You have to do math before you do algebra...

     You know what I really wanted to do when I was 9 years old?  I wanted to be a Marine Biologist.  Oh yeah...we lived in Florida.  I can't tell you how many trips we took to Sea World.  We actually had a lake in our neighborhood.  Apparently there was an alligator on the other side of it eating small domestic animals, but I digress.  I had a container of shells that I would study.  I would make lots of notes on them and try to put them into classifications.  I even had...wait for it...a starfish.  The starfish came from our time spent on Fire Island off of Long Island, New York when I was a kid.  I loved that starfish.  And I so badly wanted to be a Marine Biologist... 

     ...and a singer......and a writer...

     So for me, wanting to be a Marine Biologist was kind of like the typical little girl fantasy about being a princess.  That was never going to happen.  C'mon...I couldn't swim in the pool by myself because I was afraid of "Jaws" getting me; how was I going to be a Marine Biologist?  Last time I checked, they study sharks. So I started singing, and as I mentioned before, writing around that time as well.  I wasn't just writing poetry/lyrics, but my creative writing and other school work was quite good. So impressive  for my age that they had talked about gifted and talented programs for me.  Unfortunately, nothing came of it but talk.  My Mother didn't want me set apart from the other kids in my class for fear I wouldn't be deemed as "normal" in their eyes.  This is also the reason I didn't get corrective shoes for being "pigeon toed" as a child. And probably the reason that I went through a "Goth" period when I was 21, but I digress again. This would be the beginning of my troubles with my Mother...and my troubles staying on any kind of life path whatsoever.

     I have had a laundry list of jobs/occupations...Accountant, Wedding Consultant, Singer, Dog Trainer...wait...there is actually something poignant to that last one...

     I actually trace my love for dogs, and dog training back to that time of my life in Florida.  The next door neighbors had a loveable mutt named "Cookie."  Cookie came over to our yard all the time.  My mother would actually buy dog treats at the store every week so I could give them to Cookie.  I would make him do "sit" and other tricks.  I was so excited with myself.  I thought I had trained this dog!  The reality was, he probably already knew those things and looked at me as nothing more than a vending machine...

     Years later, when I actually got into Dog Training, my mentor's favorite phrase was "you have to do math before you can do algebra."  I would liken that to "you have to crawl before you can walk" and other sayings like that. So how does this apply to dog training?  So many people come in and they want their dogs to do all of these elaborate tricks, but the dog doesn't even know something as basic as "sit."  You have to train basic "behaviors" before you can do something more advanced.  To learn a "behavior" more advanced requires a foundation of basics some of which may be used in the advanced behavior desired.

    Given that example, it's easy to see why I have so much trouble navigating the waters.  I have never concentrated on my basic "behaviors..."  You could say that I was thwarted from concentrating on them, given the previous information, but there is a point where you have to take some kind of responsibility for who you are and where you are going.  If I haven't before, I publicly declare now that I take that responsibility.

     This last New Year's Eve, I got to spend the day with a longtime friend of mine from High School.  I hadn't seen Laith since I was 21 years old probably.  I especially value the friendships I have had for that long because these are the people who most often times know me the best.  I don't think I've changed much in my basic personality this whole time.  Sure, I've grown, I am more mature in ways, but I think basically deep down, I am the same person I've always been.  Laith knows and remembers a lot about me, and the quality of my schoolwork it seems. I don't remember much about high school, but do remember failing Algebra three times in college only to finally graduate with a "C" in basic math.  Upon reminding Laith that I was an Accountant, he said something to the effect of, "but Dana, Accountants do math..."

   Story of my life, Laith...story of my life...


Happy Fishing!

--Red (formerly known as "Dana" - more on that next week)