I Hate To Admit It...

    A lot of people don't know (or care) that a lot of my professional background involves writing. I'm a graduate of Loyola Marymount University with a degree in English with a Writing Emphasis. My first job after graduating from college at the age of 30 was for a U.K.-based publishing company that specialized in magazines written by musicians for musicians. (I have a two-year degree in music and played piano all my life.) The job itself was fabulous. During my years with Music Maker I interviewed Frank Zappa, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Dave Grusin, Steve Gadd, members of Yes, members of Cheap Trick...I could go on but you get the idea. It was an amazing time in my life, and I still treasure the memories.

    Before all that, however, I worked for awhile as an assistant at Chiat/Day Advertising, one of the most creative, cutting-edge companies on the planet. I look back and am amazed at how this place did business and how fun it was to work there. In any case, the Art Director had a sign outside of his office which said: "A picture is worth a thousand words." I don't remember if it even had a picture associated with it, because that wasn't the cool part.

    The cool part was that the Creative Director, who I assume was in charge of copy, had a similar sign outside of his office. It read, "A picture is worth 10 words. Tops."

    Man, I loved that. I wanted so badly to be a writer in those days, and even though he didn't know I existed, that sign guided me through the years as a kind of beacon suggesting that graphic artists aren't really where it's at. I've told this story a million times, and it always makes me feel somehow superior, that I actually grasp the basics of spelling and sentence structure and can sometimes persuade people to a way of thinking using only words.

    And then it happens. Some darn picture comes along that says everything in one glance that I have painstakingly tried to communicate with words. I received one of those pictures last night, and one look made me feel that it said more than my blog, "I Only Want A Pet..." would even if you read it 25 times.

    Dang It. I hate to admit it, but the next time you wonder why someone would breed dogs in the first place, or how they are able to place their puppies when clearly it is difficult to say good-bye to the little bundles, I want you to remember this picture. It is the bare-bones truth of what I meant by the word, "joy." And it is why I pray that all of my puppies are lucky enough to be called "pets."

~ Happy Trails, Little White Collar Girl ~