Preaching to the Choir

The little dachshund rolls over on his back and grins at me while his tail thumps, thumps, thumps against the floor.  The motion and the noise prove too much for the kitten - she comes slinking around the corner, goes into pounce mode with her back end twitching and her eyes big as saucers - there's a second or two of pigeon cooing noises to serve as her advance warning system, then she springs like an eagle after an unsuspecting fish.  The  little dog gives a soft woof of surprise but on the whole is unfazed, idling giving a quick, little kick that dislodges her and then looking up at me for approval.

Who's a good boy, I say and his tail thumps a little harder, Who's a good boy to tolerate that rude little kitten.

I think of this later as I sit easily enough around a table at one of our upscale restaurants - without my camera and acutely aware of how unnatural it feels to have idle hands - to celebrate the birthday of a friend and fellow photographer.  I'm proud of myself for accepting the invitation and actually putting myself out in public minus a shield - still, I'm grateful for my unrestrained dinner companions and the fact that I'm called on to contribute very little - the conversation is loud, at times raucous with a great deal of unreserved laughter mixed in with the escargot and wine and pan sered trout.  I stay far longer than I'd intended and leave still thinking about how we interact with each other, how strangers become friends and friends become enemies and how obliging common ground can be.  To sit at a table of like minded people, artists all after a fashion and most certainly liberals and animal lovers, is like a warm welcome home.  It makes me feel a tiny bit hopeful, perhaps even a little less suffocated by the tightness of the Bible Belt in which I live.  It may be preaching to the choir but a little harmony never hurts.

Later that night as I crawl beneath the covers and navigate in and around a multitude of sleepy, warm, little bodies - none willing to give up an inch of space on the bed, can my little ones be republicans? - I congratulate myself for my evening out and drift off to sleep with a peaceful mind.