Marsha, Marsha, Marsha! A Story of David and Dogs In A Time of Unpredictability

I’ve got a big, anxious dog. Actually, Manny wasn’t anxious before we adopted a Great Pyrenees some months ago, but he is now. Manny is a borzoi, an elegant, sleek, and extremely sensitive breed, and Marsha, the Pyrenees, has thrown him off his game. She’s created, through no fault of her own, an “unpredictable environment,” according to those advising us. The dogs squabble over bones, food, and sometimes attention, though the oldest dog, Steve, another handsome borzoi, stays above the fray. Manny’s personality has changed, and he has, at times, become aggressive and withdrawn—behaviors that are completely counter to his sweet nature. We are trying to rehome this lovely, beautiful one-year-old girl, at the recommendation of both our veterinarian and our trainer.  If you are interested in an amazing dog, who is recovering from early abuse and will need patience and love, contact Montana Great Pyrenees rescue. Here’s Marsha’s page. Until she finds a place to land, she’s staying with us. This girl is great with people she knows (she makes friends over time), cats and other dogs that are confident, like her other brother, Steve. But for Manny, Marsha has made day-to-day life unpredictable and it’s caused me great anxiety on both their behalves. 

My beautiful friend Kelly, a dog trainer, is blunt and unsentimental in a way that might put you in mind of a dive bar bouncer or umpire. It was she who described Manny as living in an “unpredictable environment.” The idea made so much sense to me. I understand the weight of this and the distress that comes with it. It’s actually a pretty apt description of our entire world right now. Unpredictability abounds—from incoherent climate patterns to the political pandemonium that only gets more moronic and outrageous every single day. (Seriously, what the hell happened in Iowa last night?)

Fun fact: Alan Dershowitz called Donald Trump “destabilizing and unpredictable” in his 2016 book, Electile Dysfunction: A Guide for Unaroused Voters. But he recently defended the president during the impeachment trial, making the point that “if a president did something that he believes will help him get elected — in the public interest — that cannot be the kind of quid pro quo that results in impeachment.” This suggests that Donald Trump can get away with just about anything if he believes he’s the best leader of this country. And he sure does think this. Plus he’s got a whole lot of cronies backing him up, including the weaselly Dershowitz, who once accused him of being dangerous. 

By rehoming Marsha, I can restore our house to a more stable situation for our nervous Manny, although I’ll miss this girl who walks around with my sock in her mouth. I can help both dogs be in better situations, but I’ll be sad to see Marsha go. That said, beyond my own home, I’m feeling pretty powerless in addressing the capricious world we find ourselves living in, which feels endlessly unpredictable.

My husband, David, eats the exact same thing every morning—five prunes. Not six, four, or three. Five. He is very predictable in his habits and his demeanor. He’s always kind, supportive, and optimistic, even as wreckage screams across headlines. He’s actually fascinated by vicissitude, especially along the arcs of evolution, and looks at unpredictability with curiosity. Above his desk is a quote from Gustave Flaubert that reads, Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work. David is both. He is consistent in an age of inconstancy, which I find indescribably reassuring.

For years David has been exploring, among many other things, unpredictability in disease, most recently the outbreak of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China. It’s now rippling across that country and into other spots in the world through air travel. But it started in wet markets—places where vendors keep animals caged and piled on top of each other. Animals, such as bats, are held captive in stacks, suffering while urinating and defecating on one another, spreading viruses that sometimes find themselves in the human population. If you’re interested on David’s recent piece on the coronavirus, click here.  It’s good and scary, and it addresses our indisputable connectivity to animals and the necessity of shutting down wildlife trafficking. 

Yet here we are, in a household currently caught up in disconcerting dog dynamics, but largely unscathed by the unpredictability sweeping the world right now (other than my unremitting apprehension about the state of our wild places, climate, and nation). We live in a routine, one begun each day by my husband with a plate of prunes. As climate catastrophe and viruses unfold, we’ve so far not been impacted directly. It’s not all we have dodged. As white people, we haven’t been subject to the increasing waves of hate crime in this country. As a Generation Xer (me), and a Boomer, (David), we’ve enjoyed career opportunities and stability that those only a decade behind me may not enjoy. We have a lovely place to live and most of my family are only minutes away. As we watch a world in disarray, for now, we gaze from a perch of relative safety. 

It was from this safe perch that I’ve spent the last seven years researching another arena of unpredictability, one close to home. Coming out in March 2020, my book, American Zion, examines the Cliven Bundy family, their Mormon history, and their protests against the US government. With a legion of backers, they have been involved in a tense armed standoff in Nevada and the takeover of a wildlife refuge in Oregon. In Nevada, the Bundy family stopped the confiscation of their own trespassing cattle while facing off with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police. In Oregon, they tried to stop the Harney County Sheriff’s department from arresting of two convicted arsonists. To see more of my thoughts on the Oregon occupation in a piece written few years ago, click here.

The Bundys are part of a larger militia network in the West, which includes both Mormon and non-Mormon players. Among them are those who are tying religious beliefs to their actions. Some anticipate events as foretold in the Book of Revelation, where famine, pestilence, war, and death ride astride four horses to usher in Earth’s End Times. Right now, to people who embrace this ideology, the plague of locusts in Kenya, the virus outbreak in China, and the tensions in the Middle East must surely seem portents of latter days. After all, it’s been predicted. Another religious prophecy, one largely disregarded by the Mormon Church but upheld by the Bundy family, foretells of a time when the United States is in the midst of chaos, God will guide His heroes to restore the rightful power of the US Constitution, a divine document that can save us all. (Oh, the irony of this idea! The Senate voted to acquit Donald Trump in spite of his egregious constitutional violations. However, it should be noted that Senator Mitt Romney, a Mormon, was the only Republican who voted to impeach Trump. The LA Times wondered if Mormon prophecy impacted Romney’s vote. )

America is sacred to the Bundy family. According to the Mormon faith, the United States is the place, after the events of the apocalypse, where the Second Coming will occur. This, among other things, means that the Bundys are intent on taking back America from those they perceive as tyrants, by “conquering” American lands at gunpoint. This is their holy land, their American Zion.

In addition to what I assume are normal jitters in the anticipation of seeing my first book in print, I worry about omissions. I madly added some bits to the book just days before it went to print because the Bundy story is still unfolding. They are itching for a next armed showdown.  Ammon Bundy most recently showed up in Orofino, Idaho, calling on the militia to help the Nickerson family, Nick and Donna and their ten children (though it’s unclear if they all live on the property), from being evicted due to bank foreclosure. As usual, he took to social media to rally his team, asking followers to "spread this message, and get as many people as you can there.” In the past, this call meant, “grab your gun and meet up with us,” which many, in turn, heeded. But in Idaho, Ammon pivoted two days after his first command, conceding that the eviction was indeed warranted. Nick Nickerson, an ordained minister at his own Mount N Ministry, defaulted on a $340,000 loan in 2011, and since then, paid no mortgage on his property. This was impressed upon Ammon who said to his followers, “the Nickersons did not uphold their obligation to the contract and the forceful removal was warranted…And now we are going home.” This latest, retracted rebel yell shows how impetuous Ammon’s actions have become. Even Ammon’s hotheaded nature is unpredictable because sometimes he can rethink the situation based on evidence and stand down in an orderly way. 

The Bundys and their followers thrive on chaos, confusion, and rumor—be it a belief in fringe Mormon prophecy or the anticipation of biblical Armageddon. They court unpredictability and their actions become ever more rash, groundless, and unhinged. Those who disagree with them or their ideologies are often bullied, harassed and threatened, including government agents, environmentalists, sheriffs, journalists and politicians. Lately the family has been weighing options for their next big campaign and holy war. These have ranged from the Nickersons and the foreclosure of their ranch, organic farm and Christian retreat center, to the “oppressive” federal land policies governing public grazing allotments and cows. Additionally, according to a flurry of posts on their Facebook page, the Bundys are focused again on the state of Oregon, accusing officials of “kidnapping” Kylee Dixon, a thirteen-year-old girl brought into state custody after her mother refused to take her to chemotherapy, relying instead on treating her daughter’s cancer with CBD oil. Time will tell what sets off an upcoming rebellion. Ammon is anticipating the next divine dispatch, that celestial weathervane to guide the family into an upcoming storm.

In the meantime, I’m going to miss Marsha, the dog who became disquieting to Manny. But in spite of Manny’s emotional disquiet, vocally he is NOT quiet—Marsha has taught him to bark. When we find her that perfect home, and Manny’s situation is restored, I expect that Manny and Steve will fill the gaps and play sentinel. As for the Bundys, they’ll continue to rally the Western militia, rely on prophetic messages, and grab up their guns. We all have to be vigilant because they are unpredictable in a time of unpredictability. As I watch from my perch, I appreciate a safe place to live, a steady husband, and two huge dogs, one of whom will soon enjoy more consistent circumstances. I am impressed with his new barking skills and, even while uneasy, I find succor in his watchfulness. *

Last things. American Zion can be pre-ordered from Torrey House Press: click here. Also see the schedule of where I’ll be speaking at independent bookstores on my website. Feel free to point out any errors or typos, and share and/or subscribe if you’d like.