Beloved but Ugly Inspiration

This week I'm going to talk about the different things in my life that led me to writing stories. I was born late in my parents lives. My two brothers and my sister were busy teenagers so here is my first real playmate--Duke.

Yes, I know he's not exactly handsome, but I loved him to death. This dog would put up with anything. I would attach a towel to his chain so he could have a cape and be a superhero or a prince. I once covered him in baby powder, and I'm told, nearly gave my mom a heart attack when she saw him. I made him play dolls with me. We went on adventures together while playing outside. We also had a pool and if I managed to get close to the pool, Duke would put himself between me and the pool to protect me.

Pretty cool, right? I credit Duke for helping me build my imagination as a kid. I was never lonely, even though my brothers and sister were off with their friends. And my mom knew that if I wasn't in her sight, Duke was keeping an eye on me.

It took me two days to convince Blogger to post this picture! Tomorrow or the next day I'll talk about why I learned to tell stories to myself.