So it’s March. Green Dog month.
Sometimes I get the wildest ideas and I don’t know where they come from…
On St. Patrick’s Day in 2010 I was really bummed about something. Don’t ask me what, I can’t remember now. I knew business would be slow at every Italian restaurant, in Long Beach or anywhere else for that matter. But that wasn’t the problem. I was just out-of-sorts.
I looked over at my beautiful blond 11-year-old dog Kyle and the idea hit me: “Wouldn’t it be fun to paint Kyle green and just go for a long walk on 2nd St. in Belmont Shore?”
I knew I didn’t want to spray-paint him or do anything that would harm him in anyway, so I googled it “How do you paint your dog?” (I swear, you can google anything!) I couldn’t believe the easy answer: unsweetened Lime Jell-O or just basic green food coloring.
Wow, who would have thought? This would be so easy and so harmless. My delight at having fun with this project lessened whatever was bugging me that day.
I posted on Facebook what I was thinking about doing. A couple people said “NO, don’t do that.” But friendly Woody Woods, the awesome photographer said, “If you’d like, I’ll come over and document it.” I said yes, and Woody headed over to my place.
I set up a plastic mat in front of my house in the California sunshine (we are so lucky to live in Belmont Shore!) And I began while Woody snapped away.
Kyle was as relaxed as ever and seemed to so enjoy being brushed and groomed for 2 hours. He didn’t know he was green. Aren’t dogs color-blind anyway?
And here is the subtitle to this post:
I would love to lie there while someone rubbed food coloring all over me, green or any other color! He loved it!
We went walking on 2nd St. and my oh my, what fun! People everywhere wanted to have their picture taken with Kyle. Children LOVED the friendly green dog.
——————–
A group of 3 men stared at Kyle.
One said, “I’m so drunk I think that dog looks green!”
“Haha,” I laughed, “He IS green!”
We even ran into the mayor of Long Beach, Bob and his beautiful wife, Nancy.
- Mayor Bob and Nancy
There was one lady who yelled at me that I was cruel and inhumane. I pointed out that it was food-coloring, the same ingredient in that green beer that she was drinking.
All-in-all it was a fun experience. And it proved that looking for any silver lining or “green lining” can get you out of a funk.
Would I do it again? ………………What do you think?
See you all soon at La Strada for the best Italian food ever!
PS Look for me on 2nd Street in Belmont Shore on the 17th……..wink! wink!
