I SEE A DOG

I don't know. I guess some might see a bottle. A human form. A universe or at least a planet. The CBS eye.

But that's the way it is. "What does he see in her?" But it's not always about attraction.

All of my English teachers until I reached college were women. Most were excellent. Many were unmarried sticklers. Most breathed sentence diagramming, which was always easy for me, but menial and without purpose as far as I could see.

My first college instructor was Tiger Jack Traver. He called his classroom "The Tiger's Den." Long time readers know I have talked about him before. While other students focused on his eccentric ways, I saw a real encourager. He was the first teacher that really complimented, encouraged, and overrated me. He made me feel smarter than I thought I was.

Sometimes in Frosh Comp, I know I didn't write as well as the grade he gave me. And he was not an easy grader. But I felt my grades were inflated. At the same time, he encouraged (there's that word again) me to do better. So I did.

Probably more than any other teacher, John Traver believed in me more than I did myself. I never told him that. But I think he knew.

Had he had us write on the picture, and I would have written something about dogs and tied it into literature, I would have gotten an A. Other teachers would have said it was obvious to all that it was about women. And given me a C+.

Thanks for the inspiration, Tiger. I hope you, Faithful Reader(s) had a Tiger in your history, too.