Charlie’s Corner is the domain of Charlie, the furry four-legged lady’s man of Market Common. Each month, he’ll share information to help all new, visiting, and existing doggie community members get the most out of life alongside their human companions. Here, we’ll feature his reflections on what it’s like to be a dashing downtown doggie, as he reminds all of us how to play well together.
This month Charlie gets up close and personal with one of his Christmas presents and enters a world of his dreams.
Well, I survived another holiday season because I didn’t eat a poinsettia so that’s a plus. And I got this nifty snow globe as a gift this year. When I stare at it, it’s as if it transports me into the intricate world inside the glass.
My globe has a castle that looks like it’s made of ice. If you get very close, you can see tiny people too, and a polar bear walking around the periphery. There are tall pines covered in snow— actually everything is— and the visual is quite striking.
This is a gift with lasting value, let me tell you. With all of us spending more time at home these days, I while away the hours gently shaking my globe, watching the snow fall and musing about the world inside and speculating about whether everyone eats ice cream for dinner regularly or if they’re too busy worrying about frostbite prevention.
I just got back from a walk in the park and it’s time for a nap. I like to take my snow globe to bed with me. I give it a shake and watch as the snow gently swirls around, lulling me as I drift … off… to sleep…
Whoa! I awake with a start. It feels like I’ve just been shot out of a cannon. I look down and gadzooks! Everything around me is as white as me and I’m swirling in the white and it’s swirling, and what on earth, am I floating? Through the air?!
The answer, is yes. I am floating. But for some reason I don’t feel frightened, or like I weigh as much as I know I do (plus I’m sure I put on a few pounds over the holidays what with the roast turkey and all the cookies I snuck).
Suddenly something else comes into focus. It’s tall and thin and majestic, and it looks like the ice palace from my snow globe. And it is! There are all the people gathered on the balcony, waving at me, and the polar bear is on the outskirts of the forest.
Wow! I’m actually inside my snowglobe. This is great; take me to the ice cream.
The snow around me seems to be lessening, and I’m gently drifting now onto the balcony amidst the clamoring people. I just love fans.
Suddenly a very beautiful woman with grey skin and grey hair and a long grey dress comes forward and plucks me from the sky where I’m gracefully wafting. I know there’s magic afoot because I’m definitely not graceful.
“Charlie! Welcome!” she says, and her voice sounds like the tinkling of little bells, or icicles falling.
The people around her cheer, and for a moment I hope earnestly that I haven’t manifested myself into the wrong fairytale and that these people aren’t all excited about eating me.
“I am Spring, Queen of the World-Inside-the-Snowglobe. We summoned you here to join us for our annual winter festival, and to thank you. Every time you shake our world and snow falls around us, you nourish us. Just as you cannot live without the sun in your world, in our world, we cannot live without snow falling around us. If you didn’t shake it up, we would become unhealthy and die away. You give us life Charlie. So we wanted to thank you and ask you to please never stop shaking our snow-globe world.”
“I promise always to shake your world,” I say solemnly, mentally putting it on my to-do list along with watering my plants. It’s an awesome feeling to be responsible for something that is dependent on you entirely.
“Thank you Charlie!” she cries. “Now we want to show you our world. Would you like some ice cream?”
I just know that I’ve died and gone to heaven.
Until next time,
Continued next month. Click here to read Part 2.
