His Dogness

One of the things that I like about Mr. Whitfield is he has always offered frank commentary on my writing. When he holds out his hand palm down and waggles it, I know that I have fallen short in his estimation. That happens most often when I stray from telling a story and devote myself to pondering this or that aspect of life.

As another friend put it, sometimes I can get “a little cerebral.”

Mr. Whitfield’s complaint about “The Mystery of His Dogness in the Night,” though, was that I mentioned what a fine dog His Dogness is and kept moving. He thought that I should have taken the time to go into greater depth about his virtues.

A game that Sparkle Girl, her mother and I sometimes play is called “What I Like About…” (Doobins is welcome to play, but he is usually more interested in playing with his Thomas the Tank Engine toys.)

The rules are simple. One person is “it.” The other players take turns giving examples of what they like about the person. If Sparkle Girl were it, I might say, “What I like about Sparkle Girl is, when she has candy, she always offers a piece to the rest of us.” (This is true. She is quite generous.)

After a few rounds with Sparkle Girl, each player would say, “And, now for the big finish…” and give a final example. Then we move on to the next person. Only after everyone has had a turn as “it” is the game over. It’s a nice game not only because it gets you saying positive things about each other that you might not think to say otherwise but also because it makes you stop and think about what those things are.

The things that bug me about someone pop right to the surface. But the things that I like often gurgle along at a semiconscious level unless I make a point to stop and look at them. (I’m clearly moving into “a little cerebral” territory. I’ll stop now.)

So, here, for Mr. Whitfield, is an entry in the ongoing “What I Like About His Dogness” game.

What I like about His Dogness is that (when he feels well) he is so easy to be around. Some friends are great for short periods of time. Rare is the friend you can be around for hours on end and enjoy every single minute of that time together. His Dogness is one of those friends.

What I like about Mr. Whitfield is that I never feel bad when he gives me grief.