Cone of shame
Friday's 100 words in a dog's world (and little room for self-pity)
Cone of shame
I was exhausted from Sagar’s litany of complaints. But he was a friend, and recently heartbroken. So I let him come over. As we sat down, my Labradoodle Babu bounded in, clumsily running into the door, then into Sagar’s chair. Babu had a cone around his head because of a paw wound.
Sagar exclaimed, “Babu! Why the cone of shame?”
“So he stops licking his wounds. It’ll get infected, worse, if he carries on,” I responded.
Sagar and I looked at each other. Then burst out laughing.
Sometimes all you need is a good dog to show you the way.
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-reena 9-22-23
Yes, dogs again. And their place in our lives. Watching them is a great distraction. And a source of insight like this one: There are times when our wounds need to be left alone to heal. Not buried, nor ignored but once the hurt has been addressed and tended to, positive distractions can help. Self-pity doesn’t, although we all indulge sometimes…
BTW “cones of shame” used on dogs are also known as Elizabethan collars. Who knew?
The play…
Meanwhile, last Saturday saw a successful stage-reading of my new play “The Wife” (working title) at the New Works Festival by EnActe Arts, and it went off better than I could’ve dreamed. The fabulous director, cast and crew breathed such life into my words, it was a delight to watch. And it was received with much engagement and enthusiasm by the audience, as evidenced by the reaction and discussion afterwards. Don’t know if/where the play will go, but for now this playwright’s a happy one!
Here’s the logline for the play:
This play (Working Title: The Wife) explores the themes of identity, culture, and self-discovery. In it, an Indian housewife, who has everything she could ever want, begins to question her life choices when she meets her new attractive neighbor, who makes her feel truly seen. As their friendship blossoms, she’s forced to confront her own desires and what it means to be an individual within the “model minority”.
Telling our stories and finding resonance for them is indescribably fulfilling, and I feel blessed to have found this venue. You can see a few photos from the event on my Instagram feed here.
