24/7

Today I managed to make a fool out of myself before 9 a.m. Given the sheer probability that I am even awake prior to 9, the odds are completely in favor of me not making a fool of myself this early. Alas, I have defied the odds of embarrassment yet another again.

On this particularly brisk Worcester morning, I was just rounding the corner of Hughes Hall when I was startled by a man walking his dog. (What a delightful upset!) Naturally, I screamed a scream reminiscent of a 4 year old alien child encountering a human life form for the first time. It started with your typical "AHH" and quickly digressed into "AHHeehhhhhawwww, hey Fritz!" The dog, presumably pleased that I knew his name, jumped up on me as I yelped so that I could pet him better. The man, recovering from his first, again presumably, encounter with a 4 year old alien child, looked at me with a tilt of the head and asked, "How do you know my dog's name?"

There are some things for which I am not (publicly) proud, and my innate ability to recall pets' names is one of these things. Realizing I had committed a social faux paw (zing!), I could think of only one reply, "Oh... What? Maybe later. I'm late. Ha.." What?! Needless to say, the rest of my walk to class allowed me to relate more personally to reality show participants that are publically voted off the show and are forced to pack and leave while still on camera...



What he doesn't know is that I could also tell that Fritz is a (rather petite) Irish Setter, from the pointer family-bred as hunting companions, just from looking at him... but let's just keep that between us.