Tag Archives: dogs
The Leash
When all the world failed Sam, there was always Buck. While Sam did his chores around the farm, when Sam bolted from a nightmare, or when Sam got home from school, Buck was his anchor. One day, Buck went missing. Sam came home to silence. He looked around the house, then all around the dairy. [...]
Reunions
Every day after school, Sam braced himself as he got off the bus, in anticipation of the daily ambush that awaited him a couple hundred yards down the road. Buck would come tearing out from behind the broad, low ranch house, barking jubilantly as he ran. Upon reaching Sam, Buck would shrink down with his [...]
Waking the Dragon
I was no more than a boy In the company of strangers In the quiet of the railway station Running scared The flame flashed through the heavy night air. It leapt out of the coffee can and reached out to the tall and yellow grass. It devoured the standing hay in big mouthfuls, sucking in [...]
Into the Sink
One day, Behrooz gave in to his wife and brother-in-law. He didn’t want to leave the desert, but the desert was a haunted realm, and he needed to try a change. He interviewed for the job with half a heart and was hired in spite of his disinterest, so he and his family moved across [...]
Sam and the Dragon
It surpasses all wonders that a day goes by wherein the whole world is not consumed in flame. Pliny, Natural History The dry breath of the Mojave blew tumbleweeds, ravens, voices, and parcels of waste across the plain. A yellow mongrel inspected scents from shrub to shrub, aimless as the dust devils that whirled [...]
Sacraments
I am serious about my religion. I don’t take its sacraments lightly. They may cause you discomfort: A long walk, a trusted companion, an open fire. I cannot imagine a relic, a book, or a doctrine more sacred. Perhaps you doubt them. Perhaps I doubt yours. A walk through a wood A walk through a [...]
Mimi
Our daughter wants access to photos of Mimi from her summer camp; an excellent excuse to cease neglecting this blog … Back on June 17, just three days before Mom’s heart attack, we adopted this darling gal from Humane Society Silicon Valley. She had lost her home when her family of seven years had moved—another [...]
Priest Dogs of Iran
This is a continuation of a thread on dogs. Zoroastrian funerary rituals appear to indicate that ancient Iranians believed that dogs had a unique power to discern whether the life had departed from a body. What follows next is known as the dog-sight (sagdid) ceremony. A dog, generally a “four-eyed” dog (a dog with two [...]
Gimme that Old Time Religion
Yeah, that’s right, I consider myself a Mazdean, among other things. I’m sure that there are a lot of Mazdeans who would not consider me a Mazdean, but that doesn’t matter to me. They won’t be around for long anyhow. Why, you may ask, have I adopted such an ancient, backward, and dying religion? [...]