After a heart attack you find yourself in more doctor’s offices than normal.  I look forward to the reading material, especially catching up with celebrity news in People magazine.  And it’s always nice to affirm actions in medicine — a drastic change in diet, exercise medication — are working.  As my doctor scoured blood test results and data from the cardiologist he pronounced me in good shape.  I was fortunate — after the heart attack part of my heart was not functioning.  Only time would tell if the muscle was stunned or dead.  Turns out I was like the chipmunk caught by the cat and dropped — too stunned to run at first and then bingo, off I go.  So it was with my heart.  Muscle function is pretty much what a normal heart would be.

Moving forward it turns out living with two dogs will be helpful to my long term exercise regimen.  The dogs need to walk, but I’ve determined they must be walked separately.

The scene when I left the doctor’s office.

How often do you see a Vespa scooter and old Cadillac convertible together.  Never around here.  My oldest daughter would probably like to buy that Caddy.

A lot of odd things showing up lately.  The earth must be passing through some odd energy field.  A more anxious or superstitious person would be thinking zombie apocalypse.

Or worse.

At the end of the day the light this time of year seems dazzling.  Kim says it feels cinematic.  I imagine myself a dashing hero.  Gary Cooper.  Or one of the Three Stooges.  Things are changing — I can feel it in the air, smell the beginning of decomposing plants, the fragrance of fall.

Lily was with us while Junior languished at home — sad, depressed, alone.  At least that’s where my mind races.  In reality he probably sleeps until we return and wonders if he’s going to get a Milkbone.  I’ve noticed lately an energy mix between Junior and Lily that makes them less than social.  I suspect Junior’s vigilance at other dogs and people triggers a reaction from Lily that Junior feeds on creating an escalating cycle of energy between them which results in barking and commotion.

In the dog owning world the technical term for this situation is “a pain in the ass”.  So I’ve started walking and exercising them alone in public to see if anything changes.  And it has.  Not a peep out of Junior when he sees another dog and he’s a big teddy bear with people.  Same thing with Lily.  So for now I’ll exercise them apart and train Lily alone before uniting them again on walks.

An unlooked for advantage of this change in plans is I get twice as much exercise.  Good for the dogs, good for my heart.  Maybe I’ll make it to retirement and that URAL motorcycle that Dom Chang keeps telling me I need.

Junior goes to college for his training, pausing here to watch the completely tame squirrels than are everywhere on the University Park campus of Penn State.  Several came within three feet of us.  He didn’t start to drool so he probably didn’t think they were dinner.  During our walk across campus and through State College Junior said hello to half a dozen dog lovers, absorbed a lot of cuddles and petting, and made his way through the local bookstore that welcomes dogs.

And I chalked up another mile or so of quasi-aerobic activity.

Living with two dogs is a fine way to pass the days…