HI EVERYBODY.

It’s GAGE the wonder dog again. Master and I used to wonder how we ever got together, me being from a ranch in Texas and he a city dweller in the Pacific Northwest. We’ve long since decided it was a “God-thing.” Anyway, I’m here today to tell you Master is back after taking a much-needed break.

 

Someone said it looks as though “Rip VanWinkle”[1] has awakened once again. I understand to some Perspective followers it seems like Master has been asleep for 20 years, but it’s really just been the 2022 summer months. And he’s not exactly been sleeping. In fact, he hasn’t slept well for years, so he did another overnight testing at the Sleep Center and the medical team gave him something new to try. It seems to be working. At least I’ve been sleeping better.

 

We’ve done hundreds of miles of walking and hiking since moving 3 ½ years ago from downtown Bellevue to where we live on Cougar Mountain in Issaquah, Washington. Not much level space here. So while we are out and about, I stop now and then, letting Master think I have to catch my breath. He likes that. He says the mountain is getting steeper and the trails are getting longer each year. I nod my head, letting him think this is true.

 

This summer he finished writing a new novel manuscript. I think it’s really good, but there’s no dog in it. A dog would have been great. There are a couple of cute kids in it, though. And a scary guy. No word  on when it may turn into an actual book. So far it’s been seen by a few beta readers and me. What’s a beta reader? Not sure. That’s literary talk above my food dish, if you know what I mean.

 

You may recall, I’m a certified medical therapy dog, so I love getting to work with school kids in their classrooms. I also visit an assisted living and memory care community every week. These are such good people and they’re always glad when I show up. Then there is “The Sunday Fellowship.” It began last October and has continued every Sunday for almost a year. And “Tuesdays at Two” twice a month. I work as one of the greeters.

 

We also did four UMBB’s this summer. That’s “Understanding My Bible Better.” Master says UMBB is like Bible 101 for those of us reading the Bible for the first time or who want to get started reading it again. I don’t know what 101 means because I haven’t learned to count above 3 yet. I only know when Master starts counting, I’d better be moving before he gets to 3, so I haven’t a clue as to what 4 or 5 might be like, much less 101.

 

That’s it for now. Master wants me to tell everyone he says, “Hi,” and to let you know he is fine. I’ve seen him walk into a room now and then and forget why he went there, but my vet says that’s normal. The big thing he keeps forgetting is he is retired (for the third time!) but I’m keeping an eye out for him. No worries. And he promises to be back with an Elder’s Perspective, beginning in October.

 

Until then, like Master always says, “May Jesus keep us close.”

 

 

GAGE the ‘wonder dog’

 

 

[1] “Rip VanWinkle” is a short story by the American author Washington Irving, first published in 1819. It follows a Dutch-American villager in colonial America named Rip Van Winkle who meets mysterious Dutchmen, imbibes their liquor, and falls asleep in the Catskills Mountains of southeastern New York. He awakes 20 years later to a very changed world, having missed the American Revolution.