Lumpy Juicy

The crunchy grass of fall met our feet as we arrived for a morning walk in the park. The bright sunrise sending the morning mist hovering over the park scurrying for shelter. As a senior dog, she is never in a hurry. Checking favorite spots and wobbling along her happy one-of-a-kind way.

Across the park a man burst into the field with a golden lab puppy. It excitedly played ball with him until noticing me and Miss Kate. Bolting over, wagging a tail almost larger than the rest of him, he greeted us. Miss Kate loves labs, always crushing on them, and he was no exception. His owner finally caught up and clipped his collar with the leash.

“Sorry about that, he gets super excited around other dogs.”

“Totally okay, she knows at her age how to handle a puppy. This is Miss Kate, what is your little guy’s name?”

“Lumpy Juicy,” he said rather quietly, letting out an uncomfortable sigh.

Before I could speak, he read the expected look of amazement on my face and said, “I have three girls; one is two and the other two, twins, are four. And they got to name him. And LumpyJuicy is the result.”

“Good morning, Lumpy Juicy,” I said giving him a nice ear rub.

Miss Kate got one last nuzzley sniff in before his owner gave me that look of “I need more quiet time with the dog before returning to my house full of energetic high pitched non-stop girl energy” weariness. I am not a parent, but I understood the look clear as day. He walked off into the park, throwing the ball, with LumpyJuicy in hot pursuit.

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The “150 Words a Day” project is an evolution of many years devoted to “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron. I’ve turned the ritual ‘morning pages’ into 150 words every morning for nearly three years now.

The goal is to create a scene in 150 (or so) words that the reader can then add to or subtract from in their imagination. The practice has absolutely revolutionized my writing style and my passion for the craft.

More at http://www.robertmcdiarmid.com