Cahoon Hollow

  Recently I have been reading the classical Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf and this one thought has really been circulating my mind. For anyone who hasn't heard of or read this poem, I would recommend the poem. I'm currently reading the translation done by Seamus Heaney.  I like it because the translation is next to the ancient text. It makes me feel like I'm closer to the flickering fire-lit halls where this tale would have been told in its native tongue. Anyways, Beowulf, chronicles the life of the Scandinavian hero and his various struggles with monsters and humanity that creates those monsters. I have also been reading Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. In part because I haven’t read very much poetry of my own volition and partially because of these poet’s fame and influence on much of modern literature. Tolkien often referenced Beowulf as a source of inspiration for his writings. Theodore Roosevelt was an avid reader of Longfellow. Seeing that these are two men that I look up...

Before I go any further, yes Emily and I have a dog. He’s 85% good boy and 15% speed demon with his needle teeth. Emily and I have wanted to get a dog pretty much since we have been married but our school schedule didn’t afford the time or energy to train a puppy and our past apartment didn’t allow dogs or cats, so we didn’t get a dog. However, our new apartment allows for dogs so as soon as we moved in we start to look at KSL Classified, an extension of the local paper ads, for a puppy. We were pretty set on the Australian Shepard puppies or a French Bulldog, but then we saw an ad for a litter of Labrador retriever puppies. I have a soft spot for Labs because I grew up with a yellow Lab named Woody. He passed away last summer which was a hard goodbye. If you have to say goodbye to a good dog, definitely don't watch The Art of Racing in the Rain on the flight back home. I'll just say, its a tearjerker even on the best of days. So when we saw this litter of puppies we had to vis...