Seven Anecdotes from the 1963 Roy Orbison/Beatles Tour

Orbison in 1987

Tuesday, when I wrote about Tim Hatfield's When We Find Ourselves In Times of Trouble, an anecdote came to mind related to Roy Orbison when he toured England with The Beatles in 1963. Naturally this sent me on a search to find and share it. It didn't take long to find what I had recalled. It was also fun to find some additional memorable gems.

When I was young, I did not immediately take to Roy Orbison. I put him in a box with all those other 50s stars who seemed from a different era--guys like Elvis (whose B-movies were silly to me), Jerry Lee Lewis (who married his 13-year-old cousin) and (I'm sorry) Johnny Cash. Over time, however, I heard stories about Orbison's influence. For example, Bruce Springsteen said he learned how to write songs from Roy during a 15 hour ride in the back of a truck. In the 90s I myself eventually came under his spell. Yes, I was late to the party, but that cat could sing.

Here are seven short stories from that 1963 tour that speak volumes. For context, the Beatles' U.S. tour began in early 1964.

Orbison’s Initial Bewilderment: “What’s a Beatle?”
When Brian Epstein, the Beatles’ manager, invited Roy Orbison to tour with the band, Orbison reportedly asked, “What’s a Beatle?” Fresh off hits like “Only the Lonely” (1960), “Crying” (1961), and “In Dreams” (1963), Orbison was a major star in the UK but unfamiliar with the Fab Four’s quirky name and Mersey Beat style. His fan club president wrote to him, explaining that the Beatles were No. 1 in England and the tour would boost his exposure. The rapid cultural shift toward Beatlemania--and the British Invasion that followed--caught even established artists off guard.

Orbison’s Sunglasses Become Iconic

Orbison 1965

Orbison’s trademark dark sunglasses, now synonymous with his persona, were cemented during this tour. Due to poor vision (hyperopia, astigmatism, and strabismus), Orbison relied on corrective lenses. He had lost his regular glasses on a flight to Alabama before the tour and performed in prescription sunglasses. In England, he continued wearing them onstage because he hadn’t replaced his regular pair yet. Photos from the tour appeared in newspapers, and his management embraced the look, making it a permanent fixture. This accidental style choice shaped Orbison’s enigmatic image, contrasting with the Beatles’ youthful, clean-cut appearance. The takeaway: chance events can define a public persona.

Orbison Silences Screaming Beatles Fans
I thought this to be an impressive story. Each night, Orbison faced roaring crowds of Beatles fans clamoring for their idols. To counter this, he ingeniously instructed his band to play the opening song very softly, forcing the audience to hush to hear him. Once quiet, Orbison captivated them with his powerful three-octave voice and emotional ballads like “Crying” or “In Dreams.” 

George Harrison recalled standing backstage, listening to Orbison perform encore after encore, thinking, “How are we going to follow this?” Ringo Starr was more blunt: “It was terrible, following Roy. He’d slay them and they’d scream for more.” In Glasgow, the crowd chanted “We want Roy!” so fervently that John Lennon and Paul McCartney physically held Orbison back to prevent more encores, allowing the Beatles to take the stage. 

This is the anecdote that I was looking for initially, showcasing Orbison’s commanding stage presence and the Beatles’ anxiety as they navigated their ascent, revealing the tension between established talent and emerging stardom.

By way of contrast, it brings to mind a story about Jimi Hendrix opening for the Monkees. In Jimi's first U.S. road tour his band was the opening act for a Monkees tour. During the 8th show Hendrix couldn't take it any more and walked off the stage mid-act as the teeny-boppers screamed for their TV stars. 

Songwriting Rivalry on the Tour Bus

The tour bus became a creative battleground where Orbison’s songwriting sparked friendly competition with the Beatles. Paul McCartney recalled watching Orbison at the back of the bus, strumming his guitar and crafting songs like “Pretty Woman” (released in 1964). McCartney said, “He would play us his song, and we’d say, ‘Oh, it’s great, Roy. Have you just written that?’ But we’d be thinking, ‘We have to have something as good.’” 

This rivalry inspired McCartney to begin composing “All My Loving” on the bus, later refining it on a venue’s piano. John Lennon, influenced by Orbison’s earnest delivery, modeled “Please Please Me” (released 1963) on Orbison’s “Only the Lonely,” though it was sped up for the final recording. Orbison’s presence pushed the Beatles to elevate their craft, contributing to their early songwriting evolution. It also reflects the collaborative yet competitive spirit of the early 1960s music scene.

Jellybeans Pelt the Beatles
Beatlemania was in full swing, and fans expressed their fervor uniquely. After George Harrison mentioned in an interview that he liked jellybeans (likely jelly babies in the UK), fans began pelting the Beatles with them onstage. During the tour, the band was bombarded nightly, with jellybeans raining down as they performed hits like “Twist and Shout” and “I Saw Her Standing There.” This became a hallmark of their 1963 performances, both painful and amusing, as the candies stung when thrown with force.

Nevada Bob Gordon, a Seattle police officer in the 60s, has some fun stories about when he was assigned to protect the Beatles at their Seattle concert on their first U.S. tour in '64. The jelly bean bombardment evidently followed them to America it seems, as he reports in this account of that night: Nevada Bob Meets The Beatles and 14,000 Screaming Beatles Fans.

Orbison’s Amplifiers from Jim Marshall
A lesser-known but significant moment involved Jim Marshall, founder of Marshall Amplifiers. During the tour, Marshall gave Orbison two amplifiers, which were later shipped to the U.S., becoming the first Marshall amps in America. This gesture reflects Orbison’s influence as a respected artist, bridging UK and U.S. music scenes. For the Beatles, who later used Marshall amps extensively, this moment foreshadowed their adoption of cutting-edge equipment to amplify their sound amid screaming crowds. It also underscores the tour’s role in connecting musical technologies across continents.

Backstage Bonding and Lifelong Friendship

Despite the competitive undertones, the tour fostered genuine friendship. A backstage photo from May 1, 1963, shows the Beatles, Orbison, and Gerry and the Pacemakers posing together, with Ringo visibly thrilled to be near Orbison, his idol. The Beatles admired Orbison’s voice and songwriting, having covered his “Dream Baby” in a 1962 BBC radio performance. Orbison, in turn, was impressed by their energy and encouraged them to tour the U.S., though he declined to manage their 1964 American tour due to scheduling conflicts. 

This bond later culminated in George Harrison inviting Orbison to join the Traveling Wilburys in 1988, alongside Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Jeff Lynne. According to Orbison’s son, Roy Jr., Harrison knelt humbly to ask Orbison to join, a gesture of deep respect. Their mutual admiration transcended the tour’s rivalry, shaping long-term collaborations.

Sources:
KUTX 98.9--This week in Texas music history
Beatles Anthology
with a little help from ChatGT

Behind the Shades: A Few Memorable Roy Orbison Anecdotes

This past weekend there was a Roy Orbison tribute at the Greysolon Ballroom here in Duluth. Unfortunately the show coincided with one of our Dylan Fest events, but thinking about it brought to mind a few anecdotes that I was aware of from the life of Roy Orbison.

A lot of people don't realize what a big deal Orbison was in his day. Maybe a few of these vignettes will give you a little perspective.

The first is a story about Bruce Springsteen. When Springsteen was first starting out he was doing a tour with Orbison. This was before the advent of decked out buses and all that have become commonplace today. Springsteen was in the back of a semi for 15 hours with Roy during which time Orbison shared with Springsteen insights about telling stories in song. Springsteen fans will readily recognize how his songs are stories. Credit belongs, in part, to this 15 hour ride in the back of a semi.

* * *

As "In Dreams" was released in April 1963, Orbison was asked to replace Duane Eddy on a tour of the UK in top billing with the Beatles. When he arrived in Britain, however, he realized he was no longer the main draw. He had never heard of the Beatles, and annoyed, asked rhetorically, "What's a Beatle, anyway?" to which John Lennon replied, after tapping his shoulder, "I am."

On the opening night, Orbison opted to go onstage first, although he was the more established act. The Beatles stood dumbfounded backstage as Orbison simply played through 14 encores. Finally, when the audience began chanting "We want Roy!" again, Lennon and Paul McCartney physically held Orbison back. Ringo later said, "In Glasgow, we were all backstage listening to the tremendous applause he was getting. He was just standing there, not moving or anything." 

Through the tour, however, the two acts quickly learned to get along, a process made easier by the fact that the Beatles admired his work. Orbison felt a kinship with Lennon, but it was George Harrison with whom he would later form a strong friendship.

* * * 

The thing that most sticks with me are the tragedies he's endured. Orbison (like Dylan, Brad Pitt and many others) enjoyed a love of motorcycles. In June 1966 Orbison and his wife Claudette were riding home from Bristol, Tenn, when she struck the door of a pickup truck that pulled out in front of her. She was killed instantly.

In 1968, an ever greater tragedy struck. While on tour in Britain his home in Tennessee burned down and his two eldest sons were killed. It's hard to imagine what he must have gone through.

* * *

The payoff from his friendship with George Harrison came with the creation of the supergroup Traveling Wilburys featuring frontmen Harrison, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne and Orbison. You can read here the backstory on how this legendary coming together came about.

* * *

"To Roy."

Now All We Need Is A Title: Famous Books and How They Got Their Names

"A good title should be like a good metaphor; it should intrigue without being too baffling or too obvious." 
--Walker Percy

When I saw this book on the shelf at the library I said to myself, "I gotta have it." The actual title is Now all we need is a Title: Famous Book Titles and How They Got That Way.

The author, Andre Bernard, shares stories about many of the famous books we've all either read or heard of. It is structured in alphabetical order by author, beginning with James Agee (Now Let Us Praise Famous Men) to Tom Wolfe (Bonfire of the Vanities).

Interspersed throughout the book are sidebars with lists like, Titles We're Glad Got Changed (eg. The Mute was changed to The Heart is a Lonely Hunter), and books with numbers in the title, or books with colors in their title, and books with families in the title, etc. 

If you're a reader of classic literature, you will almost certainly find this book a fun little diversion. Many powerful books had titles taken from famous poems. Dee Brown took the title of his Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee from the last line of a poem by Steven Vincent Benet. Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls is lifted from a poem by John Donne. And the title of O Henry's book of short stories Of Cabbages and Kings was lifted from some verse spoken by the walrus in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass. (Learn more about the life of William Sydney Porter, a.k.a. O Henry.)

It's fascinating to read the variety of titles that got rejected by editors or sometimes the authors as their masterpiece stories headed toward publication. F. Scott Fitzgerald originally liked the title Trimalchio in West Egg as his title for what would ultimately become The Great Gatsby. Gold-hatted Gatsby and The High-bouncing Lover were other titles Maxwell Perkins, his publisher, rejected.  In reading this brief anecdote about Fitzgerald's most famous novel (but least profitable during his lifetime) I realized for the first time that all those suds-filled wild parties at Gatsby's place took place during prohibition. Hence, the Fitzgerald observation, "Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me." In other words, they don't live by the rules like the rest of us are required to.

Did you know that Joseph Heller's Catch-22 was originally going to be Catch-18? Simon & Schuster was notified by Doubleday that Leon Uris had a novel coming out called Mira 18. Since Uris was already a big name and Heller a newby, S&S caved and suggested Heller pick a different number. 

The Bible has been a source of titles for numerous famous books. William Faulkner extracted the title Absalom, Absalom from the Old Testament story of King David's son in II Samuel. Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land was taken from Exodus 2:21-22. It's the story of a human being who returns to earth after being raised by aliens.

Orwell's 1984, begun during WW2 and completed during the dawning of the Cold War, was originally titled The Last Man in Europe. The year selected was determined by reversing the numerals 48, the year this dark vision of the future was completed.

At this point I think you get the picture. 

EdNote: If you're an author, maybe you can pocket a few of these anecdotes to use in the talk you're planning for your next book signing.

* * * 

The Joy of Naming

The Name Game (Includes titles for a number of paintings in my 2009 at The Venue @ Mohaupt Block.)

The Big Read Does Gatsby

H.L. Mencken's 1925 Review of The Great Gatsby

Three RIPOFF Stories Involving Mechanics

Photo by Tory Bishop on Unsplash

In our modern age, trust is a super-big important word. When I place my money in the bank I trust that when I want it back I will get it back again. When I have a mechanic fix my car, I trust that he has done the work he's charging me for, and that the work was needed as he advised.

One of the primary reasons online businesses like Amazon, eBay, Etsy and Shopify have been successful is because they took great pains to create systems of trust, that if one is ripped off the consumer has a recourse.

Hence, it can fairly be said that Capitalism--the free exchange of goods and service for capital (money)--is built on trust.  Which is why it's so disturbing to read or hear stories about people whose lack of knowledge is taken advantage of and they are ripped off.

Here are THREE RIPOFF STORIES that were not in the news. Two involved my own experience and one involved a friend.

My Sears Experience
Sometime in the mid-'70s, while I was still living in Jersey, I needed to have a muffler replacement on my car. I called Sears to get a quote and they said it would cost $70 and take an hour. I scheduled an appointment and brought it in.

Everything went smooth until the man handed me the paperwork to sign after the job was complete. I looked down, read the amount and said, "I was told seventy dollars."

The guy called a manager, who apologized and said, "No problem." Whereupon he presented me with paperwork indicating the amount I was quoted.

When the credit card bill came several weeks later, it was shocking to see the $170 charged to the card, shocking both for me AND MY DAD, because it was his credit card. (I am a Jr. and he loaned it to me.) My dad told me to go back and fix it, which I actually did. And they did.

Upon reflection, I came away with the impression that the Sears rep tried to take advantage of me because of my youth. As a result, I never did business with Sears till near two decades later. And that experience almost turned out worse than the first.

My Son as a Mark
When my son was a student at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, his van began to drip a red fluid wherever he parked. Eventually he brought it to a mechanic because he had to deal with it. When the mechanic told him it would cost eleven hundred dollars, Micah called me to ask my advice.

I knew from an experience with my first car that a leak can occur in front of the transmission which is fairly easy to fix. In my case (1970 or so) it cost six dollars. I asked his permission to let me talk with the mechanic. I made the call.

When I got through to the fellow who made the estimate, I told him who I was and that I worked for AMSOIL, a respected name in the automotive aftermarket. After a brief discussion he replaced the estimate with what ultimately became the final bill: $110.

A Woman's Story

The smell of gasoline was getting worse, and there was an oil leak as well. Nancy became concerned enough to bring her [brand name redacted] to the [brand name redacted] dealership, They looked at it and said it would cost $4500 dollars. A friend intervened and said she should get a second opinion. "Why don't you take it to this other place over there?"

The dealership told her it was exceedingly dangerous to even drive it, but she took it anyways, to a mechanic who had worked on her car once before. When all was said and done, the good guys fixed it. All good as new. The final bill: $700.

* * * *
What a sad place we have devolved to. On sinking passenger ships the call would go out, "Women and children first!" They were first because of their pre-eminence. Youth has its future ahead of it. It would be a tragedy to rob them of it. Women deserve consideration and respect.

In these three stories, "women and children" seems to mean, "opportunity to make a few extra bucks." It's shameful to see such unscrupulous behavior, to take advantage of people who may be less likely to know they're being robbed.

Don't get run over. Find a mechanic you trust.

It brings to mind this anecdote from when I first returned from Mexico in 1982 and was job hunting.

I can't recall if I was responding to a want ad or a sign, but I went to apply for a job at a tire shop. After filling out an application we talked a bit and he liked me. He said he would hire me, except he had one concern. He saw that I had been a missionary for a year, and he didn't think I would be a good hire. "You can't make money in this business if you're honest," he said.

That seems to say a lot about the tire business in 1980. Or at least this one. Hopefully things are better than they used to be.

One of the most important people in any of our lives is a mechanic you can trust. I'm grateful for having had a good run in that department. How about you?

* * * *
Recommendations
If you live in the Dallas area, my brother-in-law Harrold Andresen is top notch. His business is called Mechanical Excellence.
If you're here in the Northland, I bring our vehicles to Melanson's on Highway 2. Straight shooters and they know what they're doing. When I was working in Superior I've gone to a few folks but most regularly DJ Auto.

I get no kickbacks for these endorsements.

A Few Comments On Bob Dylan's I Shall Be Free No. 10

Ain't no use a-talkin' to me.
It's just like talkin' to you.

Last week as I read about JFK and the space race, various thoughts fluttered through my head like butterflies, which I often feel obligated to capture and pin down. While reading, the Dylan line, "what if the Russians get up there first" from "I Shall Be Free No. 10" got me scurrying to find the rest of that stanza.

Well, turns out he sang  about the streets of heaven being lined with gold, and
I ask you how things could get much worse 
If the Russians happen to get up there first 
Wowee! pretty scary!

It's actually a mixed metaphor. No one at that time was worried about Russians getting to heaven first. On the other hand, plenty of people, ever since Sputnik, were anxious about the Russians being the first to land men on the moon.

* * * *
If you're not familiar with "I Shall Be Free No. 10," the fifth track on Another Side of Bob Dylan, you really should give it a listen.

I frequently get insights about Dylan songs at Tony Atwood's Untold Dylan blog/website. In this entry he notes how Dylan recorded several additional songs that didn't appear on the album, which has been a custom of his. What I recall, from another source, is how he recorded many, if not most, of the songs here in one take.

I remember a friend who years ago commented that there were always a few throw away songs on Dylan's albums. I found this a curious statement and can't say I ever bought into that. I mean, there were songs that didn't move me or that I didn't connect to, but I couldn't call them throwaways. Or I never considered them in that terse of a dismissal.

As for this song, I don't see it that way at all. It's perfectly in line with a number of other amusing pieces, such as Talkin' World War III Blues and his Bear Mountain Picnic rag. And what's Bob Dylan's 115th Dream if it's not a mix of comic wit and satire.

When I hear I Shall Be Free #10 I'm immediately curious what #9, #8, #7 and the rest were like. Without doubt it's a sequel to I Shall Be Free of sorts.

1962. Photo Ted Russell. William Pagel Archives.

Atwood points out echoes of Lead Belly and Chuck Berry in the song.

As much fun as the song is, understand where Atwood is coming from when he he says "it was a bit of a bore to listen to over and over when one played the LP." That is, after the first few listens, you already get all the punch lines and want to move on. For some reason I don't tire of it.

I am that way with "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" on Bringing It All Back Home sometimes. The sequence of Dylan tunes beginning at Tambourine Man is so potent still that I get impatient waiting for it to arrive and skip 115th Dream.

* * * *
With "I Shall Be Free No. 10" each stanza has its own comedic feature. The first stanza plays off being common. The second springboards off the champion boxer's celebrity. Stanza three is our light-hearted Cold War scenario spoof. "Wowee! Pretty scary!" Stanza four is a playful reversal of the usual quip about who can and can't live in the house next door.

Stanzas five and six are just plain hilarious, playful and weird. And like the song, it's another side of Bob Dylan. Comin' to think about it, so's the rest. And guess what? It is what it is.

* * * *
Author Tim Cain, in his 2006 article Bob Dylan is a funny, funny man: XM radio reveals humor in enexpected places, also cites I Shall Be Free, among other things. The article was written in response to Dylan's radio hour along with the release of Modern Times.

The late John Bushey, host of the KUMD radio show Highway 61 Revisited, loved Dylan's sense of humor also. On one occasion when I was a guest on his show, John wanted to play a song from a live concert in France in which Dylan spends the first four minutes tuning his guitar. John asked me with a grin, "Do you think I can get away with this?"

There's humor woven all through Dylan's lyrics. Just listening to the dialogue between God and Abraham ought to be a clue. A bit later, "Howard just pointed with his gun. That way, down Highway 61." Who are all those crazy characters anyways?

When I interviewed Bob this spring he didn't say a word.
Photo courtesy Michael Anderson.

Maggie's Farm has some hilarious characters, too. Maggie's pa is one of them. "Well, he puts his cigar out in your face just for kicks .His bedroom window it is made out of bricks.  The National Guard stands around his door--"

What makes his comic side work so well is that it serves as comic relief from the sobering nature of much of his content. Find me one example of Dylan singing with a cheerful tone, "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)." Yet right in the middle of that song we have a line that continued to get laughs decades later. "But even the president of the United States
Sometimes must have to stand naked."

That last humorous image brings to mind (for me) Kevin Kline's interrupted shower in the movie Dave when the First Lady (Sigourney Weaver) confronts him, perfectly demonstrating the double meaning of the word "exposed."

Louie Kemp, in his book Dylan & Me, has more than a few comic anecdotes in it revealing this other side of Bob Dylan. Kemp insists that the Bob Dylan everyone knows publicly is just a persona. Where one ends and the other begins--the person and the persona--is not my problem.

Here's the song. You can find an outtake on YouTube in the links at the bottom of the page.

I Shall Be Free No. 10

I’m just average, common too
I’m just like him, the same as you
I’m everybody’s brother and son
I ain’t different from anyone
It ain’t no use a-talking to me
It’s just the same as talking to you

I was shadow-boxing earlier in the day
I figured I was ready for Cassius Clay
I said “Fee, fie, fo, fum, Cassius Clay, here I come
26, 27, 28, 29, I’m gonna make your face look just like mine
Five, four, three, two, one, Cassius Clay you’d better run
99, 100, 101, 102, your ma won’t even recognize you
14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, gonna knock him clean right out of his spleen”

Well, I don’t know, but I’ve been told
The streets in heaven are lined with gold
I ask you how things could get much worse
If the Russians happen to get up there first
Wowee! pretty scary!

Now, I’m liberal, but to a degree
I want ev’rybody to be free
But if you think that I’ll let Barry Goldwater
Move in next door and marry my daughter
You must think I’m crazy!
I wouldn’t let him do it for all the farms in Cuba

Well, I set my monkey on the log
And ordered him to do the Dog
He wagged his tail and shook his head
And he went and did the Cat instead
He’s a weird monkey, very funky

I sat with my high-heeled sneakers on
Waiting to play tennis in the noonday sun
I had my white shorts rolled up past my waist
And my wig-hat was falling in my face
But they wouldn’t let me on the tennis court

I got a woman, she’s so mean
She sticks my boots in the washing machine
Sticks me with buckshot when I’m nude
Puts bubblegum in my food
She’s funny, wants my money, calls me “honey”

Now I got a friend who spends his life
Stabbing my picture with a bowie knife
Dreams of strangling me with a scarf
When my name comes up he pretends to barf
I’ve got a million friends!

Now they asked me to read a poem
At the sorority sisters’ home
I got knocked down and my head was swimmin’
I wound up with the Dean of Women
Yippee! I’m a poet, and I know it
Hope I don’t blow it

I’m gonna grow my hair down to my feet so strange
So I look like a walking mountain range
And I’m gonna ride into Omaha on a horse
Out to the country club and the golf course
Carry The New York Times, shoot a few holes, blow their minds

Now you’re probably wondering by now
Just what this song is all about
What’s probably got you baffled more
Is what this thing here is for
It’s nothing
It’s something I learned over in England

Copyright © 1971 by Special Rider Music; renewed 1999 by Special Rider Music

Related Links
Humorous Bob Dylan Lyrics
Jokerman: The Humor of Bob Dylan
Tony Attwood's take on this song.
And this Outtake you can find on YouTube

And the beat goes on.

Quotes About Man's Best Friend (or Who Let the Dog Quotes Out?)

I still remember the evening we went to buy our first family dog. He was a springer-beagle mix, with the build of a spring and the short hair of a beagle. His name was Lucky. He was six weeks old and the new puppy smell is still fresh in my memory. And yes, he was cute and he was loved.

For some reason it just seems like a good day to think about our dogs.

* * * *

"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself."
--Josh Billings

“The world would be a nicer place if everyone had the ability to love as unconditionally as a dog.”
 --M.K. Clinton

“The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs.”
--Charles de Gaulle

Lucky and me, 1967

“If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.”
 ―Will Rogers

“The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.”
―Andy Rooney

“You want a friend in this city? Get a dog!”
 ―Harry Truman (on Wash. D.C.)

“Dogs' lives are too short. Their only fault, really.”
 ―Agnes Sligh Turnbull

This last quote above brought to mind the following recollection from my 20+ years at AMSOIL. The late A.J. Amatuzio, company founder and former president, loved dogs and always had a dog. In his later years he often brought his faithful companion to the office. After this last dog died he was once again heartbroken, as had sadly happened so many times before. He said to me, "When I die I am going to tell God that it isn't fair that people live 80 or 90 years but dogs lives are so short, so you have to have your heart broken so many times during your life on earth."

* * * *

On the Lighter Side

“Other useful commands to teach your dog are 'stay,' 'heel,' 'remove your snout from that person's groin,' 'stop humping the Barcalounger,' 'do not bark violently for two hours at inanimate objects such as a flowerpot,' ' do not eat poop,' and 'if you must eat poop, then at least refrain from licking my face afterward'.”
―Dave Barry

And finally, for an entertaining read, check out this blog post about national poet laureate Billy Collins and his poem Another Reason I Don't Keep a Gun in the House. A dog story from yet another amusing angle. Enjoy.

* * * *

May you stay forever young.