When Togo roamed University Hills (always accompanied by Daddy and/or Momma), he quickly let it be known that his favorite route for his morning walk was the university near Casa de Togo.
He loved to see people and the managed feral cats on campus. And he had a special love for “Jacob’s Dream,” a larger-than-life sculpture of that famous scene from the Old Testament.
Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham, was on the lam1 from his brother, Esau. It seems that Jacob had tricked Esau into trading his birthright for a bowl of beans.2 Fearing retaliation, Jacob was on his way to a safer place. With nightfall approaching, he secured a rock as a pillow. And he dreamed a magnificent sight — angels ascending and descending a stairway to heaven.
It just so happens that the sculpture is less than a mile from Casa de Togo and the halfway point for Togo’s established jaunt each Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.3
As Togo became older, his pace would slow as he approached the site of the sculpture. And Daddy has many, many pictures of Togo there. I like that place. So, I’m keeping Togo’s tradition in play.
Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, I pull Daddy as fast as I can to “Jacob’s Dream.”
And then I slow dramatically as we search for just the right angle.
Daddy says that every time he sees the sculpture and every picture he takes, reveals something different. That’s the way life should be. Even things on our everyday path should bring us new joy and insight.
You should come walk with us. I bet you would bring joy and insight to our walks, too.
The origin of “lam” is not entirely clear, but Gerald Cohen, a foreign languages professor, believes the original word was “lammas” — a slang term used by the costermongers in London in the mid-1800s. The cant word was substituted for “leave/depart/make-off/skedaddle.” William Safire, NY Times Magazine, March 1, 1998 A “cant term” means words that are created by a group to convey a special meaning — like a secret code language. Oh, and costermongers are street merchants selling fruits and vegetables from carts. Kind of like selling tacos from a food truck.
Not to be confused with a “hill of beans” or with the questionable transaction in which Jack traded the family cow for a handful of magic beans even though there are some similarities between a ladder and the beanstalk. And there is someone waiting at the top in both stories. But that’s where the similarities end.
The artist, Jack Maxwell, lives just a few blocks from Momma and Daddy. He and his wife, Jill, make beautiful art all of the time. I’m hoping that Daddy will take me by to meet them sometime. Also, they have a doodle named Rosie. And we have a book about her. (I am always a little starstruck by celebrities.)
Tuesday and Thursday must be arm day
Mia refreshes me.