I am a bit concerned about my Uncle James Emmerling. He seems to see himself in a new light, since taking on the responsibility and great honor of taking care of me for weeks on end, as my Momma deserts me, to go off and play with the New Man, a.k.a The Kid.

He now seems to think he is “employed at a legitimate piece of work, a noble one at that…taking care of a helpless beast.’’ This would be the first time in his life he ever held down a piece of work, he admitted to me. I asked him, “Well, now that you have this job, as you call it, playing and taking care of me,how are you a different monkey?”

We call each other monkeys because of our  disagreement over Evolution. He vacillates between some weird incomprehensible metaphysical system which I think he makes up as he goes along, and a sweet innocent dancing kind of living in the moment…my uncle….i learn to leave him alone when he is building his metaphysical system. I read a book then maybe eat it. I have to remember not to eat the book after I have read it. How do you monkeys remember?

Anyway, Uncle is deep into his thinking. Either that or his Metaphysical System came crashing down on his head, and he is buried under that rubble. It is hard to tell. Uncle growls if you bother him while he is thinking. Or..he explodes in weird talk, like yesterday when I got bored and brought him a tug toy to tug with me for a while just for fun:

No! My time! Blasted beast! Time stealer! I have a certain amount of time, and it is my own Will over how this time unfolds that is the sign of my maturity as a spiritual being! Not a monkey! Not a damn dog like you, with your big goddamn nose and huge tongue that goes everywhere!Keep yer tongue in yer head, you hellhound, and fuck the fuck off,as I think on thinkable things, just go lie down and have a nap..

I ran out of the room and ate his sneaker a little bit.Not a lot. Those are the ones he uses to walk me. I need my walks. It gets boring cooped up with your weird old uncle sometimes, and ya gotta go out and smell some piss in the grass or shit in the wind from your other animal friends, whom you need to count on if the Animals ever had to take over the world if the monkeys went up the trees again.

We mammals remember each other. We dogs have been around a lot longer than you clever silly “booksmart” monkeys, who we saw scuttle DOWN their trees after those big Lizards died and were dead….and then make the most preposterous ly  complicated mess of a perfectly satisfying little world.

But at least now these monkeys appreciate the need for a good dog and a good cat, too.

We dogs love cats. Like you younger boys like your big sisters: NOT!!!!! But you love them. They help you get what you need to live a comfortable life with a monkey. They soften monkeys up. They don’t need much to live on, those cats. They sleep , like, 18 hrs a day! They are weird.

Uncle James says,

“A poem for today…

‘don’t you care for my love, she said bitterly.

I handed her the mirror, and said;

Please address these questions to a proper person!

Please make all requests to headquarters.

In all matters of emotional importance

Please approach the supreme authority direct-!

So I handed her the mirror’

D H Lawrence.

~

“I don’t get it, “ I said. Uncle sneered and scoffed at me and went back to his books. What was left of his books, I mean. Minus the ones I ate and are in my tummy. I am gonna shit em out to the wind so the other animals get my uncle’s wisdom….

I love him that much. He will never know…