Come Over To My Place
There is one book in my entire childhood that captured my imagination more than any other. I was reminded of it recently while housesitting for a friend. It was called, "Come Over To My Place" and it detailed how a young boy is invited to other children's homes all over the world. The illustrations of lying in a South Pacific hammock or on a Japanese mat or squeezing into an igloo stirred a desperate desire in me to experience how other people live. While I have been blessed with a few trips overseas and had the opportunity to live as others do I still have to deal with the humdrum time that begins when I sorrowfully step out of Brisbane airport and into a waiting car headed for home.
Fortunately I've stumbled on the traveller's equivalent of the nicotine patch - housesitting. It's a magical key into people's haven where you can experience their perspective on domestic comfort. Of course it has its hazards, at the moment I'm caring for two dogs whose special skill is to spring over the fence and run away when I least expect it. To make things worse, one dog is on heat and makes sounds that would make an exorcist jumpy. This morning I was crouched in the cold rain begging her to come out from her hiding place to allow me to tether her so I could go to work. She curled up and looked at me with hurt in her eyes as if she knew that I was trying to pull the plug on her party.
I have sworn that if the little bitch has puppies I won't be held responsible...
Fortunately I've stumbled on the traveller's equivalent of the nicotine patch - housesitting. It's a magical key into people's haven where you can experience their perspective on domestic comfort. Of course it has its hazards, at the moment I'm caring for two dogs whose special skill is to spring over the fence and run away when I least expect it. To make things worse, one dog is on heat and makes sounds that would make an exorcist jumpy. This morning I was crouched in the cold rain begging her to come out from her hiding place to allow me to tether her so I could go to work. She curled up and looked at me with hurt in her eyes as if she knew that I was trying to pull the plug on her party.
I have sworn that if the little bitch has puppies I won't be held responsible...
CLEVER!