16 Comments
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Janet's avatar

Oh the dog. Oh the dog on the beach. Oh the dog at one with the beach.

Laurie Stone's avatar

You make me laugh. I just wrote that this morning, not sure what prompted it. I think I was thinking about people and I think the people was me. xxL

david houston's avatar

loved that...shades of Nijinsky's diary directness

Jo Jern's avatar

I really liked this part, too. It doesn't really matter what Laurie's intent was but this short bit hit me as quite theological. Anyone else watch "The Good Place" and have this "dog" story remind you of Chidi Anagonye talking about the ocean and waves???

Laurie Stone's avatar

I loved "The Good Place." "Everything is Personal" is a metaphysics-free zone.😎

Suzanne Lorenz's avatar

Whenever I read your column I just sigh with a relief of recognition and belonging.

Laurie Stone's avatar

That is such a wonderful note. I want to feel we are together when I write. The zoom gatherings really feel communal. xxL

Suzanne Lorenz's avatar

That would be interesting. What do they look like as an experience?

Laurie Stone's avatar

Come and see for yourself. If you email me, I'll put you on the list for July 25: lauriestone@substack.com

david houston's avatar

Wow, you said a mouthful on that Gangster book! I have Vietnamese/Jewish/Irish grandchildren, who look mostly and except for curly hair on the boy entirely Vietnamese. Their mother was a boat person for eighteen months who radiates emerging nation strength immigrant spirit. Interested by the nearly all voice approach [forget how you put it]. Navigating the difference between how things look on the page and how they sound in videos. I noticed before how dry humor is print friendly. Having fun, there's that...new toy!

Betsy Shaw's avatar

I now know why I have always envied dogs. Oh the freedom in forgetting oneself....

"I AM A DOG, running into the water and coming back. When I run away, I don’t miss you. I may not even remember you. When I see the water, I am the water, alone and not alone. I’m the dog and the dog is the water, and the water is the dog. On the sand, I don’t look for you. On the sand, I run in the direction I came from. When I see you, I remember you or I just know you. I run up to you, and you are you and I am me, and it’s good until the next time I run in the direction of the water or the sky."

Deb Lund's avatar

I AM A DOG! Pure poetry and pure me and my ADHD.

Richard Toon's avatar

What struck me was the variety of issues in these pieces and the variety of approaches you used to express them. I am also glad that my reading made you want to take up the issues I talked about on our walk in the city, although I have no memory of what I said, which doesn't matter, because it's what you made of it that does.

Laurie Stone's avatar

It’s beautiful out today. A little warm. I was reminded of summer in Arizona, and I thought, I’d stick out anything to walk with him.

Hal Davis's avatar

"I love that all endings are bad." To each her own. I'm glad that my ending phase, so far, is pretty good. "I have no memory of what I said." Often the case.