Do You Know Your Animal Sign?

It has been a long time since I've had the dream, but for several nights this month I've had a dream that I had a pet Beagle. I have not had this dream in two to three years. I have had three dogs in my life: a Dachshund named Rudy from birth to 18 months, a Beagle named Julie from six to 14 and a Basset Hound from 16 to 23. I've been more drawn to Basenjis because of their lack of barking or greyhounds for being aloof an equally quiet. Almost all of my exes and their current partners have dogs that they center their lives around. I would not mix a dog with my cat Bunter and would not consider getting another pet unless he had been dead for at least a year. I have no problem with widows remarrying quickly but am offended by people who seek replacement pets after losing their current one.

I have a history of getting a slight rash under my arm just before meeting someone who will be in an extended relationship with me. Unfortunately the rash I developed earlier this month is almost gone. Fortunately I'll be in Spain in a little over a week.

I've been planning to write a fictionalized account of a nervous breakdown one of my exes had years before we met when he was in Disneyland. Midway through the It's a Small World ride all the power and lights went out, and he began realizing that he had moved all the way to California with an absolute jerk (my predecessor, not me). He freaked, got out of the boat and started running through the canal and was apprehended by security because he was scaring all the kids.

When I was in first grade, my grandparents took me to the World's Fair in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. We also went to see Funny Girl and Edward Albee's Tiny Alice. The Mondoran style street lights at the fair (see far right of the bottom photo) were purchased by the Oklahoma State Fair the following year and along with the monorail were emblematic parts of the state fair for years, I took great comfort in the continuity they provided with the defining fair of my memory that I experienced in Queens. I was able to ride on the original It's a Small World Ride there and tried to recreate the Germany section at home, turning the alpine chalets into synagogues. We flew first class on TWA from St. Louis to Idelwild Airport (not all the signs had been changed yet to the new name). My grandfather insisted on having an empty seat next to him to ensure that his fedora was not crushed. He only drove Chryslers because Henry Chrysler refused to buck the trends of lower profile cars because he felt gentlemen wanted to be able to wear their hats while driving. My grandfather's favorite dogs were Beagles. He had several from childhood onward.

What is your guardian animal?