As the months roll by and Zoom meetings become more routine and less like a strange invasion to our home spaces, I am noticing people are getting more casual about the normal rhythms of their houses. Meetings seem like we have just dropped by for lemonade and gossip, and when the baby comes in and starts to climb on guests, we just open our arms and keep the conversation going. The relaxed nature goes from bottom to top. We have come a long way since we were scandalized by the one expert interviewed on CNN whose kids burst in his office room, one little girl marching in with her chest puffed out, and a baby in a walker behind. That guy, and his wife who tried to pull the kids off camera, was mortified, and was a viral sensation. Now the teevee people don't give it a second thought. Stephen Colbert has opened how many shows joking with his wife off camera? Jimmy Fallon gave his wife and little kids tons of air time. Even now-official nominee Biden crashed the end of Dr Biden's convention speech tonight, to give her a hug and to wave at the camera. And today on our Rotary Zoom, our presenter (a restauranteur who transformed her business into an admirable non-profit feeding hungry people in Milwaukee) had to wave off interruptions multiple times during her program.
And then there are the dogs. All the dogs! I can tell you cable pundit John Heilman has two gorgeous great danes. Some guest on a tv show this afternoon had her dog barking in the background, and all three people on screen just smiled at it. Bringing it back to the local experience, as we all started popping in to start the Rotary meeting, five or six dogs were introduced to the group. I live for this content.
I do wish our house was a little more dog-friendly for the pups we have. Poor Elsa is feeling every hour of her thirteen and a half years. She sleeps almost all day, and her hearing is nearly gone. She stays on the back stair just beyond the sliding door, and doesn't seem interested in engaging much outside of mealtime. She is getting a bit senile, and often she sees a open garage door or poorly latched gate, and she just wanders. Sometimes the neighbors find her, sometimes the City. (The City is less forgiving than neighbors.) Murray doesn't get to come inside often, because he has to be carried and then convinced to stay on a washable bed. He is the king of the yard, and tells everyone in the alley about it. If we are still meeting entirely by Zoom in October when the new puppy arrives, I expect I will never be off mute during meetings again. But you know I will find a spot in this house with no fancy imported rugs, so I can sit near her and show her off to everyone who Zooms with me. (For the record, I think the photo I have stolen from the Twitter feed of the ranch is actually her. Might be her brother who looks like her. I choose to believe it is my pup.)
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