Spring 2024

L ie down with dogs… get up with fleas,” wrote Benjamin Franklin in Poor Richard's Almanack. According to that Greek fabulist, Aesop, “A man is known by the company he keeps.” In other words, beware of carousing with those of questionable reputation as they may infect you with unscrupulous behavior… or fleas! Me thinks Aesop and old Ben Franklin were onto some- thing. For if we are known by the company we keep, then by all means lie down with your dog, snuggle with your fur baby and the tiniest bit of their patience, tolerance and forgiveness might just percolate into your being—fleas notwithstanding. And let’s face it, we humans need all the help we can get! Lie down with your dog and you might wake up with a lighter heart and more spir- it for the adventure of a beautiful new day.As opposed to how many of us wake up rehashing yesterday, wrestling today, worrying everything life may or may not bring the rest of the week, month, and into the sunset! Where did we get this compulsion, this insatiable need to fill our waking and often sleeping moments with mental noise ad nauseam? And all while the sleepy furry family on our bed, or in our bed, wakes up excited about the wonderfulness of NOW! Watching Winifred rise and shine fills me with, “Yes. I’ll have what she’s having!” I defy anyone to watch their dog get up, shake, wiggle and stretch to life, and not wish they could feel and do the same thing. Count me in. No problem with downward dog. Upward human is still a work in progress. Undaunted, watchingWinifred scratch herself, I couldn’t resist trying to scratch my right ear with my right foot. (Do NOT attempt without a chiropractor in attendance.) During painful recovery I realized my appreciation of Winnie’s joie de vivre had a lot to do with my advancing age. Which led to really feeling my age… in dog years! On a happier note, there is a whole other side to this “lie down with dogs” equation. For if “we are known by the com- pany we keep” then our dogs should be equally cautious of the company they keep. Us! Lie down with humans and our fur babies may not get fleas, but contract far worse malfeasance, and a plethora of primate perversions ingrained in our more troublesome human nature. I have no doubt that high on the list of our most loathsome human habits is our obsession to be welded and wedded—for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part—to our iPhones! What must our beloved fur babies think of our endless scrolling… surfing… selfies… texting… and incessant thumb fondling of our electronic significant other ? And I know exactly what our dogs are thinking: “Who is my BHF (best human friend) talking to? Can’t be me. But there is no other human around, so he/she must be talking to themselves, which they obviously find more interesting than moi! My BHF used to smile and laugh at my antics, but now he/she laughs at their beeping, buzzing, dinging digital body part. And then twiddling their thumbs on the thing while pulling me across the street oblivious to the delivery truck about to run us down! OK. Guess it’s up to me to pull my BHF on his leash out of harm’s way.” Which is another great argument for lying down with dogs. You might get up with fleas, but you won’t get your tail run over by Amazon Prime! In one of last year’s columns I quoted something from a wonderful book, “Guardians of Being” by Eckhart Tolle, which may be even more appropriate here: “The vital function that pets fulfill in this world hasn’t been fully recognized.They keep millions of people sane.” Perhaps we should all just lie down with our guardians of being and share their joy of being in the now. A screenwriter and best-selling golf humorist in a previous life, Mark Oman forsook his golf addiction and took up with Winifred, co-author of their screenplay, “Murder, Misfits and Mutts!” Mark and Winnie live in Carmel with four-legged little sister, Molly, and two-legged wife, Barbara. Contact Winifred (or Mark) at: mark@markoman.com . DOG TALES M A R K O M A N I defy anyone to watch their dog get up, shake, wiggle and stretch to life, and not wish they could feel and do the same thing. Lie Down with Dogs… 56 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G 2 0 2 4 “