My name is Sherry, and I love bananas. I love eating them right out of the peel or sliced up in a bowl full of cheerios. I do not however care for banana nut bread. You see I like a perfect banana, no green, no speckles and absolutely no smell! 

In order to make banana nut bread the banana has to be very ripe or as I like to say- rotten. I can taste that rottenness each time I
  attempt to try the bread. In my opinion there are not many things that smell or  taste as bad as a rotten banana. I can feel my nose wrinkling just writing this, they bother me that much.


 I always have an issue when at the grocery store when it comes to bananas.  I
take my time searching for just the right bunch. The ones that will turn to
their perfect selves within days, only to have the clerk toss them unceremoniously into the bag with other items. Just a simple toss is all that is needed to bruise those tender yellow skins. What was perfect when placed into my basket always seems to be dotted with black speckles by the time I arrive home, and the drive is less than a mile. I am seriously contemplating requesting that the clerk hand me the bananas after ringing them up. I am sure such action will label me a loon-or worse yet -the crazy banana lady- but at least my bananas will be edible for a day, or maybe even two.


All of this talk of bananas reminds me of one of my favorite stories about my son Ben. He was just a little guy then, so little we still referred to him as Benny. If I recall correctly he was around the age of two. We lived in a two story condo in Charleston, S.C..  The bottom floor boasted a living room, eat-in kitchen, and utility room-not much
room to get lost in. However one day I could not find Ben. I knew he was not
upstairs, as he didn’t go up there alone, but after a quick search of the main
area I began to panic. Ben was nowhere to be found. I forced myself to stop and
take in a deep breath before calling out his name. “Benny?”


Thankfully I was graced with an answer, albeit from a
  somewhat muffled voice. “What?”

 “Where are you?” I asked, still  not knowing where the voice had originated from.


“Under the Table,” the voice was considerably more muffled this time.


I crossed the room, pulled up the tablecloth, and there under the table was my little boy. Who had apparently  been attempting to speak with a mouth full of bananas. The floor around him was  littered with black banana skins, from the bananas that I had tossed in the trash a few hours before. He took another bite and mumbled his pleasure.


 “Mmmmm”  Obviously Ben did not share my distaste of overly ripe bananas. 
 
It is one of those memories that stick with you over the years. To this day I cannot look at a rotten banana and not think of little Benny, hiding under the table, with his horde of treasure he’d pulled from the trash.  

Bunches of love to you all!
 


                                                                                                                                                 
 


  

Not everyone knows this but I am a certified dog trainer. While I am not actively seeking new business, I have many satisfied clients. Not  many things bothered me before I became a dog trainer, I thought dogs were dogs, and the things they did was simply the nature of the beast. It turns out that is
  not true. Most of the bad behaviors associated with dogs can be traced back to
  their owners.


Now don’t get me wrong I am not saying every dog owner is  bad, I am just saying that the majority of them are uneducated when it comes to  having well rounded dogs. I was just as uneducated when it came to the many dogs I have had over the years, blaming the dog for behavior I now know was  mostly produced by what I did, or did not do.


I thought I would take the opportunity over the next few weeks and discuss some of the training issues people have with their k-9’s, and see if we can fix some of these things that need fixing. So please feel free to  send me an e-mail if you are having a specific issue and I will see if I have a  solution for you.


In the mean time I want to address something that is high on my list of my dog owner concerns. Dogs riding in the front seat of the cars, or worse yet in their owners lap. It should never be allowed. There I said it. But I assure you I have a good reason. This is something that usually causes a heated debate, but please hear me out on this.


There you are riding along enjoying the feel of your  beloved little French bulldog, Tippy, when out of no-where a car swerves into your lane, and Tippy sails out the window. Poor Tippy either face plants into the asphalt and becomes French toast, or worse yet gets run over by the SUV behind you. Leaving you with nothing more than a collar attached to a crepe. The debaters usually argue, 
  “My window is not all the way down so Tippy cannot fit outside.” 
  Okay so Tippy only gets his face slammed into the window.  Really? Isn’t Tippy’s nose flat enough as it is?  
Then they will say…

“I would never let that happen. I always have my hand on him to keep him safe.”
 My response. “None of us know what we are going to do in an emergency situation, but as a responsible driver you need to have both hands  available to save yourself and others. 

So let’s talk about the REAL danger of letting little Tippy ride in your lap. God forbid you are in an accident, and your airbag were to deploy. Tippy would end up dead by the impact of the airbag slamming into his tiny little body.  Worse yet he would most likely kill you in the process. Ah at least then the two of you would get to ride all you want in the afterlife. I guess at that point Tippy could hang his head out the window all he wants, as I hear those clouds are pretty darn fluffy.


Okay so let’s move Tippy to the passenger side seat. That would be better right? Only if you can turn off the passenger side airbag and have Tippy restrained in some kind of doggy harness, or specially made puppy seat. Yes they make them. But make sure if you get one it has a seatbelt or is fully enclosed. If Tippy is not restrained he can still get hurt or hurt someone else by flying through the air upon impact, hitting you or someone else in the car. 
  Bottom  line…either leave Tippy at home, or insure the safety of all, by seeing that
he’s properly secured. Buckle him up! The life you save just may just be your own...