Altitude and Attitude

POO and I marked his 7th birthday last week. He got all of the green beans he wanted every time he went to his plate and extra treats. He has, but does not play with, toys. I've tried to teach him to play but he just isn't a "Fetch the ball!" kind of dog. And because of his special place in my home he is not allowed to have anything that he considers his personal property. I must retain the authority to reach for anything he finds interesting and he must give up the item with good grace. He has been with me since he was 4 months old and we haven't had a significant problem....well, there was that thing with my pillows, but we worked it out. I think we do very well considering the difference in the way we perceive the world.

You see, I measure 5' 4" at the top of my head. POO stands 10" at his shoulder. That is a significant difference in point of view. Sometimes I will lay my head down so that he can sniff my face. He is very nice about it and immediately rolls on his back kicking all four legs. Then he is ready to run around making a throaty sound that remind me of a wind up toy. Every morning when I'm at my PC reading the news he sits up against my left shoulder and gives a good imitation of surfing the 'net too.

I mention this because many of the strangers we meet think he is a spoiled pet. If there is anything he is not it is spoiled. His whole life has been in service to me. My life depends on him. Compared to the pets in our neighborhood he has nothing but the right to go in public places with me. That is part of his job and he knows that his little harness means "Work!". The only thing he is allowed to receive is a kind word.

Sometimes we have different agendas but I'm willing to negotiate a settlement to our disputes. He will run away if he gets the chance so in addition to his work leash I have 2 others and he may not like it but he must be leashed. Oh, don't worry about him, one of them is 50' long. Sometimes he will eat half of his food and come to me...I will stop what I'm doing and sit in his favorite chair and hold the plate while he sits in my lap and finishes his meal. Then he is off to ignore me until he thinks he is needed again.

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The towwad's Attitude:
This is an imperfect world.
I am an imperfect person.
I live each day trying to be the best I can be.
I may not live up to your personal standard of excellence.
Because my aim goal and ambition is to try to be the best I can be I am always a success.
If you can't appreciate me, that's your loss.
If you don't like being a loser, you can try to change your perspective.
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Down and Dirty Rice:
** Chicken, Turkey, Duck, ( Anything flying low or slow enough to catch. )--skinless, boiled and cut into bite sized pieces.
** Oysters
** Shrimp--shelled and cleaned.
** Bay scallops.
**Boil, save cooking water and mince. No, not the water, just the meat and seafood.

** Fish fillets poached---save cooking liquid.
**Flake fish in big pieces.
** Smoked Sausage (Cut in bite sized pieces and boil, discard liquid and brown)
** Center cut ham. Dice and brown.
**Gizzards are perfect for texture. Just boil them and chop in food processor.
**I use Chicken Livers because I like the taste. Boil them in water with juice of half a lemon. Discard that cooking liquid.

**Anything else you can scare up short of roadkill.

**Chopped parsley
** Diced onions
** Diced celery
** Diced green bell pepper
** Chopped mushrooms
**Garlic, separated into cloves and skinned. ( Simmer whole skinned cloves in water until soft then puree. Reserve cooking liquid.)
** Salt
** Black pepper
** Cayenne pepper(optional)
**Boil in reserved cooking liquid until tender. Add water if necessary. Reserve any cooking liquid.

**Combine cooked items and store covered.
** If planning to use later this can be refrigerated over night or frozen and reheated in Microwave.

**Use reserved cooking liquid with water to prepare**6 c. hot cooked rice (can increase amount of rice for company)
**Stir in ½ lb butter.

** Frog legs.
**Dust with flour and deep fry.
Ok, say you don't have Frog legs, double up on the Smoked Sausage or Ham and use half to place on top of the finished dish.

Combine Meat, Fish, and Vegetables with buttered rice and place one pair Frog legs on top of each serving.

**A side dish of boiled Collards or Turnip Greens.
**Plenty of Green Onions.
**I like a skinned, reseeded tomato and peeled reseeded cucumber salad with this.
**My beverage of choice for this is a tall cool buttermilk.
**Southern cornbread is perfect for the greens and salad.