Dog in the Window

My dogs moved to Seattle today. They were picked up at 5:50 am by the Canine Courier to be escorted to Ohare. Prior to this experience I had no idea there was such a thing as a "Pet Relocation Specialist". I always wonder how people find their particular career. There has to be a story behind the man or women who finds his/herself in such a field. I remember my freshman year in college meeting a girl who was majoring in English! I didn't even know that was an option! I was led to believe that you had to go to school to study for a very specific outcome...not so much an exercise in academic inquiry, the dialectic, edification. I thought you were just supposed to get a job. I know it sounds naive but I was always fascinated by the kids who were studying an "area of interest". And now, I find myself equally interested in people who have unusual jobs, e.g. escorting pets, voicing cartoons, butterfly monitor, vintner...whatever. I really missed that boat.

And so my dogs caught a plane and I just received an email that they landed safely in Seattle where they were picked up by Pet Taxi and delivered to Dan. I hope their public transportation experience was better than mine have been lately. Riding on planes has become very similar to riding on a Greyhound Bus. Planes used to be glamorous....we would dress up to travel to an interesting destination...grandparents in LA or Disney World. The stewardess would give us little wings and books to color. Now when I go to the airport I notice people wearing the oddest things. One man went through security before me dressed like he was running a marathon. He had on a tank top and running shorts and flipflops. Did he find security so time consuming that he traveled just short of naked? And then there are the people who are hauling gigantic suitcases of all shapes and sizes. They aren't dressed particularly nicely. I don't really care what other people wear, but how many suitcases does it take to look slovenly? Can't you dress badly with only one bagful of stuff? People are definitely carrying around bagfuls of crap, both metaphorically and literally. Maybe an interesting career option is Crap Relocation Specialist. Actually, we could have a whole blog on airplane stories. Everyone has a hideous tale to tell. That would be another good alternative career, Recording Secretary for Travel Travails. In my opinion, airline travel has truly gone to the dogs.