fbpx

Archives
Our Thought in One Place

  • Meet the REAL Bingley

    The interwoven top flaps of the well-used cardboard box were quivering upward with growing urgency. The sides alternatively flexed outward and then receded. It was obvious, what was kept in the corrugated package could not be contained. Soon a prominent black puppy nose split the seam between the flaps. Twitching with discovery, the bristling fur surrounding it also cleared the makeshift crate. Almost instantly, the whole muzzle burst forthPuppy Bingley with the innocent exuberance only an eight-week-old puppy could possess. There was no stopping him—he had to see what was going on! Somehow, lid now open, Barb kept him within its four walls, but to this day, I don’t know how she did it during the forty-five-minute car ride home. The day we picked up Bingley he was all excitement and affection regardless of our status as strangers. Confident and adventurous, cute and happy, we fell in love before we reached our garage that day.

    We wanted a substantial and tough dog, not a giant breed nor a toy. We wanted a versatile dog with a hairy coat for less shedding. Research of various breeds seemed an obvious obligation, one to be taken seriously if one was to find the perfect canine companion. Boy, did we love what we read about Airedale Terriers—loving but protective, smart but mischievous, brave and tenacious. I remember reading “won’t usually start a fight, but will finish one.” Some people from their homeland of England called them “the canine nanny.”

    When do you name your dog? Some dog crazy people like us, work on name ideas for weeks or months prior to the anticipated date your fur baby comes home. So it was with Bingley. Named after a town in the Aire River Valley of England, which was purportedly where the first ever Airedale Terrier show occurred, we came upon the name while researching the breed—Bingley then was the necessary name for our first Airedale Terrier.

    Now decades gone across the rainbow bridge, he was to us the ambassador of

    The Narrator of The First Wolf Pack

    Meet Bingley

    Airedales leading to three more ‘dales added to our family over the years. Handsome, intelligent, confident, playful, loving, and more. His fur was rough and wiry but the top of his muzzle and his cheeks were so kissable, my mother-in-law would often bark out to me, “quit kissing that dog!”

    Bingley excelled at obedience class, soon he mastered all the verbal commands and hand signals as well. But most of his focus was on loving loyalty to me and my wife Barb. He had a remarkable innate desire to please. We did not spoil him—we did our best to give a command only once and make sure it was a command we could enforce—a necessity for anyone adopting a member of this breed. Rather quickly he learned to respond promptly, consistently, and effortlessly. We worked hard to socialize him with other dogs and people. Before he was even one year old, we could take him most anywhere and his behavior would be appropriate.

    But true to so many canine companions, under his love and obedience lay the protective heart of a wolf. One early evening when Barb took him on a walk, three rather mature teenage boys walked toward her and Bingley, three abreast, blocking any potential of sharing the sidewalk. From his mistress’s side, he broke heel and stepped forward. Suddenly, as Barb described it, Bingley puffed himself up, expanding his chest, stopping to stand his ground. Baring his teeth, he locked eyes with the potential villains. The boys  intelligently realized discretion was the better part of valor that day. They yielded the sidewalk, taking to the grass parkway. Bingley and his mistress, turned his charge, had won the day.

    A similar event happened to me. While walking on a beautiful summer evening I heard the sound of an aluminum screen door thrust open along with the panicked voice of some calling “stop.” The owner’s call was useless, a black lab was making a beeline for me and Bingley. Being an amateur trainer, I wanted to take control. I commanded Bingley to halt. He did not. My obedient pet knew when protection was necessary. In what seemed to be less than two seconds the lab was lunging for us. Bingley cocked all four legs and threw himself at the attacker. His mouth must have been open, then shut with force because the lab’s charge was instantly rebuffed as the aggressor let out a loud yelp as his body lurched to one side, its head being forced sideways. The attacker turned and ran back to his home. Bingley had gone for the throat of the larger dog, who probably outweighed him by at least twenty pounds. His temporary assignment completed; we returned home to tell Barb the tale of our protective ‘dale.

    Airedale TerrierBy contrast, we were amazed at Bingley’s tenderness with children. Visiting our friends Rob and Joan at their home when the dog was just a bit more than one year old, Bingley became warmly interested in their young son, Jason who was around two. Following the child, his proud tail wagging with delight, the boy petted and hugged Bingley and the two could not get enough of each other. Giggling and nuzzling Bingley like a stuffed animal, our ‘dale could not have cared less about the toddler’s affectionate mauling—he was reveling in it. After a while they newly made pair of friends tired. As Jason lay on the floor for an impromptu nap, Bingley gently laid against him. When he placed a furry foreleg over the boy in a loving and protective hug, everyone in the room cooed with the warm emotion of the moment. Somehow in his very pack nature, the vulnerable young child he had just met deserved protection and warmth.

    This is who he was, our renaissance pet. He was all we had hoped for and more. This is why he was chosen as the narrator of The First Wolf Pack. Bingley’s tenderness and courage provided inspiration to many of the characters in my novel, especially Fic, the tender and insightful wolf who became an unstoppable force in battle when called to duty.

    ###

  • Author to Author: Sharing Books and Inspiration

    By J. Daniel Reed

    Congratulations to the Arlington Heights Memorial Library program team and volunteers for the Lit Stoll, Saturday June 25th held in four downtown Arlington Heights establishments. It was an extremely well-organized event, featuring four Illinois authors—all of whom were wonderful to meet and listen to. I enjoyed the event author to author, sharing books and inspiration.

    Jon Seidel, federal courts reporter for the Chicago Sun Times and true crime author of Second City Sinners

    Mia P. Manansala, award winning mystery/thriller author and her Tita Rose Kitchen Mystery series

    Lisa Barr, New York Times bestselling author, and her latest release Woman on Fire

    Elizabeth Berg, New York Times bestselling author, reviewing her beloved Mason series and more of her work

    On a personal note, while impressed with all of the authors, I want to express what a thrill it was to meet Elizabeth Berg and to hear her thoughts on the importance of reading, on her experience writing books, and on how she came to be an author. IMHO, she is an incredibly talented and lovely soul. While there is no doubt, she inspired many in attendance with her presentation, she especially inspired me to continue my effort to write stories that have personally and socially redeeming messages.

    She reassuringly confirmed that while writing, character’s personalities often surprise her as they are developed, and they can lead her storytelling in unexpected ways. This reality of writing is expressed by current and past authors, including two of my favorites, Ernest Hemingway and Dean Koontz. Having experienced this myself writing The First Wolf Pack and again with my pending novel (coming this fall) it was big-time supportive of my new author experience. Thank you, Elizabeth Berg!

  • There is such a depth of inspiration that comes from art—art of all types, painting, sculpture, music, writing, and more. Creativity unleashed married with God-given talent has produced centuries of inspiring art.

    When I wanted to give my husband, author J. Daniel Reed a special birthday gift to encourage him to finish writing his novel The First Wolf Pack: A Dog’s Fable, I turned to the world of art as the source.

    “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” — Edgar Degas

    I searched through hundreds of depictions of wolves, but none of them had the quality I was seeking. Then I saw it— a majestic wolf howling into the night sky with the frost of its breath collecting before it. THIS was the one that spoke to my very heart and soul! I could almost hear its mournful howl.

    And so, the search began. Despite extensive internet searching I could not find this lithograph for sale. As a last ditch effort I contacted the renowned nature artist, Beth Hoselton, directly. What did I have to lose?

    Call of the WildShe told me that the lithograph titled Call of the Wild was made by etching the image on limestone to make the plate for the print. I liked the unique sound of that. I also learned that her wolf model was a Canadian wolf named Tamarack. I loved the name! I will always be grateful to Beth for going out of her way to get the lithograph to me in time for Joe’s birthday. Ah, the kindness of a stranger is a beautiful thing.

    Now, let me tell you a little bit about this acclaimed nature artist. From her biography: “Whether painting jaguars in Mexico, bighorn sheep in the Rockies, giraffes of the Serengeti, or songbirds in the South of France, Beth Hoselton captures the fascinating symphony of nature with both passion and intricacy. Beth was elected a signature member of Artists for Conservation and the Society of Animal Artists. She works in a variety of media including oil, acrylic and watercolor. Her original paintings are in private and corporate collections around the world.”

    I could feel that passion in her lithograph, Call of the Wild. In this excerpt from The First Wolf Pack: A Dog’s Fable you can see one of many examples of how the art became an inspiration for author J. Daniel Reed:

    “Jett began calling with soulful howls into the brisk night sky, frosted breath gathering under the moonlight in small twinkling clouds. His first offerings to the night consisted of gratitude for life’s good fortune. Just as Arn and Versa each pondered the prosperity of the pack the summer after the first litter was weaned, Jett’s profound comprehension derived from both the perspective of pup and now as an alpha.

    His songs reached far across the dotted valleys and into the range of Tria’s great ears. Joyfully she realized this meant her brother had now achieved Arn’s dream for Jett. No wolf had ever before sung into the night with wolf-speak, which you humans foolishly call howling.”

    See how that one image sparked this compelling scene? Whatever version of art speaks to your heart, lifts your spirits, elevates you to inspiration, I urge you to immerse yourself in the incomparable power it holds.

    Enjoy the ride.