Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Dogs That Beg... And Other Whiners

The other morning, when we were settling into our seats for breakfast at Emperador Trajano, San Geraldo whined a little bit when the empty chair was too far away for him to easily reach. He uses the extra chair to stash his hat and sunglasses. I hate whining (even when I do it). So, as I slid the chair toward him, I muttered, "Don't whine."

I NEVER WHINED, NOT EVEN WHEN THE DOWAGER DUCHESS GAVE ME A BALLOON
FOR BREAKFAST AND TOLD ME IT WAS AN ORANGE.

Without missing a beat, as he dropped his hat and sunglasses on the chair, San Geraldo retorted, "Well, if you'd pay attention to my needs, I wouldn't have to."

MY SISTER DALE DID MORE THAN WHINE, EVEN THOUGH SHE WAS GIVEN REAL FOOD.

San Geraldo and his sister Linda are very obviously related. Twenty-five years ago, Linda's dog, a Cairn Terrier (like Toto) named Ebony, was begging at my feet as we all sat at the table eating dinner. I love dogs, but I really hate begging.

MY BROTHER CHUCK WHINED NO MATTER HOW MUCH WE ABUSED TRIED TO DISTRACT HIM.

I looked down at sweet little Ebony and I said, "Ebony, don't beg."

Linda, who was sitting next to me, grabbed a small piece of chicken from my plate and, as she fed it to Ebony, commented, "Well, if you'd give her something, she wouldn't have to."

FLOWER GIRL LINDA AND RING-BEARER JERRY.
LINDA WHINED. THEN SHE WAS PROMISED THAT DOLLAR IF SHE DID HER JOB.

38 comments:

  1. So that's where San Geraldo got it!!


    Too funny.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bob:
      He may whine every once in a while, but he does pay attention to MY every need.

      Delete
  2. So you've know San Geraldo for over twenty-five years? That's a long time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Stephen:
      San Geraldo and I will celebrate our 31st anniversary in 8 days!

      Delete
    2. Congratulations. I couldn't be happier for you.

      Delete
    3. Thanks, Stephen! It's been one big amazing road trip!

      Delete
  3. Hello Mitch:
    We should not in any way wish to be taking sides but we really do not like it when people whine, and for somewhere to place hat and sunglasses, well......!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jane and Lance:
      You should never be concerned about taking sides... when you take mine.

      Delete
  4. so it runs in the family....lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Monkey Man:
      And speaking of running in the family: My first-grade teacher's name was Mrs. Whiner. Can you imagine?!

      Delete
  5. I was a rat of a child. I'm a rat of an adult. I began whining when I first saw the delivery-room light of day and I haven't stopped whining since. I don't whine well though. No-one could be expected to whine well under these circumstances. Whining just costs so much these days than it used to, and it just takes so much energy - and even then it's not like whining used to be. Nobody whines properly these days. I don't like modern whining. The youth of today have no idea how to whine properly. Have you even tried to whine incessantly recently? You probably need a licence or something and even then no-one helps you to whine, you have to do it all yourself and will anyone thank you for it in the end? No. Never a word of thanks. No-one thanks anyone any more but do you hear me whining about it? No, because you're not listening properly. No-one listens properly any more these days.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Owl Wood:
      Yes, you have definitely perfected the skill... Now, stop whining!

      Delete
  6. Oh dear, perhaps San Geraldo just "got out of bed the wrong side", as my Pa would have said.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Elaine:
      Fortunately, he just thought he was being funny (and he was). Not the whining part, however. That was just annoying.

      Delete
  7. Aww! Look at how cute you are!

    I never whine. Ask anyone. :-)

    Pearl

    p.s. Maybe my son WOULD do the rope trick! :-) I'll ask him!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Probably better if I never ask anyone about you and you never ask anyone about me. Can't wait to learn the rope trick!

      Delete
  8. Okay, San Geraldo whines once in a while, next to that you get a lot in return without whining, and wining and dining.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Peter:
      San Geraldo is worth every whiney moment (and there are very few). Besides, I may have lied a little bit. It IS possible that I might have once or perhaps twice in my life whined a little bit.

      Delete
  9. I used to be a whiner.... now I'm just a winer. Do you have all your family photos stored on your computer .... or do you carry around a ton of albums? ;-) At any rate, I'm jealous. I'm gonna whine about that for a while.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Odd Essay:
      I like your solution to the whiner problem!

      We have a number of photo albums, but in preparation for our move, we scanned most of our photos (thousands -- it was quite the project) and got rid of the hard copies. We also had our father's 35mm slides digitized. So we've got an amazing digital collection (and STILL about 20 photo albums in the hall)! The ones in this post are all from the digital files.

      Delete
  10. Too bad she didn't get the glove! :)))

    Judy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Judeet:
      I'm L'ing OL! (Can't forget those verb tenses.)

      From the looks of that glove, my guess is after the wedding it went back in the garden shed with the other one!

      Delete
  11. Other people's whining gets on my nerves! But not my own!! Actually I don't whine that much, do I Ron?
    I am sure Mitch that you were the perfect baby and child, and am sure the Dowager Duchess would agree.
    Love the 'orange'!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jim:
      Truth be told, my own whining gets more on my nerves than anyone else's.

      I was definitely the perfect baby and child (except for the first 6 months, the Dowager Duchess would tell you). Other than that, she would lie and absolutely agree with us.

      Delete
    2. Jim...whine?...my lips are sealed!

      Delete
    3. Ron:
      Obviously, you're much kinder than I am!

      Delete
  12. I would be interested in how you cataloged all the pictures so you can find the one you want. I'm at a loss on how to begin.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ms. Sparrow:
      Usually by the name of the person/persons. It's not ideal. Jerry has a number/named archive for our framed family photos (about 250, I think), but the random non-framed photos he scanned are not easy to locate; the ones I did are more consistently named. Jerry went through all our loose photos about 5 years ago (boxes and boxes). We tossed what we didn't want and then he created photo albums by where we lived at the time. (i.e., Washington, D.C. 1983-86). At least some of it is now very easy to find. Also, you can do a simple "search" of digital images if you name them well. In any case, it's better than boxes of loose photos!

      Delete
    2. So, it's a big job not matter how you do it! Thanks for the tips. I appreciate it!

      Delete
    3. Ms. Sparrow:
      Yep. A lot of work, but very satisfying to have a little bit of order. Just putting them in decades could help!

      Delete
  13. Replies
    1. Spo:
      I do like them, but I tried them on myself for a brief time and they just don't suit me. (Maybe my neck is too long!) I think Jerry does look very dapper in that shot.

      Delete
  14. To paraphrase my father: Stop whining or I'll give you something to whine about.

    Many years later I learned how to whine for real. I just removed the "h."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Walt the Fourth:
      Sounds like MY father! Wining is much better anyway.

      Delete
  15. Shove a pacifier in his face! That'll shut him up!
    m.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mark:
      The Dowager Duchess didn't believe in those (also known as "ninnies' and "dummies").

      To pacify San Geraldo, I just do what he wants.

      Delete
  16. Replies
    1. Kisatrtle:
      Thanks. I really enjoy going through them. They make me mostly happy. A little melancholy sometimes, but the memories are sweet and the photos are entertaining.

      Delete

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