A Word of Explanation....

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     It occurred to me today that some people may be wondering why I refer, in the pages of this blog, to my family the way I do.  The Man.  The Girl, and The Boy.  I realize that, although I've never posted my name here, I'm not anonymous.  My family and I could be easily researched....my digital footprint is, with the addition of some very, um, unique toes, not exactly a small one.  My references to them are not made that way for anonymity's sake.  So, why?

     My favorite book is Stephen King's The Stand.  It is the story of a world decimated by plague, and the struggle between God and Satan for those who have survived.  The disease kills 99.8% of the population, and, as far as we know, all but one dog, named Kojak.

     I haven't read this book for many years, and, although I have read it at least 20 times, my memory of Kojak's exact breed is uncertain.  I picture him as a cross between a retriever and a setter....a beautiful reddish brown with long hair and floppy ears, because they're my favorite.  His natural enthusiasm leads him to jump and place his big front paws on the chests of everyone who comes along, and his eagerness to please his humans is shown every time he brings back a piece of firewood, or a rabbit to feed his companions.  I, of course, fell in love with Kojak immediately.

     A very small part of The Stand is told from the point of view of the intrepid canine....while he lies dreaming on the front porch or in the hallway outside his human's door.  Dog lovers everywhere will smile at the thought of watching a dreaming dog: paws twitching as he runs through imaginary fields, whimpering or huffing softly depending on whether he is the hunter or the hunted.  When Kojak dreams, he thinks of his world in capital letters....The Man.  The Boy.  Home.  His world isn't small.  He meets dozens of people and travels halfway across the country and back before the tale is over, but he recognizes that there are parts of his world that are....capitalized.

     I feel like Kojak.  My world isn't small.  I have a big family and lots of wonderful friends, but there are those people and those things that, for me, are capitalized.  I cook because I love it, and I'll cook happily and gratefully for anyone who will allow me to feed them.  Anyone I meet is a guest to me, to be honored with the best I have.

     But, every day, there are those in my life who are capitalized.  Those people and things who mean the most to me, and for whom I do what I do, to the utmost of my ability.  The Man.  The Girl.  The Boy.  Home.

     The Man.  The Girl.  The Boy.

     Home.

     These are the capital letters of my story.