Tiberius on the Lam:* Random Thoughts
Cosseted away in our undisclosed location in mid-Michigan in my childhood home, we are all happy to be together again: me, Emma, Vita, Tiberius and Kim (on long weekends). The long arm of the law still hangs over Tiberius, but for now we are enjoying long morning walks, restful days (albeit short! Sun doesn’t rise until 7:45 am and sets around 4:45 pm right now), and so far mild weather.
Today, at Kim’s request, we went to Frankenmuth for a delicious chicken dinner. Then we walked around the town shopping and picking up bibs and bobs for winter holiday gifts. After that flurry of activities, I read more of the Sarah Waters book that has my attention at the moment and napped. Yes. A good day. We need more of those.
So here are the random observations from living on the lam.
We take the dogs to Ojibwe Island every morning, usually arriving before dawn and enjoying how the park gets lighter as we walk. We do not see an actual sunrise, but suddenly we are bathed in light. The holiday lights of the Saginaw Water Works are still on when we arrive in the morning. They are gorgeous. This morning, we were serenaded by church bells around 7:30. Both dogs perked up as if asking us, what is that beautiful sound? I told Tibe, do not ask for whom the bell tolls.
Men in Saginaw are different than men in Maryland. Larger, rougher, less shaven, less shapely. There is a particular type of masculinity that is not derived from intellectualism here. Gender operates differently as well. I cannot explain it all yet.
An extraordinary number of women wear makeup here, including more foundation than I have seen in the last fifteen years of my life. If I return to our new life and location with liquid foundation, please organize an intervention.
Hunting is a really big deal in mid-Michigan; therefore guns and defenses of the rights of gun owners are prominent. That reality, the terrible events of the past ten days, and the virulence of my Facebook page against guns and for radical forms of gun control creates an extraordinary amount of psychic dissonance. I am thinking on it.
There is great ethnic food here, which I do not remember from my childhood. We had an excellent Mediterranean lunch the other day and I have my eye on a few Mexican restaurants for take out. It is not all delicious fried food from Tony’s.
Vita is the best travel cat ever, and she rules the roost. We are all grateful for her calm but imperious demeanor. Daily.
Even though it is unseasonably warm here, I am cold. All of the time. I am wrapped in all sorts of wool, thick denim, fleece. I am still cold. All the time.
Kim says we will look back on the time on the lam and laugh, wondering why we were willing to upset the apple cart of our lives for a dog. Perhaps. But for right now, I feel an extraordinary certainty that a part of my work in the world is to take responsibility for this dog’s life. I do not know how the story will end, but I do know that I refuse to be bullied and intimidated by small-minded and small-hearted homophobes. It may be better to cast my lot with hunters than east coast liberals. I also know that I have a choice about how to cast my lot. I choose Tibe.
*With a respectful and heartfelt nod to Barbara Neely’s extraordinary Blanche on the Lam.
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