If things were the embodiment of principles, then Simon would be the embodiment of Stubbornness. Each creature or thing can be the embodiment of more than one principle, since looked at from the realm of ideas, each creature or thing is a combination of many ideas or principles. Simon is Beautiful; Simon is Loud; Simon is Short and Long; Simon is very Stubborn.
A week ago Mary and I took all 3 dogs to the hiking trail. There were many dogs and many people. Simon was not happy with many dogs; he stopped and planted his feet. I turned around, everyone had passed us, I yelled for Mary to call him. She called, he planted his feet more firmly and refused to budge. I tugged a bit, the collar slipped up his neck, giving him a funny, put-upon expression as it moved his ears forward. He simply looked at me as if to say, you know what I want.
I did indeed. I walked back to him, he turned around and out we went without a bit of hesitation, over to the Berea Municipal buildings, then turn right and walk up the very steep hill. We did and all was copacetic. For a while.
We were halfway down Center Street to the Log House when Simon decided he wanted to go down someone’s driveway. Simon, I said, we cannot go that way; it does not lead anywhere.
I really wanted to make it to the Log House. It is a good distance from home, half mile down, half mile back. Simon would not go forward; he wanted to go sideways, for Heaven’s sake. He had never done that before, but the temperature was in the high eighties that day, and I decided he was a little addled from the heat. I was a little addled from the heat.
Simon, I said, Little Master (I call him that frequently anymore, for doing what Simon wants is easier than not doing it; besides he is Lovely and fairly Loyal), do you want to go home? He looked up at me, turned around, and home we went. Rapidly down Center to the 4-way stop. Across Forest and down the Forest Street hill, me trying to run behind him, then onto Fairway, where I slowed him to a fast walk. Then up the driveway to the front door and in. He sat down on the stairs inside the front door and waited till I got the lead off and sat down beside him. I put my arm around him, scratched his ear; he licked my hand, and we sat there for a while, recovering.
Stubborn, but Good; Genesis Good, but Stubborn. Last night on the hiking trail he stopped to pee frequently, he stopped to stick his nose in the grass, he crossed the trail to stick his nose in the grass on the other side, he stopped to sniff anything that stuck up off the ground, he stopped to eat grass, a lot of grass. He stopped to meet Beavis, twice, going and coming. (Beavis is a reddish brown dachshund, Simon’s counterpart.) It seemed as though Simon wanted to do anything but walk. Every once in a while he would roll his eyes up at me as if checking my frustration level, after which he would walk ten paces quickly before finding an excuse to stop again. I estimate we spent twice as long walking half as far last night. And now it is time to go again.