Zen Pencils by Gavin Aung Than for March 11, 2024

From Not Always Right: #1— No Pets, No Empathy

One time, my family (except for Dad) was traveling and got caught in a nightmare of a storm in the mountains. With heavy freezing rain, slippery mountain roads, high winds, and almost zero visibility, driving conditions were very dangerous. My mother decided that she didn’t want to drive her six kids — ranging in age from toddler to mid-teens (me) — through that, even though we were only about a couple hours from our destination, so she pulled over at a little hotel as night came on. She did note the sign saying, “No pets,” but figured we could leave our half-grown dog in the car. (It was cold but not dangerously so.)

When the guy at the desk asked if we had any pets, my scrupulously honest mother admitted we did but said we’d leave him in the car. The guy still refused to give us a room because, quote, “he might bark”.

This vile excuse for a human being sent a mother and a half-dozen kids driving down steep mountain roads, at night, during a horrible storm, because he was afraid a puppy might bark.

It still ticks me off thirty years later.

#2—The Real Gift Is A Relative Who Understands Your Pets

A few Christmases ago, my younger sister brought her boyfriend to our family gathering. The largest box under the tree was addressed to “[Younger Sister] and Cats”.

Sister’s Boyfriend: “We appreciate the gift, but you know the cats are just going to play with the box.”

Me: “Their gift is the box.”

[Sister’s Boyfriend] stared at me with the open-faced shock of someone whose mind has just been blown.

I had bought the largest box possible at an office supply store, cut a pet door in the side, and reinforced the corners with duct tape.

#3—https://notalwaysright.Com/no-pets-means-no-pets/315233/

#4—https://notalwaysright.Com/sometimes-you-just-have-to-get-those-pets-out/265508/