"Arf, arf"

If you’ve ever seen reruns of the television series Lassie, then you know that little Timmy Martin’s frantic requests for help were generally summarized each week in two utterances by his trusted collie, Lassie, as “Arf, arf.”

For example, Timmy would say, “Lassie! Go get Mom and Dad! Tell them I’ve fallen in the well by the old Johnson homestead, the one on the northwest corner of the property, near the creek that runs into town.  Tell them they’ll have to come in the truck with a rope and gloves because the terrain is bad here.  Hurry!”

The ever-so-clever Lassie would race like the wind back to the farm and relay the message: “Arf, arf.”

Timmy’s mom and dad would look at Lassie and say, “What’s that? Timmy has fallen in the well by the old Johnson homestead, the one on the northwest corner of the property near the creek? Got it?  Oh, we should bring the truck, a rope and gloves?  Will do.  Thanks, Lassie.  We’ll hurry.”

And somehow, thanks to Lassie’s brief message and the follow-through, things always turned out okay.

No more needed to be said.

Same goes with the Flipper show.  Each week, the bottlenose dolphin, Flipper, would swim hurriedly back to shore and relay a vital message to Chief Warden Porter Ricks in two utterances: pfeww, pfeww (that’s a combination of whistles and burst-pulsed sounds).

Porter Ricks would respond, “What’s that? Those three guys who left earlier this morning without life jackets, in that yellow and green boat called “Mid-life Crisis,” have capsized on the back bay and are in the water?  And one of them has a heart condition so I should bring his medicine too?  Got it. Thanks Flipper, I’ll hurry!”

And, again, thanks to Flipper’s brief message and the follow-through, things always turned out okay.

No more needed to be said.

Now we jettison from these animal shows to me and my participation in a terrific online writing group of women in which I’m involved.  As you can imagine, women being the social creatures that we are, our conversation often moves beyond writing to discuss family and friends.

As such, we sometimes express our concerns and our own little crises with one another.  Invariably, the others will respond offering comfort and encouragement.  If time is short, we’ll write the brief message, “Sending prayers.”

I’m happy to say that, like the brief messages from our friends Lassie and Flipper, this short missive carries a powerful punch as well.  It says: “My friend, I hear you and I can feel your concern/pain.  I am asking the most omnipotent being in the Universe, our God, to be with you, to pick you up and hold you, to show you, in His wisdom, how you can change or deal with this, because you matter to me.  I’m doing this because I care enough to spend my time to quiet myself, to reflect on you, and to make you my focus in this moment.”

And, I’m happy to report, that because of this brief message and the follow-through, things always seem to turn out okay.

No more needs to be said.