This week’s lesson from life comes from Chicago where we are celebrating my mother’s 85th birthday and my daughter’s 7th birthday. They share the same day. I took the kids and our dog Molly to the Montrose Beach Dog Park on the Northside. It is the ultimate dog park where you can swim with your dog on a beautiful beach. It was then that the kids decided to make a sand castle . . .
Dogs gradually gathered to watch the construction, forming a half circle around the kids in curiosity. The Turley kids made an elaborate castle with an impressive moat (perhaps not quite as impressive as the one shown above). The sand in Chicago is perfect for castle making. Once it was complete and the kids called me over. It was then that the largest dog (likely named William Wallace) walked over and pee’ed on it — collapsing a supporting wall and filing the moat. All of the dogs then followed suit or walked nonchalantly away having destroyed the latest effort of humans to occupy part of their beach.
Lesson of the day? Don’t build sand castles on dog beaches. (This lesson was brought to you by the Turley Tourism board).
A good excuse to speak to children about the impermanence of everything, as also exhibited in Buddhist unfixed sandpaintings.
If ya build a moat the dogs will float.
Build one of these first.
http://www.teamsandtastic.com/westfield/Indep-11.jpg
Mike S hadnt thght of that til you menitoned it
Happy belated birthday to the 2 of them, Hope they got better gifts then that life lesson. ((*_*))
If it had been a Cat Beach you probably would have found cannon for the ramparts!
Happy birthday to mom and the kid.
We lived in Chicago back in the 80’s. Montrose Harbor has the most stunning view of the city skyline, particularly @ night. Good for smelt fishing when they’re running.
Professor,
I know you are a dog aficionado and naturally also love your kids, but I could think of other more distasteful ways that building castles on a “Dog Beach” might not be the best idea. However, this works as one of those instructive life lessons that we parents provide our children..
Yep…..
What a beautiful architectural feat. Happy Birthday to the lovely pair.
One is reminded of the song “Who let the dogs out?!”