Clover versus the mountain lion
And writing through difficult times and overpriced cheese.
My dog, Clover, is the canine equivalent of a marshmallow.
She is white, fluffy, achingly sweet, and sometimes the cause of impossibly sticky messes. Part Pyrenees, she exhibits many of the qualities that this breed is famous for. She is gentle, she is loyal, and she is insanely stubborn. In theory, if we had massive flocks of sheep, she should have it in her DNA to guard them all from wolves.
In reality, she’d probably be like “Snuggle?”
No one was more surprised than me last night when Clover went FULL PYRENEES while I was watching the latest Nature Of Things documentary. The subject was urban nature and one of the highlights of the program was learning about mountain lions within the Los Angeles city limits. We saw the lion stalk the streets. We saw the lion climb the hills. And we heard the lion make growly-roars. And Clover was NOT HAVING IT. NOT ONE BIT.
She went to the front door to bark. She pawed at the back door to be let out. She went over to our slumbering cat, Ebenezer, and thoroughly licked him until he woke up, unimpressed. Clover quickly settled down as the program moved on to other animals but I loved her for acting on her instincts… and I loved Ebenezer for being so utterly cat-like in his response. Like, wake me up when there’s a real threat, buddy. Like if we run out of cheese.
There have been times this week when I’ve had to emulate Clover, Ebenezer, and even P-22 (LA’s most famous wild lion). I bet you have too. There have been moments where I felt I was punching above my weight. There were times when I decided some things are better left ignored (cough, cough, political news) in favour of napping and eating cheese. I wrestled with the “why NOT me?” and the “why me”? The week has been feral. It’s been cozy. It’s been instinctual and it’s been surreal.
The timing of this documentary is especially poignant as Los Angeles is suffering with ongoing wildfires and so many activists who advocate for our natural world are facing political uncertainty. It has made me more appreciative than usual for the things that make my house a home, the funny pets, the quiet time in front of the TV, and it has made me anxiously aware of just how easily those things can be taken away.
The path, as always, is to write.
Hemingway is supposed to have said “Write hard and clear about what hurts”. In reality, given his track record, he probably lifted it from one of his spouses (each of whom easily exceeded his talents but that’s a story for another day). Origins aside, I think the validity of the sentiment still holds. So write. Write the things that seem impossible or fearful. Write like you’re being threatened by mountain lions. Write as if you are the mountain lion. Write as if cheese is subject to wild inflation and you need to make bank to afford some proper Cheddar. Just write.
There are many good, honest organizations on the ground in Los Angeles to help those in need. World Central Kitchen is one of them, providing hot, comforting, nutritious meals through emergency kitchens. Support them here.