Visiting Gramma

We stopped off this evening to visit Mom at the Extended Living place she lives at (“it's NOT the 'old folks home'!”, corrects my Mom constantly!) Anyway, we visited Mom this evening, and she was neatly tucked into bed already.

“Hey, what are you doing in bed so early?” I asked as Frax smiled engagingly at her, looking for an opening between her and the bed, so he could launch into the air and commence hogging the bed, the sheets and other covers. “Just thought I'd go to bed early...they've got that TV blaring downstairs in the living room area....I couldn't stand it and decided to turn in!” exclaimed Mom.

I can't say I disagree with her decision. I'm not sure which I enjoy more~ a root canal or watching the Oscars. We used to watch them back in the dark ages before DVD or tapes...before we learned we could turn the knob on the TV, then later flick the switch on the remote to blissfully turn off the said amusements. It always was a slog to watch them, but at least in the 'olden days' you could watch for an hour, they would have gotten Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Movie out of the way, and you would be set for work the next day at the water cooler, could comment with some authority about what people had (or had not!) worn, and not have entirely blown your Sunday night.

Now, they cleverly and diabolically start with the arcane and not as well acknowledged Oscars. They start with Best Sound in a major motion picture, not seen by millions...and it goes downhill from there. Everyone is very excited, and no-one other than the people there know who the heck all these well dressed people are. After an hour of mind-numbing speeches and wondering how you could have become so hopelessly out of touch or out of date, since you realized you don't know anyone on the TV! Most of us not living in Extended Living, “The Old Folks Home” , trapped in a hotel or hospital room with only one channel working would have left the TV and run for the nearest door!

The simplest thing is to listen to talk radio in the car on the way to work, find out who won. If you are 'connected' (I'm not), and have a smart phone (mine is in remedial texting), you can find out immediately who won, what they wore, what they said, who they said it to, who's angry at what they said, who's not speaking to whom and who wore the most outlandish outfit...and you would have had the recommended eight hours of sleep before your busy workweek, because you didn't stay up till three am watching it till the bitter end.

I realize that for Hollywood lovers, movie buffs, fashion freaks, and anyone under the age of eighteen that the Oscars is sacred ground, and eagerly awaited each year, much as the yearly tooth exam or rotating the tires is to the rest of us.

For many years, my hubby and I eagerly awaited the Westminster Kennel Club dog show. Until it became “the doggie Oscars”. Then it rapidly lost interest for us, and we haven't watched it for many years. I don't even know who won this year. When in doubt though, pick the Poodle. You can't go wrong if you pick the Poodle for Best in Show. Why? Because for many years that's the only dog that won. Then they started getting televised, and people started to watch. They had to shake it up. Since then, it seems to have been a contest to find the most unusual and unknown new breed for Best in Show. I guess they figure if they pick such a strange and unknown breed, perhaps they will keep people from running out to the closest pet store the following Monday and requesting to buy the type dog that won top prize on TV the other night.

Years ago, Dalmatian owners cringed in fear when nearly simultaneously the moon, sun and planets aligned and a Dalmatian won Best in Show at Westminster, the movie 101 Dalmatians was released, and McDonald's had 101 Dalmatian figurines with their 'happy meals'! It seemed that the fashion industry couldn't be left behind, and spots were the name of the day. Children's clothing was based on the movie. There were warnings on the local and national news NOT to go and buy an adorable Dalmatian puppy....that they were not as easy and as fun-loving as portrayed in the movie...and that they grew~ a lot....and that they shed~ a lot! And that they require a LOT of exercise...more than most families would possibly be able to fit into their busy schedules. Did people listen?

No.

They did not. And six months after Westminster, Dalmatian puppies, now six or seven months old, into the 'terrible teens' in growth and mental prowess were being dumped off at shelter's nationwide. It's the same terrible thing year after year. People buy the 'dog of the moment' as a status symbol, then realize it's a bit more complicated than copying the Oscar gown for the prom, or hairstyle that everyone is aping from the selfsame show.

Humans are so predictable. They copy what they see on TV and media. Gotta be cool ya know. But think here folks...we are talking lives. Sentient lives. Canines think, feel, dream and love just like you and I do. Because they are canines and not humans, they don't call the shots of who they will live with, what job they will do for humanity, if any, and what to do when that human doesn't think that they are all that hip and up to date anymore.

Remember when everyone had to have a Sharpei? Millions of Sharpei's dumped off at shelters, because the human that bought them wanted to be the first on the block to own one. Till it got inconvenient. Or they ate the couch. The living room. Tore the entire house up while they frantically looked for you when you left them to go to work. Work that now you really needed to keep, so you wouldn't lose your security deposit on your rental, because when the landlord discovered your 'cute puppy' ate a hole in the sheet rock of the living room wall trying to make a passageway to the kitchen...he might be inclined to want to kick you out of your digs!

At least the Oscars have less repercussions. The worst that can happen is that a lot of people will be wearing some really terrible outfits the next couple of months, or bad haircuts till they grow them out, or in!

Mom and Frax had a dandy visit, by any Frax estimation. He is the original big teddy bear cuddly dog, and was scoping out Mom's comfy looking bed, with her all tucked in. He immediately jumped effortlessly up in bed, snuggling next to her, and patting her arm. “Why, he's holding onto my arm!” Mom exclaimed. “Yup. Told you he does things like that. Pretty cute, eh?” I said, pride in my voice. Hopefully, we have some wonderful shots of both of them grinning side by side in bed, visiting. Life just doesn't get much better than THAT!

#nursinghomes #aging #oscars #westminster