Normally....

... on a Friday, we would be headed down to Laguna Beach--if indeed we were not already there, since we often choose to drive down on a Thursday. This is one of those weekends we'll be staying in Los Angeles: I have two speaking events, one tonight, one tomorrow afternoon, ad we plan to take the opportunity to do some gallery rounds.

George, I'm happy to report, is doing much better. We took him for a follow-up visit yesterday, which our trusted Laguna Beach had told us, Monday, was important. It has been some time since we found a vet in Los Angeles that we really like and trust, so Ellie did some of her usual due diligence this week, asking around among friends to find one who came highly recommended. Her work paid off. The new vet proved attentive, gentle, knowledgeable, and generous with her time. If anyone needs a recommendation in the Los Feliz-Glendale area, they have only to ask.

It was clear, even to the naked eye, that the ulcer in George's eye had shrunk considerably since Monday, when it was first examined. The antibiotic eye drops are doing their work. His eyesight is still severely impaired, but the eye is less droopy than it has been, and George is recovering some of his old spirits. Down in the garden, I have even managed to get him a little bit interested in his ball again. He has a hard time tracking it over any distance, but if I throw it low and close, he seems able to follow it--though with less than his usual excitement and verve.

We do tend to patronize our animals, don't we, humans, as lesser species than our wonderfully intelligent selves? And we are wrong to do it. I have come to realize that they are in many ways much wiser and much saner than what we pride ourselves to be. Their faults are less glaring than our own, their capacity for compassion for themselves and others--at least when we speak of dogs--is often much greater. They know a lot that we will never know, and have some physical capacities that far exceed our own. They "know their place" in the world, in what I perceive to be a good way, never expecting more than is their due.

It's interesting to note that our own species has grown more open to ideas beyond the scientific rationalism that has dominated human thought for at least two centuries; our consciousness is, I believe, expanding, even as we rush toward self-extinction and the ruination of our planet. It's a curious and deeply troubling paradox. The question is, which of our dual propensities will win out first: our generosity of mind, or our selfish need to exploit? Our love, curiosity, and imagination, or our suspicion and distrust of anything we can't prove? Our compassion, or our need to dominate? The next century will be crucial for the human species, I feel sure. But I'm equally sure that I won't be around to know the answers to these dire questions.

Have a good weekend!