Tails of Dog Days

Ali Baba, my house guest and great lover of people.

Surveying for squirrels.

My son Tim, who has been living with me the last month, moves out tomorrow, taking with him his pit bull, which has stolen my heart. I must admit I was a little horrified when Tim told me he had acquired a pit bull from a woman who had three of them and had to give up Ali, whom she had adopted from the Humane Society. I have never known such an affectionate dog. After being alone all day, Ali will greet me, prancing around the house like a bucking bronco on crack and licking me with the force of a wet bullwhip. He is always happy to see people. Two problems: he thinks he is a lap dog, so he will relax his entire form on you when you are in a comfortable chair; and, he is as strong as an ox, so taking him on walks is always an adventure, especially when he spots a squirrel.

Survived three days of watching Red Chief last week. Much fun, but keeping a fully energized five-year-old amused all day was a challenge. The Chief and I have a big camp-out in my backyard planned for the near future with tents, sleeping bags, a fire, s'mores, the whole bit. Roary (see "Animals Around My House" section at right) will protect us during the night. By the way, please welcome Perry to my "animals" section. He is a constant reminder of what I could be if I don't eat right and exercise.

The Champaign Park District's Mini Tri Saturday for me was a strange race. I had not "trained" for this event, which consists of a 400-yard swim, 6-mile bike and 2-mile run, but it's mainly a fun thing that I don't take seriously. It was my first look at the newly remodeled pool area, and when a fellow race participant told me the first part of the swim was a joke, I went over to see what he meant. It was a meandering 200-yard stretch of water, called the Lazy River, and when it came time for my swim, I immediately knew what my friend meant. I was both annoyed and amused when the tops of my fingers actually scraped the concrete bottom of the "river" a few times. That's just too shallow. I swam the whole thing, while many actually dolphin dived or even walked and ran the pool. Thus, they had faster swims. This fun race is 25 years old, probably the oldest race in the area, so the tradition continues. Whole families do this event; I have seen kids as young as 10 participate, as well as a gentleman in his 70s. I didn't even start my watch to time myself, but I had a good swim, sluggish bike and OK run. This is an all-out speed race, and I didn't have it. My effort was good enough for 6th of 16 in my age group, but I know I can do better.