Pluto? Must Be A Hairless Breed!
Luky is pacing the hardwood floors these days. Of course, that description means nothing to any reader not familiar with the sound of the claws of a 120 pound wolf-evolved carnivore determined to make his point within the walls of a 1200 sq. ft. loft. Trust me, he can get your attention.
No, it's not a request to walk, and it's way too early for dinner. So, what's the problem?
His eyebrows get very animated as he explains his concern about the current controversy over Pluto. I really had a sneaking suspicion this might happen since, well yes, Pluto has been in the news so much; and then again, Pluto - albeit, a different animal altogether, is a dog.
"That's not the point," Luky growled in his usual, guttural tone. "In the first place, Pluto is not a dog. If you're referring to Black Pete's dog, 'Rover,' then you should already know that HE is a cartoon."
"'Rover'?" I asked. "Who is 'Rover'?"
"'Rover' is the cartoon dog that you THINK you are referring to when you say, 'Pluto.' He was originally introduced in a 1930 long animated cartoon called, The Chain Gang. Mickey Mouse gets accused of a crime he didn't commit and Black Pete - you know, Mickey's arch nemesis who starred as the bad guy in so many Mickey Mouse classics, like, Steamboat Willie . . . well, anyway, Black Pete puts Mickey in jail on the Chain Gang and Rover is one of Black Pete's watch dogs!"
"I had no idea you were such a Mickey Mouse authority."
"I tend to pay attention to all four-legged creatures, especially those that can snap their fingers so well even though they clearly have on three on each hand."
"So," I inquired, "what's so sad about Rover?"
"It's not Rover, Mr. Biped. It's Pluto. In the first place, Pluto didn't get named, 'Pluto' until Minnie Mouse stole him from the Disney illustrator's drawing board and turned him into her own sweet pet . . . it sort of reminds me of what my step mommy did when she saved us."
"Now, let's not get too personal, okay? You don't want to start describing every nuance of our pack dynamic for the entire cyber world to read, do you? After all, other packs may be lurking just over the monitor horizon, waiting to capture some portion of our territory!"
"Yes, you're right," Luky responded quickly. And then he looked at me with his twitching eyebrows . . . "You HAVE been marking during your walks, haven't you?!?"
"Uh, well, sure . . ." You can't simply tell a scent-gifted animal like a Malamute that human etiquette doesn't permit the regular dropping of drawers in the park just to make sure the pack's trail is properly urine-soaked. I've tried to explain it before and I get the blankest look you can imagine!
"Anyway," thankfully, he started in again, "I just mean that while I love all the cartoon animals, that's not what I'm talking about when I express my concern for Pluto. I'm talking about the former planet." (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto) - and - (www.nytimes.com/2006/08/24/science/space/25pluto.html?ex=1172030400&en=cfe4d03207c823f2&ei=5087&excamp=GGGNpluto)
"Oh, of course . . . yes, I agree with you, I'm very upset that Pluto has been demoted."
"See?" He growled. "That's what I'm talking about. It hasn't been demoted! Pluto is no longer a planet! That's not a demotion . . . unless, 'not-planet' means something like 'lowly celestial body.' I mean, do you think that stars are upset that they are not planets?"
"No, I guess not." I wasn't sure how to even think about that question, but one thing seemed likely, if stars had feelings they certainly weren't wasting them being upset about their un-planethood.
"Of course not," Luky asserted with confidence. "There's a whole exciting world of new things out there . . . unknown, mysterious new things . . . out there in a place called the Kuiper Belt. It's like the wild woods of the solar system, where all sorts of crazy wild things live and roam free, sometimes running faster than hunters toward the light, shedding their long bushy tails as they pass nearer the Sun."
"Whoa," I interjected. "It sounds to me like you have taken some poetic license with your new picture of our solar system."
He looked at me with that kind but stern expression he gets when he's trying to teach me something important . . . like when he's already asked three times for a Milk Bone, and he's not asking again . . . "Don't you know a free spirit when you see one?"
"You're saying that Pluto is not upset about being removed from our list of planets because, at its heart, it's really a free spirit?"
Luky just smiled, "Do you see a collar around its neck?"
No, it's not a request to walk, and it's way too early for dinner. So, what's the problem?
His eyebrows get very animated as he explains his concern about the current controversy over Pluto. I really had a sneaking suspicion this might happen since, well yes, Pluto has been in the news so much; and then again, Pluto - albeit, a different animal altogether, is a dog.
"That's not the point," Luky growled in his usual, guttural tone. "In the first place, Pluto is not a dog. If you're referring to Black Pete's dog, 'Rover,' then you should already know that HE is a cartoon."
"'Rover'?" I asked. "Who is 'Rover'?"
"'Rover' is the cartoon dog that you THINK you are referring to when you say, 'Pluto.' He was originally introduced in a 1930 long animated cartoon called, The Chain Gang. Mickey Mouse gets accused of a crime he didn't commit and Black Pete - you know, Mickey's arch nemesis who starred as the bad guy in so many Mickey Mouse classics, like, Steamboat Willie . . . well, anyway, Black Pete puts Mickey in jail on the Chain Gang and Rover is one of Black Pete's watch dogs!"
"I had no idea you were such a Mickey Mouse authority."
"I tend to pay attention to all four-legged creatures, especially those that can snap their fingers so well even though they clearly have on three on each hand."
"So," I inquired, "what's so sad about Rover?"
"It's not Rover, Mr. Biped. It's Pluto. In the first place, Pluto didn't get named, 'Pluto' until Minnie Mouse stole him from the Disney illustrator's drawing board and turned him into her own sweet pet . . . it sort of reminds me of what my step mommy did when she saved us."
"Now, let's not get too personal, okay? You don't want to start describing every nuance of our pack dynamic for the entire cyber world to read, do you? After all, other packs may be lurking just over the monitor horizon, waiting to capture some portion of our territory!"
"Yes, you're right," Luky responded quickly. And then he looked at me with his twitching eyebrows . . . "You HAVE been marking during your walks, haven't you?!?"
"Uh, well, sure . . ." You can't simply tell a scent-gifted animal like a Malamute that human etiquette doesn't permit the regular dropping of drawers in the park just to make sure the pack's trail is properly urine-soaked. I've tried to explain it before and I get the blankest look you can imagine!
"Anyway," thankfully, he started in again, "I just mean that while I love all the cartoon animals, that's not what I'm talking about when I express my concern for Pluto. I'm talking about the former planet." (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto) - and - (www.nytimes.com/2006/08/24/science/space/25pluto.html?ex=1172030400&en=cfe4d03207c823f2&ei=5087&excamp=GGGNpluto)
"Oh, of course . . . yes, I agree with you, I'm very upset that Pluto has been demoted."
"See?" He growled. "That's what I'm talking about. It hasn't been demoted! Pluto is no longer a planet! That's not a demotion . . . unless, 'not-planet' means something like 'lowly celestial body.' I mean, do you think that stars are upset that they are not planets?"
"No, I guess not." I wasn't sure how to even think about that question, but one thing seemed likely, if stars had feelings they certainly weren't wasting them being upset about their un-planethood.
"Of course not," Luky asserted with confidence. "There's a whole exciting world of new things out there . . . unknown, mysterious new things . . . out there in a place called the Kuiper Belt. It's like the wild woods of the solar system, where all sorts of crazy wild things live and roam free, sometimes running faster than hunters toward the light, shedding their long bushy tails as they pass nearer the Sun."
"Whoa," I interjected. "It sounds to me like you have taken some poetic license with your new picture of our solar system."
He looked at me with that kind but stern expression he gets when he's trying to teach me something important . . . like when he's already asked three times for a Milk Bone, and he's not asking again . . . "Don't you know a free spirit when you see one?"
"You're saying that Pluto is not upset about being removed from our list of planets because, at its heart, it's really a free spirit?"
Luky just smiled, "Do you see a collar around its neck?"
posted by RAM at 5:37 PM
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