Motivated by Mischief

We did the craziest thing this summer---we moved. Moved away from our country acres to a more densely populated area of Alaska. Lucky for us, we still found a property with plenty of woods around us. Fairly good privacy to boot. However, one part of our new land borders a snooty subdivision.
As elsewhere, the perfectly maintained, Mc Mansion subdivisions are tucked away all over Alaska-- with their ubiquitous covenants, beige siding and green lawns. That said, the McMansion closest to our home harbors good, clean cut folks who seem to make a point of never looking in our direction.
I assume it is because of our noisy pets, unmaintained grass and the gall to buy an older home that needs work. Nevertheless, I am ok with it. Don't know what we have in common anyway. The problem is my dog Little Bear.
Now Little Bear has a mysterious background. He just popped up one day at our old property and refused to leave the yard. A proficient thief, he would wonder off during the day, returning with all sorts of strange wares-- string cheese, bones and automotive goods.
We had no choice but to take all our crazy pets with us to the new home. I have tried my hardest to keep them indoors and quiet. But last night was different.
It was late, we had just returned from the State Fair and somehow while tying out Little Bear he slipped loose. Whenever Little Bear gets loose he simply runs. Runs as fast as he can as he tastes his beloved freedom. Worse of all is his love of the chase.
He will come right up to me as I am holding the leash, and then dart off if I try to grab him. Very slippery fellow, and I know of nobody who can catch him.
So off he runs yesterday, and simply to spite me--(as he knew I was softly calling to him in the driveway) he headed straight for the neighbors McMansion. There he teased their large assortment of well-behaved , domestic canines (it is Alaska after all, so everyone does own dogs). This set off the loudest neighborhood commotion and out fly the owners scolding goofy Little Bear. I call to him and he comes back just close enough to dart back into the woods.
I had no choice but to sit in the dark waiting to hear him rustling in the bushes. With dog biscuits in hand, I heard him close by around 11:00pm, again he approached close enough to tease me--then darts off right back to the neighbors driveway!
I see him in their fancy spotlights as he dances around their mini-van. I absolutely can not chase him--as this simply makes the game more fun for him and he runs faster.
The neighbors once again--fly out of their home and release their overly-obedient golden retriever. This nerdy dog, listens to their commands perfectly--makes two circles, chasing Little Bear right into my waiting arms as I snap on the leash.
As these neighbors don't look my way, I never did need to explain the dogs' silly games.
I am however, sure they are wondering why can't I train the beast?? And as I sit here today reviewing facts about dog training, I'm thinking about the first step. You need to recognize what motivates your dog--food, toys, praise--as this will become the reward in the training regime. The problem is--I know exactly what motivates Little Bear: mischief, and I don't know how to incorporate that into a reward system.  

Dreams of the Father, Whatever

About the new Obama '2016' movie--enough already with the speculation of how an absent father may have influenced you!!!
People and the media love to say: "well so-and-so has a mom who does crack, or half-sister who eats rats", constantly jumping on the "apple doesn't fall far from the tree crap." In other words, you must think like your parents do... Well I'll tell you about apples, they are genetically like the tree: red on the outside, seeds and pulp on the inside. Just like humans have similar looks, bodies and raw intelligence as the folks who created us. But opinions, beliefs and values are a choice folks !!! (not to mention they change!)
 
Case in point: my husband and I both have ridiculously racist fathers. Using the N word, freaked out about all sorts of imagined strife. However, as their children --neither one of us have ever agreed with them. Obvious Obama voters, teaching our son that the only reason some people are darker is that "they come from sunnier climates and don't need as much vitamin D!".   
My own father loved to point out how the poor folks in trailer parks "got what they deserved" whenever a tornado leveled the place (read Ayn Rand for more fabulous tips on how to blame the weak and the poor for all their problems). Meanwhile, I have spent my whole adult life ranting and raving about the importance of social welfare to a civilized society.
I would absolutely freak out, if someone said that I must share the beliefs of my father!! (And I hold no anger towards him for these thoughts by the way, as I understand that he is a product of his generation).

 If you want to know what Obama got from his dad, then read his own version of the story! Not the silliness written by some producer who also speculated that scientists are going to over-run the earth with hungry dinosaurs...

How the Conservatives Destroyed Family Dinner Time

The yap, yap, yappers of talk radio always seem to find great enjoyment pointing fingers at feminists, hippies and what have you, blaming them for unraveling the moral threads of our country. With all their crazed requests for birth control and jobs outside of the home--  the whole country has become nothing but a nation of gay-happy liberals going to hell.

But I see a completely different beast clawing away at idealistic America. And it is not a pretty one, as it is the conservative "answer" to all our problems--the free market economy.

Look no further than the recent academic study and photo essay book titled:  "Life at Home in the 21st Century". Typical and honest American families opened their homes and closets to a bunch of scholars that don't really portray them in a positive light at all. Instead, they expose families too busy to enjoy their yards, sit with each other at dinner time and seem to only find time for television. And why do they live like this?? Because of their biggest burden of all: clutter. Dual income families in America apparently work hard to fill storage lockers and garages with crap and toys they will never use.

Of course you can blame them for having issues with "personal restraint"--but what can you do in a nation where every economic indicator is based on stuff like "consumer confidence" and the need to shop, shop and shop to keep the whole system going??

These over-cluttered families report stress and depression from this kind of lifestyle. Many conservatives love to point at the "materialistic values of liberals", but give me a break--what is more clutter inducing and materialistic than an economic system based on the need to spend and consume or the whole thing just collapses??