Rest In Peace, Tippy. "This" Is Your Legacy.

March 5, Week 1, Day 5

Big sis and her brood showed up today for the weekend.  This could be a prime opportunity to avoid criticism, give sincere appreciation, and arouse some eager wants.  Fortunately for me, the under five crowd is perpetually bubbling over with eager wants, most of which can be fulfilled with sock puppets and a full sippy cup.  I’m anticipating that I will find it challenging to keep up with the Carnegie curriculum with five extra bodies in the house, but only the Lord and HR departments rest on the seventh day.

Closing in on the end of week one, I’m hoping to start getting into the real meat and miracle substance of Dale Carnegie’s opus.  Part Two, “Six Ways To Make People Like You” does not bode well.  People like me, dammit, I just need to get in the door!  Deep breath.  Oprah-inspired personal affirmation. And… I’m back.  My hackles resume a horizontal orientation with a return of the “This” gambit from the last chapter title. “Do This and You’ll Be Welcome Anywhere”. This “this” is exactly what I need- an open sesame to fling the doors of interview opportunity wide.

Carnegie warms up to his theme with yet another story from the animal kingdom; a story about the unconditional love he received from his boyhood dog, Tippy.   To hear him tell it, there never was a purer example of unconditional love.  Tippy was joyful.  Tippy was giving.  Tippy was killed when struck by lightening a mere ten feet from where the young Carnegie lay on the grass.  Anticipating where he’s going with this one is fruitless but entertaining.  Stay within a nine-foot radius of your owner at all times and you’ll be welcome anywhere?   No, what the dearly departed Tippy modeled so well in Carnegie’s view was a completely selfless and sincere interest in another.  I suspect the point would be more powerful without reference to the price Tippy paid for his vaunted loyalty, but I’m not the expert here.

Much is made of the importance of being sincere and genuine in one’s interest, which is quite the conundrum in my case.  I mean, I am sincerely interested in getting a job, and why someone may or may not be interested in hiring me for said job.  But I don’t think this counts.  The thing is, everything I want in a job has to do with being of service to others, whether as an educator or in the non-profit sector.  It reminds me of the interminable application process for the Peace Corps, and that daily dance with the fear that I might not even be able to give it away.  

I stood out on the pavement with my nephew this afternoon and watched him try to pedal a small tricycle through the several inches of snow and slush remaining even after a week of 40 degree temperatures.  The strip of pavement I was standing on was not only clear of slush, but bone dry, yet this flailing grunting little person was trying to blaze a trail through a narrow strip of slurry like a boy possessed.  He wasn’t interested in zipping around the predictable topography of wheel-friendly surfaces.  He wanted the challenge and the sense of accomplishment, and all he needed from me was that I stand and watch him do it, with as much absorption and “sincere interest” as I could muster.   I’d like to say I did it because I love him more than my next breath, which I do (and I did), but I also did it because he reminded me of myself; determined to do it the hard way, and needing someone else out there to care about what happens as much as we do.