If Dogs Could Talk - The "Gift of Speech"

Traveling a country road, a young man came upon a sign, "Talking Dog, $25." He followed a path to the doorstep and remarked about the sign, inquiring whether he could see the dog. The Master said, "sure, suit yourself." The young man asked the dog, "what's your story?" The dog replied, "as a puppy, I learned I had the gift of speech. Naturally, I was taken away, trained by the CIA, and had a career in espionage, infiltrating and gathering intelligence...as a dog. But I got old and they retired me to the country." The young man asked, "how can you sell this dog for almost nothing?" The Master explained, "He's such a liar, he never did any of that."

Each of us has a story, true, embellished or contrived. The origins of canine conversation may arise from Cervantes' Exemplary Novels (1590-1612) including The Dialogue of the Dogs.

These are not meritless, recognizing human nature. Scipio says to his canine colleague Berganza, "Be wary with your tongue, for from that member flow the greatest ills of human life."

Cervantes creates metaphorical flocks (e.g. teams), overwatched by dogs (captains), tended by shepherds (coaches), and vulnerable to predators (opponents, wolves). Sometimes the shepherds themselves failed in their duties, plundering the sheep themselves, while blaming wolves and the sloth or cowardice of the dogs. 

Over our lives, just as Shakespeare's 'players', we have different roles - sheep, dogs, shepherds, masters. The more skills we acquire, the better to perform our roles. 

That is not the only talking animal story. Some of you know Jon Gordon's The Positive Dog, a heartwarming tale about the value of positivity. 

A man goes to the village to visit the wise man and he says to the wise man, I feel like there are two dogs inside me. One dog is this positive, loving, kind, and gentle dog and then I have this angry, mean-spirited, and negative dog and they fight all the time. I don't know which is going to win. The wise man thinks for a moment and he says, I know which is going to win. The one you feed the most, so feed the positive dog.
-- Jon Gordon

Work like a dog. Be great in your role.

Defeat at the hands of the top team in Massachusetts offers challenges and opportunities. There's not one area to improve but a week before the next match to improve efficiency in all areas to make more plays. 

Lagniappe. Rule nuances.