Pets who ride on your shoulder

I was on a podcast the other day (thanks again, Rowena), and talking to Jacquie Rogers at the same time made me remember something almost relevant, especially when Fido the cat, my 19-year-old Tonkinese, tried to come up behind me and get my attention (usually by swatting at me). There was a time when he, and his student Bowser, got our attention by climbing the tallest chair in the house and jumped on the shoulders of the Hub and me (sometimes by surprise, sometimes by calculation). Neither were dainty, one 18 lbs at his heaviest and the other about 15 lbs, so it was better if we were prepared for the jump. If only we could have had them like that outside, walking around. They were both very happy being carried around like that.

Long ago, when we went more regularly to comic book conventions, there was someone who walked about with a toy stuffed dragon perched on his shoulder. It was a little out of the ordinary then (why, at a comic convention? It's hard to say), but he did it consistently. At least it was memorable (and considering it was several decades ago, it must have been memorable, since I still remember it). Jacquie and I are putting together a dragon workshop. It makes me wonder if I should go find a stuffed dragon for each of us to do the same thing. 

A few decades makes a difference. It was odd then, but now, it would be amusing. Maybe it was amusing then. But we were much younger and so much more worried about not looking like an idiot. Now? Don't worry about it nearly so much.