A new beginning. . .and and ending

As a Director on the Board of San Francisco Samoyed Rescue, I wear many hats.  I do fund raising, I am a shelter coordinator, I do home inspections, provide temporary foster care and sometimes transport rescued dogs.  Today was a transport day.

Buddy, a three year old Samoyed, had been found wandering in traffic by a good Samaritan named Rina.  This kind woman took in this stinky, matted mess of a dog and she and her family opened their home to him.  They provided veterinary care, grooming, nutritious food and most import they provided love and stability.  They grew to love him and gave him a wonderful home.  Buddy, however, had one little quirk that proved very daunting indeed.  He could jump their 6 foot fence!

More times than they could count Buddy would escape from their yard and go on adventures around the neighborhood.  They tried everything they could to prevent Buddy from jumping the fence, but he was not to be denied.  Buddy was always pretty easy to find and would jump in the car when the family went to look for him.  His habit was trying, but the family was willing to deal with it.  Then over the months, Buddy became more reluctant to jump in the car when they found him.  He was harder and harder to track down.  The turning point came when Buddy was found in a busy intersection and was nearly hit by traffic.  The family realized that something had to be done to safeguard the little guy.

After much agonizing, the family contacted San Francisco Samoyed Rescue and asked if we could help place Buddy with a family who could meet the needs of this "able to leap tall buildings" dog.  After talking to the family and recognizing that there was really no way to keep Buddy in his present situation we were happy to help find Buddy a more suitable home.  The search for a new family began.

Buddy's predilection for fence jumping proved rather challenging.  Most folks have the standard 6 foot perimeter fence, so we knew it might take a while to locate a home that was safe for Buddy.  As a young dog, he was also high energy and would need a family willing to commit to the exercise required by this boy.  Buddy's current family said they were in no hurry to move Buddy and were happy to keep him with them, rather than with a foster, until the right home could be found.

Over the weeks that we were interviewing prospective families, I kept in regular contact with Rina.  I knew the decision to give Buddy up had been extremely difficult for her.  Her two children loved Buddy to death and they had invested so much time and energy into making a home for him.  They wanted to do right by him and had been taking such good care of him.  It was very painful for her - very painful.

Eventually a wonderful family with four daughters expressed a desire to adopt Buddy.  They indicated that they had 8 foot fences, a large yard and the wife was a stay at home mom.  It sounded perfect.  They met Buddy and fell in completely in love with him.   All that was left was the home inspection.  It seemed like this was going to be a wonderful placement for Buddy.

One of the other Directors went to the home of the prospective adopters to do the home inspection.  She found one of the fences to be less than 6 feet tall and the backyard was covered with foxtails!  Sadly, she informed the family that this would not work for Buddy.  The fences had to be at least 8 feet tall and as a long haired breed, Buddy simply could not be placed where the yard was full of foxtails.  It was so disappointing.

The next day we received a long and heartfelt email from the family that wanted to adopt Buddy.  They were willing to make any improvements necessary to make the yard safe and secure.  They would increase the section of fence that was less than 8 feet, remove all the weeds and and place bark and turf in its place. They asked for three weeks to get this accomplished.  This was a huge sacrifice because with four children there isn't a lot of "extra" money in the budget.  I was moved to tears by the sincerity of the letter and my instincts told me that this would be a home where Buddy would be loved and well cared for.  So we agreed to allow the time to make the yard "Buddy appropriate" and I advised Rina that Buddy would likely be transported near the 25th of July.

So. . .I picked Buddy up today.  Rina had put together a basket of things for the new family.  Toys and treats and grooming supplies for Buddy.  She also sent his leash and harness and bed.  Most touching, she sent a long letter (which I did not read) with all of the things about Buddy that they might need to know.  What he liked, what he didn't like - all about living with Buddy.  We completed the relinquishment paperwork and it was time to leave.  Everyone was holding back tears - Rina most of all.  She put him in my car and each of them gave Buddy one last hug.  Lord, I thought I would fall apart myself!  I waited for them to go back in the house before I pulled away.  It just seemed better that way.

On the long drive to the pick up point, Buddy was the perfect little gentleman.  He road easily in the car and never made a peek...or a bark.  We stopped for a potty break and water and then we were back on the road to our final destination.  The new family, the Bassmans, were to meet us at a dog park in Danville.  I arrived before they did and was able to allow Buddy to stretch his legs.  I watched the Bassmans pull up and saw the four little girls tumble out of the car and come running!  They were so excited to be taking Buddy home.  They had helped with the preparation and were over the moon that IT was finally happening.

I completed the adoption contract with Mr. and Mrs. Bassman and went over a few items - calling to change the microchip information, feeding schedule, etc., and took a few pictures and then I decided it was time to leave the Bassman family with their new member.

While I had no emotional investment with Buddy, it is always hard to hand over a dog to someone you really don't know.  Whenever there is a hand-off I find myself having an emotion somewhere between elation and worry.  As I drove away, I thought about Rina and her family and what they must be feeling.  Most times, when we rescue a dog, it is from a shelter or the dog is relinquished by an owner that does not want the dog anymore (something I have never understood).  I am usually thrilled to be rescuing the dog from the situation in which I find it.  This rescue was really different.  Buddy's family loved him.  They loved him so much that they gave him up in order that he might be safe and secure.  Their act of unselfish love overwhelmed me at that moment.

 

In Judaism, we have a word for the unselfish love Rina and her family showed to Buddy.  It is the Hebrew word, "chesed".  The word is difficult to translate into English, because there really is no English equivalent.   It is most often translated at loving kindness.  Chesed is central to Jewish values, ethics and theology.  It is a virtue that contributes to "tikkun olam" (repairing the world) and is the foundation of many personal mizvot.  Chesed is so important it is said to one of the three pillars upon which the world stands.  One of our great Rabbi's said that the Torah begins with Chesed and ends with Chesed.  Rina and her family are examples to all of us.

I sent a short note to Rina to let her know that Buddy was safely delivered to his new family.  I tried, again, to emphasize that she had done the right thing and that I understood how much they loved Buddy in order to make the sacrifice they made.  I don't know if my words helped.  I ask God to wrap His arms around the family tonight.  I asked that He protect them and be with them.  They very least they deserve is comfort.  To my way of thinking, what they deserve is a place in heaven.

Feeling blue. . .

I have often wondered where the colloquial idiom, "feeling blue" came from.  When we say we are feeling blue, we mean that we are sad or depressed.  We reach for the cookie dough ice cream and schlep around the house in our favorite t-shirt and pajama bottoms.  I like to put Steel Magnolias in the DVD player so that I have a legitimate excuse to cry when I am feeling blue.

From a purely scientific point of view, blue is one of the pure spectral colors having a wavelength of about 450-475 nm and a frequency of about 631-668 THz.  As an amateur photographer, I am aware the blue of the sky has a correlated color temperature of 5600 on the Kelvin scale and is a "cool" color.  The sky is also blue due to "Rayleigh scattering" of the sunlight from the atmosphere which tends to scatter blue light more than red light.  Blue is also considered one of the additive primary colors on the traditional Red, Yellow, Blue color wheel.

The word blue comes from the Middle English word bleu or blewe, words of Germanic origin which appears to have meant "pale, pallid, wan, light-colored; blond; discolored; blue, blue-gray ".   Few words in the English language are as idiomatic as the word blue.  In addition to the idiom "feeling blue", consider the following: 

Once in a blue moon

Blue in the face

Out of the blue

Blue blood

Talk a blue streak

Black and blue

A bolt from the blue

Blue collar

The boys in blue

Blue eyed boy

Blue blazes

Baby blues

To blue pencil something

Blue chip

Give up the blue line

Blue around the gills

Vanished into the blue

I actually found over 100 idioms that used the word blue.  Why do you suppose we love to use the word blue so much?

Blue is one of the most popular colors of both men and women.  It is a color that is associated with trustworthiness, dependability and commitment; perhaps the reason police uniforms are blue?  Blue is the color of the sky and of the sea.  It is perceived as constant in our lives.  It is the color of calm and coolness.  It is a favorite color of spas because it calls to mind feelings of calmness or serenity.  The color blue is known to lower the pulse rate and body temperature.  As for myself, I find it utterly impossible to feel sad when I stand on the beach in Lahaina and look out upon the blue ocean.  I can only feel peace and contentment as I sit on my patio and look up into the clear blue skies of late spring.  And is there anything more comfortable and familiar than an old pair of blue jeans?

In Hindu mysticism, the color blue represents the 5th chakra, Vishuddhi.  Vishuddi is the chakra of the throat.  It is known as the purification center and is the chakra of communication expression and judgement.  It also associated with the god Vishnu, the preserver of the world.  In Christianity the color blue is associated generally with purity and in Catholicism in particular it is the color of the Virgin Mary.  In Islam blue is the color or religion and is often used in decorating mosques.

As a Jew, I am aware of the strong connection that the color blue has to my religious history and customs.  The Torah commands us wear tzitzit (those long fringes on the corners of tallit) on the corners of our garments and to weave within these fringes a "twisted thread of tekhelet (blue)".  The great Rabbi, Maimonides claimed blue was "the clear noonday sky, the Rabbi Rashi said it was the evening sky.  Several other rabbinic authorities point to blue as the color of God's Glory. When my ancestors were wandering in the desert with Moses, many of the items in the Mishkan (the portable sanctuary the tribe carried from place to place) such as the menorah and other sacred vessels were covered in cloth of blue.  The Ark of the Covenant was likewise covered in cloth of blue when it was transported.  Blue is the color of Hannukah.  When Israel achieved statehood she chose blue for the Israeli flag and the Israeli coat of arms.

There are a number of blue foods that I enjoy.  While I don't really care much for blueberries on the whole, I do love a fresh from the oven blueberry muffin.  Blue M&M's are my favorite.  Blue corn chips are funky and fun and fun when served with black (which are really blue) bean dip.  Blue Gatorade is great when I am sick.  Blue jello shots are a wonderfully wicked memory from my single days.  And if one really needs a blue food fix, one can always break out the blue food dye. . .blue mashed potatos anyone?

I have blue, in some form or another, in almost every room in my home.  It figures largely in the rooms were I spend the most time doing the things I most like to do.  It makes me feel happy and relaxed and creative.  I like blue.  I like it a lot.  If I redecorated my house, blue would still be part of the landscape.

So, back to the original question.  Why do we say we are "blue" when we are sad.  Why has that empty aching loneliness associated with lost love become an entire genre of music called "the blues".  Billie Holliday describes it best when she sang:

Am I blue?
Am I blue?
Aint these tears, in these eyes telling you?
How can you ask me am I blue?
Why, wouldn't you be too -
If each plan
With your man
Done fell through?

There was a time
When I was his only one
But now im
The sad and lonely one...lonely

Was I gay
Until today
Now he's gone, and we're through
Am I blue.......

It is true that blue is linked to rain and storms and in Greek mythology, the god Zeus was sad, he would cry causing it to rain   and he would send down a storm when he was angry.  Maybe that is the origin.  Or it could be from the "Blue" laws which were designed to enforce religious standards, especially the observance of Sunday as day of worship and rest and a restriction on Sunday shopping - now that would make me really blue!  I am sure the color blue put Marie Antoinette in a serious funk as it was the color of the French revolutionary forces!  She definitely had a case of the Breton blues.  But, the nearest I can come to an explanation for the term is from a custom among old deep-water sailing ships.  If the ship lost her captain or any of the officers during its voyage, she would fly blue flags and have a blue band painted along the entire side of her hull as she returned to her home port.  The crew was said to be "blue".  Why they chose the color blue - that I haven't been able to learn.

None of this will likely cause me to stop saying that I am feeling blue when, in fact, I am.  But I really think the color blue has gotten a bad rap.  It is a great color.  I adore it.  I am wearing it as I type this.  I just wanted the color blue to know that I don't think it is a sad color.  Quite the contrary.  I would be very, well blue, if there were no blue in the world.