come again any day

Friday was a great day. Too great to let it pass without recording it.


I have mentioned several times that Jiggs's back legs seem to degenerate day by day.

Last week, his veterinarian decided to try an injected steroid treatment. One shot Friday a week ago. One shot yesterday.


Shot one did not seem to do much. But Jiggs was markedly better today.


We went for a walk in the afternoon. Most of his recent walks have been rather brief.


Today was a marathon. We walked along a good portion of the Melaque beach, and he insisted on walking in the surf.


The day we arrived in Melaque, we took the same walk. When he tried his first walk in the surf, it pulled his legs from under him and almost sucked him back into the next wave. He has generally avoided the surf line since then.


Not today. He headed straight for the surf edge, and walked the entire beach that way. Almost as if he needed to let everyone on the beach know he was back -- and he was ready. Not a dog or person escaped at least an attempt by Jiggs the Beach Greeter to say hello.


Was it the injection? Maybe.


But going and coming from Manzanillo, I had the air conditioner running. We also took an hour driving around Barra de Navidad looking at potential houses for rent.


In addition to his car-cooling, when we arrive home, the weather changed from clear to sprinkles. Whenever we get rain, the temperature seems to drop.


Whatever it was, he was in top form. Top form enough that he insisted on a late night walk.


Jiggs and I seem to have the same experience with weather in Melaque. This tropical heat is tough. My cousin, Danny, who has lived most of his adult life in tropical regions, warned me that heat can affect both body and mind.


And he is correct. I have been amazed how the heat almost makes me feel -- depressed is not the correct word -- maybe, oppressed. I wake up every morning feeling as if someone has been sitting on my chest.


But the moment the sky clouds over and the rain starts, I return to my usual bright and chipper personality -- where I am prosaically perfect in every way in this best of all possible worlds.


This sojourn by the sea has taught me one very important lesson about myself. I cannot adapt to every situation. But it has also taught me that I can change the circumstances.


As soon as I find a house for my winter stay in Melaque, I need to start looking where Jiggs and I are going to live in the highlands -- as we continue the adventure.