Mabel and I went out for a nice walk today. We went to the park near our house, and we ran and chased birds and romped and generally had a great time.
Until we were attacked by an unleashed dog, that is.
Mabel loves everyone and everything. Every dog is her new best friend. Every person is her buddy. She is full of life. So when this large Golden Retriever came charging toward us, I was a little trepidatious but hopeful that they'd have a sniff and maybe a little play and be done.
This Golden Retriever had other ideas. Before I could even act, his sniff turned into a pinning. He got on top of Mabel and Mabel started to yelp. She is NOT an afraid dog. Or at least she wasn't. She's been socialized and plays beautifully. This was not play. I'd never seen Mabel like this. And the yelping. It was horrible. I'm still hearing it in my head.
I grabbed the dog and got in his face. I screamed at him to "Go Home." He went back after Mabel. I pushed him. I grabbed the scruff of his neck. Nothing deterred him. I kicked him a few times. Each time I did, Mabel got up and started to run away, so I went with her. The dog pursued. We wound up in a sandy volleyball court. There were people all around. I kept yelling, "Whose damn dog is this? Someone help us." I couldn't hold on to Mabel and deter the dog by myself. There were maybe 15 people watching this.
I finally picked Mabel up high so the dog couldn't get to her. The dog went after me. It kept jumping up on me and trying to get to Mabel. I kicked, I shouted and yelled. It was relentless. The dog took down my pants. Seriously. I couldn't keep Mabel lifted and my pants up and he was biting at them.
Finally, a guy who was nearby came over, and he helped. I thanked him, and Mabel and I started to run away. The dog got loose and chased us down. I really didn't know what we were going to have to do, or if this dog was capable of more violent biting. He re-tackled Mabel and it started again. This is maybe eight minutes now.
Finally, this little girl, this fucking little six-year-old girl, comes by to get her dog. I don't know what parent sends a dog out with a six-year-old girl who is smaller than the dog for which she is caring. I'd like to find out who that parent is and fuck them up. Seriously. For taking away any little bit of spirit she may have stolen from my beloved Mabel.
Finally the dog was put on a leash and we ran off.
Mabel seemed basically fine. She didn't seem injured and she wasn't bleeding. I, on the other hand, felt attacked. It reminded me of the time when I was 21 and two guys jumped me on the streets of Manhattan, and I tried to fight them off and was screaming help. There were maybe 20 onlookers. No one helped.
Chuck says I did everything right and I did the best I could do. He thanked me for protecting our dog. Yet there's a big part of me that feels like I didn't do it right, that I could have done better or more. It hurts.
It's hard being a dad. This is my first experience of it. You want to protect your baby from harm and you want to harm anyone who is a threat to your baby. I get that now.
On the positive side, this seems to have bonded Mabel to me in a new way. She just about won't leave my side tonight. I'm glad about that. I want her to feel like she is loved and protected and that nothing will harm her.
I just wish that I could make that always the case. I don't know if I can. Especially if stupid people continue to allow their untrained dogs off leash to wander around, looking for trouble.
Jan
12
The blog formerly known as...
...Wadorf to Your Astoria is done. Through. Finished.
This will be the final post here.
But fear not! If you go over to my brand-spankin' new website, billkonigsberg.com, you will see that I am still blogging over there. And on that site, powered by the fine folks at wordpress, you may comment using your Facebook account.
Sorry, Blogger. We liked you, but we needed more. We needed actual comments!
So thanks to those of you who perused this blog regularly.
This will be the final post here.
But fear not! If you go over to my brand-spankin' new website, billkonigsberg.com, you will see that I am still blogging over there. And on that site, powered by the fine folks at wordpress, you may comment using your Facebook account.
Sorry, Blogger. We liked you, but we needed more. We needed actual comments!
So thanks to those of you who perused this blog regularly.
Dec
27
To Recap...
Just four more days in 2012... Hard to believe how quickly --
Who the hell am I kidding?
This was the slowest year in the history of man. I don't mean that in a bad way. It just went slowly. To me, last December seems like years ago.
It was a great, slow year:
1. My agent sold my next book, Openly Straight, to Arthur A. Levine Books (Scholastic).
2. I got involved in a very cool project at ASU, to be explained/described in due time.
3.
Who the hell am I kidding?
This was the slowest year in the history of man. I don't mean that in a bad way. It just went slowly. To me, last December seems like years ago.
It was a great, slow year:
1. My agent sold my next book, Openly Straight, to Arthur A. Levine Books (Scholastic).
2. I got involved in a very cool project at ASU, to be explained/described in due time.
3.
Dec
21
Finding the perfect partner
People often ask me: Bill, how did you find the perfect man?
Okay, no one outside of my head has ever asked me that. While people do often say nice stuff about Chuck, about him being handsome and funny and kind, I have found that people rarely ask questions:
A) Like the aforementioned outside of bad movies and trashy novels
B) Of me in general in which advice of any kind is sought.
So while this has not been asked of me, I do feel as though I have some expertise on the subject.
Okay, no one outside of my head has ever asked me that. While people do often say nice stuff about Chuck, about him being handsome and funny and kind, I have found that people rarely ask questions:
A) Like the aforementioned outside of bad movies and trashy novels
B) Of me in general in which advice of any kind is sought.
So while this has not been asked of me, I do feel as though I have some expertise on the subject.
Dec
10
Now Me vs. Later Me
About four months ago, I took a home test and found that my blood sugar was in the "pre-diabetes" range.
I can't say I was shocked, because it wasn't the first time I'd had that result. But I was horrified, because it was rising from the last time I'd had it checked. I decided that if I wanted to avoid having diabetes, I needed to change my diet and my exercise.
I did both.
I can't say I was shocked, because it wasn't the first time I'd had that result. But I was horrified, because it was rising from the last time I'd had it checked. I decided that if I wanted to avoid having diabetes, I needed to change my diet and my exercise.
I did both.
Oct
31
The Shoulds
Tomorrow is the first day of NaNoWriMo, also known as National Novel Writing Month. Every November, all sorts of writers take on the challenge of trying to write a draft of a novel in a month. Note that I say "Draft," because very, very few novels are finished in one draft, and while some writers might be able to draft and then revise a novel in a month, I don't think that's a very realistic goal.
For me, especially.
For me, especially.
Oct
25
DON'T De-Friend Me
I'll tell you what, people who plan to vote for Mitt Romney:
I disagree with you, and not just a little. Your support of the Romney/Ryan ticket feels like a kick to the stomach, because as a gay man, this stuff is personal to me.
But you know what? Don't de-friend me.
In his Huffington Post blog post on Oct.
I disagree with you, and not just a little. Your support of the Romney/Ryan ticket feels like a kick to the stomach, because as a gay man, this stuff is personal to me.
But you know what? Don't de-friend me.
In his Huffington Post blog post on Oct.
Oct
23
The Gay Jackie Robinson?
What would happen at an all-boys boarding school in Massachusetts if an athlete came out as gay?
This is NOT the subject of my upcoming novel, Openly Straight. In fact, it is the setting for that novel, but it is the plot of my first novel, Out of the Pocket.
I mention it because of a comment I received last week from a former student at a school I visited three years ago.
This is NOT the subject of my upcoming novel, Openly Straight. In fact, it is the setting for that novel, but it is the plot of my first novel, Out of the Pocket.
I mention it because of a comment I received last week from a former student at a school I visited three years ago.
Oct
18
Openly Straight - The Cover
Here it is, boys and girls! The cover of my forthcoming novel "Openly Straight."
Like it? I love it!
I love that it is a visual representation of the story. Given a choice of all the labels my main character, Seamus Rafael Goldberg, can choose, he chooses the most innocuous one. He just wants to be a "normal kid."
I had no idea, when I wrote this, about how much I was writing about myself. That's how clueless I can be about myself.
Like it? I love it!
I love that it is a visual representation of the story. Given a choice of all the labels my main character, Seamus Rafael Goldberg, can choose, he chooses the most innocuous one. He just wants to be a "normal kid."
I had no idea, when I wrote this, about how much I was writing about myself. That's how clueless I can be about myself.
Oct
3
Using Songs in Novels
Today I've decided to be one of those helpful authors and let you know what happens when you attempt to use copywritten song lyrics in your novel. So if you are not a regular reader of this blog, I'm guessing you found me because you just used those lyrics to Rapture by Blondie in your novel, and then you thought, "Wait. Can I do this?"
The answer is: yes and no.
I love using lyrics.
The answer is: yes and no.
I love using lyrics.
Sep
7
Vacation, all I ever wanted...
We are back from our first full-fledged vacation in about three years!
Chuck, Mabel and I went to Northern California for two weeks, and what can I say? Paradise!
We had such an amazing time doing nothing and loving it. We drove about 900 miles each way and stayed for nine days at a place called Driftwood Bungalow in Manchester, California. It's about 150 miles north of San Francisco, about 30 miles south of Mendocino.
Nothing is there, and that's how we wanted it.
Chuck, Mabel and I went to Northern California for two weeks, and what can I say? Paradise!
We had such an amazing time doing nothing and loving it. We drove about 900 miles each way and stayed for nine days at a place called Driftwood Bungalow in Manchester, California. It's about 150 miles north of San Francisco, about 30 miles south of Mendocino.
Nothing is there, and that's how we wanted it.
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