before telling them, at top volume, to fuck off ... well .... So I stood up, told her to have a nice day (which she probably didn't hear, since she was moving fast, and I said it to her back) and moved over to talk to the poor, embarrassed dog owner. That's when I learned that the dog's name was Nora. I have no idea why her human had to bring her on the train, but I figured she needed someone to smile at her. She got off a couple of stops later and I was left to feel vaguely guilty for taking her side and not the side of the other woman. 

Next - I truly loved "The Woman Who Fell to Earth" and want to talk about the kindness I saw in Thirteen, but  right now is not the time for me to do that.

Third - I realized that I've never liked the phrase "I'll love you 'til I die." I've always preferred "I'll love you forever." I don't know whether there's something beyond this life, but there may be, and the people I love, I fully expect I'd love beyond the gates of death. And if there's nothing beyond those gates, then I will still have loved them forever. 

Finally, I've been watching this version of Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill" repeatedly over the last few days.

I know part of what I love about it are the opening moments, when David Rhodes is high--stepping his way into the first few bars, and then seeing Tony Levin, all 9 foot 10 of him, clapping and grinning, and then the way they dance with Gabriel. I know they've done the same thing, night after night, year after year. but I think the three of them love it, each and every time they do it. And you folks already know how much I love the song.

Sometime I should talk about how much "he's come to take me home" resonates with me. There are a couple of other songs with that feeling in them, and I am drawn to them as well, although not nearly so much as I am to "Solsbury Hill." It has to do with when I was very young and living away from my mother in a house of strangers, but that's not the point here. Actually, I'm not quite sure what the point is, except that I know I start listening to certain pieces of music repeatedly when I'm under a lot of stress. It's a fairly harmless way of self-medicating, I think, but I have to be careful when I reach this point. Still, the song is beautiful, and this version of it is beautiful.

This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/710542.html?mode=reply, where there are currently comment count unavailable comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.


( 5 comments — Leave a comment )
Oct. 12th, 2018 10:24 pm (UTC)
Dude...I would have been scared. Startled even. But I would have likely yelled 'fuck' at no one in particular...then apologized. But I wouldn't have done THAT and that poor lady!! Glad you stepped in to comfort the lady and her puppy...

Skipped the DW...still behind. Trying to get hubby caught up before watching, lol!!
Oct. 12th, 2018 10:34 pm (UTC)
The dog lady shouldn't really have brought her dog onto the train, although, as I said, I didn't know the wherefores and whys. Maybe she'd just brought the dog from a vet appointment, and didn't own a car, which can be a thing in downtown Chicago.

I probably would have jumped a foot in the air if it had happened to me, but I would have settled after the initial fright. This little girl was so obviously friendly, and so obviously nervous in the car, that you just wanted to pet her and let her lick you, so that she could calm down, knowing that people loved her.

And I'm not even that much of a dog person. I'm just a small mammal-being-friendly person, I guess.

Yeah, the lack of apology, and the ridiculous nature of swearing at someone after accusing them of being rude ....

Oct. 12th, 2018 10:39 pm (UTC)
I can see where animals on a train or bus is not the best idea...but there are times when choice is not a thing you can have.

Bless. I'm glad you were there for them both! I'm not keen on dogs, but I'm keen on people and small fuzzy things, so there are times when I can overlook my own prejudice on the OTHER 4 footed pet. :)

I think that's what got to me the most about it. Sounds rather astounding. I'm all in on the drama now and again (you know how bad my drama can be, lol!), but dayum...slow your profane roll, dude.
Oct. 13th, 2018 02:45 am (UTC)
What happened on the 'L' is what my people would call an unfortunate convergence of circumstances. Yes, the young woman may have overreacted, but it's not like she didn't have reasons. And Nora the Dog was just trying to be friendly.

(As an side, dogs terrify me. It's an irrational phobia stemming to the time I got bitten by a dog when I was four. I can acclimate to dogs if I hang around them - like my sister's dogs. A strange dog licking me... I probably wouldn't have swore up a storm, but I can kind of understand the freak-out)

As for your thoughts on love... Whatever happens to us after death, if anything happens at all, it lives on in people we love, the people who were touched by it. So there is something to be said about love outliving death)
Oct. 13th, 2018 04:17 pm (UTC)
. I probably wouldn't have swore up a storm

I definitely understand being shocked, and, since I was once very, very afraid of a specific dog as a child and teen, I can understand fear making one pitch a fit. It was the fact that she was already on her way to another seat, after saying everything else, and then turned back momentarily, quite deliberately, to say "fuck you," that struck me as quite ridiculous.

(Wow. That last sentence had way too many clauses.)
( 5 comments — Leave a comment )

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