tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23532179.post-1141920913577210992006-03-09T07:27:00.000-08:002006-03-09T08:15:13.586-08:00My tennis team had a match yesterday. My partner and I won our doubles match and so did every other doubles team and our singles player to boot. Whoo - hoo. A clean sweep. After the bloodbath the team was all set to go out and celebrate by snagging some brewskis. Middle aged girls gone wild. But not me. I had set my sights higher than swilling sour liqiuid and eating pretzels smothered in enough salt to kill most of the slug population of the Pacific Northwest. I was going to Pet Mart to buy new dog dishes. Not just any dishes, mind you. No, I was after the twin chrome babies in the black metal stand with the matching water bowl. High end. The real deal. A lot of other people and dogs seemed to have the same idea. The place was packed wth happy shoppers. "Muffy, Do you want the cow or the elephant?" One elderly man asked a cocker spaniel-ish dog. Muffy chose the elephant squeaky toy. Smart move, Muffy. The cow was a little lame. But it was the area all the way in the back of the store that made even my earlier victory fade from my memory. Doggie Camp. Dogs were everywhere, running, jumping, chewing, wrestling - talk about celebrating. Behind the floor to ceiling plate glass windows I was witnessing uninhibited joy - a party bigger than New Year Year's Eve, Mardi Gras and Spring Break combined. Dogs gone wild. They all looked like happy artists experiencing the kind of exhilaration you get when you get that great idea or when you just know that painting is going to work out or the thousand words you wrote this morning said just what you wanted them to say. Those dogs get it, no problem. For the rest of us - well - remembering joy, especially when it comes to creativity seems more elusive. But it's worth trying. It really is. Go to a Doggie Camp if you don't believe me.Nancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614009041535023130noreply@blogger.com