Winter-2022

T o those reading this in December, Winnie and I wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Good Kwanzaa, or what- ever brings happiness, health and good tiding of comfort and joy to you and your fellow primates and pooches. For those reading in the new year, 2023, we trust you have not forgotten all that holiday happiness, health and good will. And perhaps you even received at least one unexpected gift that touched you in a truly meaningful way. Such an unexpected gift touched me just before the holi- days, when my wife, Barbara, gave me a book, “Guardians of Being” by Eckhart Tolle with illustrations by Patrick McDonnell, creator of the comic strip, “Mutts.” The book abounds with wondrous insights and simple drawings about our relationships with animals—specifically our dogs. Page 44 stopped me cold. “The vital function that pets fulfill in this world hasn’t been fully recog- nized. They keep millions of people sane.” On the right-hand page opposite, a drawing of a man hold- ing a leash. On the other end of the leash, his dog looks back at the man and says, “Heal.” Winifred and I have been doing this column for several years now, and everything I have learned from her is wrapped up in that quote and drawing. In fact, every page in the book offers heartfelt truths about our relationships with our furry “guardians of being.” Award-winning English playwright, Tom Stoppard wrote: “Words are innocent, neutral, precise… If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.”That drawing and one word nudged my world a lot! More like a Hemingway punch in my writing gut. For as I sit here poised to produce this column, I am not sureWinnie and I have anything of value to add to that simple epiphany, “heal.” And frankly, I put the burden all onWinnie! For she has always been my muse, inspiration and my singular source for what appears here. Perhaps she has not only been a guardian of my being, but also a swift paw upside my head to revive a lost part of my being. Which begs the question, if they are our guardians of being, what are we to our dogs? The simple answer is… EVERYTHING! After reading “Guardians…” I am more certain than ever that to Winifred I am the sun, moon and stars. Maybe you and your pooch are not there yet, but let this holiday season and new year open every particle of your being to the all-consuming gift you are to your furry family. How else to explainWinifred’s desolation when I run to the store for 15 minutes and leave her at home? Does she hold it against me upon my return? Forgiveness is mine, sayeth my dog! Seeing me again unleashes a volcano of kisses, yips and a passionate tail lashing of love everlasting. Simply, while I was away, her life was on hold. And then there is our morning routine. I brew coffee. Barbara gives Winnie her vitamins. I open the kitchen door and accompanyWinnie outside for her stroll around the garden. So simple and almost autopilot. But should I sleep another 15 min- utes and not be there to open the door and accompany her outside, is it not enough for Barbara to open the door? No. No. NO WAY! No matter how badly Winnie has to go, she waits for me to stagger into the kitchen, open the door and shuffle outside to accompany her while she does her business. I con- fess, this particular devotion is not mutual. I do not wait for Winnie to open the bathroom door for moi in the morning. My point is, we often forget the almost overwhelming place we inhabit in our dogs’ lives. Ultimately, we are each other’s guardian of being. Winifred and I wish you unexpected meaningful gifts in the new year. And on whichever end of the leash you find your- self… Heal! A best-selling golf humorist in a previous life, Mark Oman is co- author with Winifred of “Life is Good. I’m a Dog…And You’re Not!—Four-legged Lessons for a Day Well Lived.” Mark and Winnie live in Carmel with their four-legged brother, Winston, and Mark’s two-legged wife, Barbara. Contact Winifred (or Mark) at: mark@markoman.com . DOG TALES M A R K O M A N Winifred and I wish you unexpected mean- ingful gifts in the new year. And on whichever end of the leash you find yourself… Heal! An Unexpected Gift 54 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 2