An NEA Update in Pet Parlance

I am trying to wrap my head around a few newsworthy items. One of these is the number and size of dogs jet-setting on airlines. Now I happen to be a dyed in the wool dog lover. So I asked myself what I might do if I was offered a free trip to Hawaii with a 180-pound St. Bernard sitting in the next seat. Would I go? Well certainly, I’d be torn. I would love to take the trip and nix the pooch. But that option wasn’t on the table. Yet, an all-expense trip would be hard to turn down.

The notion of having to make such a major decision would make me feel like I did last week, when I heard that the President signed a $1.3 trillion budget which, in dog parlance, might be similar in size to a St. Bernard. In the budget also was a tiny Chihuahua of an increase for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). This for sure was a better choice than the President’s threat to eliminate the NEA. But like most Culture Spaniels, I’m torn. It would be nice, for a change, if the arts community and the airlines could get together on a plan that would make flying a breeze for dog lovers, and culture a point of national significance. Am I dreaming?

A version of this article first appeared in Janet Langsam's blog, This and That by JL. To subscribe to her blog, visit: thisandthatbyjl.com.