All animals are comrades

If you're like me, then you should probably be at the gym instead of sitting at the computer Googling for pictures of "dogs playing poker". And if you're like me, then you're a huge fan of anthropomorphism. This is probably no big surprise coming from a guy nicknamed "StewDog" who started a blog called Stay-At-Home Dog that was originally written through the voice of his beloved dog. But anthropomorphism is a well established literary device that dates back to ancient times, and I'm more than happy to steal the premise. Plus, it allowed me to write unflattering things about my (conservative) family, but then blame it on the dog. Unfortunately, that didn't work out so well since one or more members of my family stopped visiting this blog after my dog posted this little rebuttal to an email I received from a family member back in 2007 (Bad dog, Bogey! Bad dog!). Regardless, there are some great literary works - besides this blog - that use anthropomorphism. For example, I'm sure you all remember Aesop's Fables - The Tortoise and the Hare, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, Givin' the Dog a Bone, etc. Wait. Oops. I think that last one is actually an ACDC song off their great 1980 album, Back in Black. See - even rock legends see the value in this literary form. Anyway, today Claire and her classmates are on a field trip to Gale Woods Farm, which obviously got me thinking about George Orwell's Animal Farm. Claire's been talking about this field trip for weeks, and we even had to go out and buy her a new lunch box just for the occasion. Incidentally, she requested the lunch box be filled with: one turkey sandwich (with mayo and mustard - hold the cheese), one clementine, some carrots, a box of raisins, and a juice box. Fortunately, Claire is no fan of the Fig Newton's I purchased for her dessert, so Linda and I will make short order of them by bedtime tonight. For now, I'm off to pick up our little angel from her field trip. Since she's been to Grandpa and Grandma Thullner's farm several times, I'm guessing she appointed herself as tour guide for the day. With any luck, she'll be wiped out and ready for a nice, long afternoon nap. We'll see...

Photo: Gale Woods Farm (Minnestrista, MN)