This morning, Banner is almost back to the full Banner. She’s been readjusting slowly since we lost Jade.
But today, when we went to town for a walk, she got into the van with very little reservation. This time we went to the square. I needed something from the old True Value store. This is one of those places where you can find almost anything, if you look hard enough. Rather than being based in fad, they tend to have odds and ends from way back, and I needed a pair of window latches for the bed cabinet in the new van and a barn door type handle, to help me get into it from the back doors. Yes, they had both, and much, much more. Stuff that I don’t need but could find a place for, stuff that would be good for future projects. It is an old store with an upstairs and a basement, one of those narrow buildings that adjoin other buildings around a square. There is an array of tall buildings (not skyscrapers; this is Carthage after all) around the square. I decided to take Banner out there for her walk. Being back to full sass, she barked at me with depth and emphasis to chastise me for being in her way and not moving fast enough. I closed the door. After a moment, I opened it again. She hesitated but then barked at me again. I closed the door and waited a moment. After a few iterations, I was able to open the door with her in an iffy Wait to get her out. Some of this is funny, but if she knew I thought it was funny, there would be a much bigger battle, every time. Like wanting to sleep in, I’ve developed some talent for hiding my reaction, which is useful for training, or not being trained.
As we walked, I thought about how much more volume she used when she barked this time. She had discovered that there was an echo. <g> She was pretty impressed with this. In thinking about it, it seemed very familiar, déjà vu. Parker went through this in his younger years also. He was a vocalizer. He used his voice in a range of creative and unusual ways, but differently than Banner. Banner uses her voice in unusual ways, but often with “dirty language”. Different but similar minds arrive at different outcomes. Of course, when you walk, it is a time to think, and I began thinking about similarities and differences. Banner’s eyes and nose are different. Her sense of humor is similar to Parker’s at that age.
There are other differences and similarities too, such as slime. Yes, there are differences in characteristics of slime as well as coat, structure and minds. Brit had the thickest slime, or water bucket residue, but it didn’t have extensibility like Banner’s. When I give Banner a bite from a spoon, her slime will form a long thin thread, stretching two feet, longer than you can “spin a thread” while cooking a sugar base for a dessert. It is a unique trait, one that will be memorable because of its uniqueness.
I do appreciate their uniqueness, and their similarities.
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