No one is forcing you to celebrate BHM, so stop complaining about it.
“Why is it a month long? That’s just excessive,” she said, flipping her hair and turning back to her computer.
I closed my eyes, sitting at my desk across from this white lady and begging my ears to not let this Black History Month snipe travel to my brain. It didn’t work. My ears were tattletales. My hands started shaking. I just couldn’t believe that this woman had the audacity to yell this out for not only me to hear but for a couple of black folks in the next pod to overhear.
I swiveled in my chair, patiently trying to explain to her the significance of Carter G. Woodson. Instead she zeroed in on Negro History Week and said, “A week is fine. …
Lessons learned from a Lupe Fiasco concert
Even knowing America’s history, the Justice Dept. is surprising me
Kalief Browder spent three years in Rikers Island for allegedly stealing a bookbag. Because Browder would not say he was guilty, this nonviolent 16-year-old teenager was thrown in jail and left there to sit. For a bookbag. For three years. Netflix teamed up with Jay Z to make an entire documentary about this. No one was killed. No government property was stolen. No police officers were yanked down stairs, punched, pushed behind doors or had their weapons stolen. No Congress people had to run into hiding or ended up with coronavirus by being too close to the anti-maskers. He wasn’t called “deranged” or compared to “Call of Duty zombies.” It was just a bookbag. …
Why is your patriotism as random as a lottery ticket?
I still cannot wrap my mind around why people were shocked by the Capitol Riot. We’ve seen this sitcom before. The school bully tells a kid he’s going to fight him at 3 o’ clock. He’s terrorizing this kid in plain sight of authority figures, and they shrug it off. The kid dreads the end of the school day and thinks about it nonstop. At 3 o’ clock, the kid’s day has been quiet and he’s optimistic. He thinks that maybe the bully forgot. He rounds the corner, and there’s the bully — with his whole posse. Maybe the bully fights. …
Subtle ways to figure out your dog needs visual help before it’s too late
I sat in the back of my fourth grade class and wouldn’t answer anything. It was peculiar for someone like me, who regularly answered questions. I always turned in my homework on time and was voted “Most Educated Student” during my eighth grade education. But there was that time at the beginning of fourth grade where I stopped talking, ignored my teacher and just started focusing on the homework in front of me so I never had to take it home. The teacher would ask me a question, and I’d shrug and say I didn’t know the answer. The truth is I couldn’t see the chalkboard. …
Part 2: In the event of an emergency, my dog goes to …
At the start of this year, I received an email from a dog client, wanting to know if I could dogsit three dogs — one of which I’d previously sat for and boarded. I adore this dog, although she steals my yoga mat. I hadn’t met the other two but found out they were a Yellow Lab and a Mutt. Everything in my heart said, “Accept! Accept!” Then my brain had to ruin everything. In a condo, a large dog is a lot all by herself. And in a COVID-19 environment, I am far too paranoid to housesit anymore. …
Understanding just how sensitive your dog’s ears are to loud noise
Dog owners breathe a sigh of relief when the fireworks stop on New Year’s Day and the Fourth of July. But no matter how relieved they are, dogs are even more relieved — especially considering the uptick in random fireworks going off for absolutely no reason in 2020. Social isolation made people get more creative with how to spend their time, and some of those activities have become flat-out torturous for their pets. It doesn’t always seem to be with malice; some folks just don’t know how sensitive a dog’s ears are.
Recommended Read: “Unconventional ways to distract dogs from fireworks ~ The fireworks show is fun to hear and see — unless you own a…
Finding a place for your service animal to relieve herself
With airlines cracking down on emotional support animals (ESAs), this may leave business travelers and leisure travelers nervous about what options are still available for their service animals. While ESAs no longer make the cut, there are travelers with disabilities who still need their pets to be able to relieve themselves and not be stuck in a crate or under the seat the whole trip.
Recommended Read: “ESA animals told to ‘sit’ home instead of flying ~ COVID-19 travelers may want to be aware of new travel pet rules”
In a country where more than 24 million have been infected with coronavirus and more than 400K have died from it, sitting on the small space of an airplane may seem like the worst idea. But more than one million people were on flights over the holidays. …
Multiply your own loneliness in social isolation 3x to equate it for dogs
If you’ve heard some hilarious tales of socially isolating singles who are bending over backwards to find someone during cuffing season, you know how rough it is out there since December 2019. (On “This American Life” podcast, one lady discussed how she was promised a pie on her date, only to arrive at his home to find out her date ate all but one slice before she got there. She still gave him a chance.)
So if you’re trying to figure out companionship in a world where you’re supposed to stay 6 feet away from everyone and cannot hit up your usual date spots, imagine how a pack animal like a dog feels when you head back to work. …
Dog boots probably won’t go over well at first
You would think that since dogs can attack your own shoes that they would be a fan of wearing their own dog boots and dog shoes, too, right? Not so much. If you follow actress Mignon (Daniella “Danni” King from Tyler Perry’s show “Sistas”) on Instagram, then you can probably recall your pup acting like this when you put those dog boots on him. But if you live in a cold-weather climate or rocky climate that can hurt a dog’s paws, he may just have to get used to it.
Snow, ice, salt and ice melt chemicals are no friends of paws. According to the American Kennel Club, “icy particles and snow can collect between his toes, and most road salts and deicers are toxic to dogs.” While he may not think you’re doing him any favors, this is one of those decisions that your dog will just have to live with — during your walks at least. …
