November 26, 2008 – Cold, cloudy. I love Elvis and I love to write about him. It is loopy to have a monster like that as a pet, but I can’t say I regret it. He is one of the most spiritual entities I know, and he does, in many ways, personify my life and what I am learning. Elvis makes no sense, yet he does. So I wrote about him today on Slate, in my column on animals and rural life. Check it out if you like. My editor said he thought the piece was “nutty and endearing.” Sounds right.
  Once a week, I decide it is not justifiable to have Elvis as a pet, and then I go out and give him an apple or a donut and he drools on me. What can I say? I love this monster, and he does, in fact, have all of the spiritual elements most of us seek and fail to find – calm, acceptance, a sense of being centered. Animals can teach us.