Rose's Cantina

On a wintery morning last November, I opened up my laptop and read the following post from the writer Jon Katz on his blog, Bedlam Farm: Rose died on Friday evening, euthanized after a long and severe wasting disease that left her in pain and without spirit. She died in ease and comfort...her head resting on my arm. I let out an unexpected and mournful sob which brought Scott running into my little office off the kitchen. Oh, no, I thought, not beautiful Rose, the nearly mythical Border Collie who inhabited many of Jon Katz' books. Not Rose of Washington County, defender of hearth and home, manager of sheep, donkeys and even geese. I thought Rose would live forever. She was a dog in a book. But, alas, Rose was not a fictional dog; she was Jon's very real companion, who was always by his side as he struggled to find himself in middle age, in the midst of personal crisis, as he tried to morph from city slicker to gentleman farmer. She died alright, just...

My faith in humanity has been restored. I found my Kindle buried deep in the Lazy Boy recliner. Instinctively, this morning, I knew it was there. Or at least in the house. I could not believe that someone would have come into the side garden and purloined it off the table. Even in a sketchy neighborhood like this one, it would be hard to believe someone would do that. (Though someone did steal a couple beers from the cooler outside last year. But that was beer.) I've missed my Kindle, in particular, because I've been waiting for a special e-book from my writing hero, Jon Katz, who has just published his first ever e-book. So the first thing I did was re-enter my credit card information and download The Story of Rose, A Man and His Dog , which is available for the unbelieveable price of $3.50. It's what I love about Kindle; books delivered to my e-reader in seconds at a very reasonable price. I make no apologies. I am on a book budget these days. The next book I w...

One of my favorite authors, Jon Katz, released his first e-book last night called The Story of Rose: A Man and his Dog. I will not be buying this book today, even though I'm always first in line to read everything that Jon writes. His stories of his struggles with depression and self-doubt, his books on dogs and farm life, have resonated with me in many ways. His take on love, grief, spirituality and redemption have uplifted me in very dark times. So it is with a heavy and impatient heart that I give this book a pass, at least in the short term. Some idiot must have been watching me in my side garden with my eyes glued to the Kindle this summer; he or she must have noticed that I'd left it on my patio table. It is gone, baby gone, and I am upset. A Kindle is not an iPad. It has very little monetary value. It's only value is to the person who builds a cherished collection of favorite stories on it. I'm betting my thief was probably not a reader, and, upon insp...