More driving than training....

Very little dog training or teaching going on lately and a whole lot of driving and waiting for car repairs to be completed. On the way east the radiator and various other things went on the geriatric vehicle I was driving  (not my own thank god). Four days of downtime for that. Then on the way from Vermont back to Maryland the AC went. An additional day of downtime waiting for that to be fixed and then I am off to Virginia.

While driving through PA I was listening to "wait wait don't tell me" on NPR - hysterically funny, not only are the people exceptionally funny but they are so quick witted. Even if I could come up with something half as funny no way could I come up with it so quickly. Anyway, they happened to be talking to the author John Irving. I can't say that I have read too much of what he has written but I do know that it qualifies as "literature" as opposed to just everyday fiction. He had some really cool comments about the writing process and I, of course, was amazed at how his comments apply to dog training.

He always knows the last line of the book right from the start. He stated that sometimes he didn't know it was the last line but that it always turned out to be the last line. As he grew more experienced he learned to better recognize the last line. He stated that he just needed to come up with the correct language to get to the last line. He also stated that the process needed to go slowly - he used to use a typewriter until he was repairing them too much and then he started writing long hand.

The most interesting and relevant comment was his rather defensive statement, after he had described the writing process a bit that he didn't mean to make it sound so "joyless". A goal can be slow, orderly and methodical - yet still be fun and have joy.

In other news - my repetitive automotive issues have allowed me the opportunity to visit with my good friends, who also happen to have bred and sold me Calix. Plus I have got to explore a bit of Maryland which is one of my favorite states. It is like Vermont with the edges softened a bit. Very historical too. You can drive around and see the history. This battlefield site is just down the road.

The name of the battle....

Why it was important....

I happened to be driving along and saw this farm in the distance. All I could picture was some scene from the Civil War. Then I saw the historical markers....

I am not a big history buff in that I enjoy reading or studying about history. I DO however find it very cool to be in spots where cool stuff happened. Like the Alamo when I lived near San Antonio (however the thrill started to diminish after about the 5th time I had to take someone there to see it).

Near info about the battle field (complete with "you are here" labels) was a small extremely old stone wall. You could almost see soldiers still hiding behind it.