The Beast goes for a 'run'

JUST GOT back from picking up the newspaper. Saturdays are important. My section comes out and I have to scan it – with great trepidation – for headline errors. Ask anybody at a paper and they will tell you the things they are most terrified of: A misspelled word in 72 point type; a story that doesn't end or a missing graphic. It's been a long time since we've run the same wire story on different pages on the same day, but that can happen, too.
     At journalism school they drone on and on about EIFs (errors in fact) but those are far down the list of my concerns. It happens; we correct it the next day. But what do you do if you are editing the front and you spell the prime minister's name wrong in the lead story? And yes, I did it – at a different newspaper. It was, 1) essentially uncorrectable (we call these "apologies") 2) the reason I could be found cowering under my desk for the next three weeks.
    But I digress. This is not an "I remember" entry. The reason I dragged myself out so early in the morning was The Beast wouldn't leave me alone. What The Beast wants The Beast gets. We hopped on the little fold-up bike and braved the cold for a lap around the huge IBM office building next door. It has a nice view of a canal around back and a great wooden sundeck. No cars. A hard thing to find in Tokyo and a great place to let The Beast stretch her legs. We even had the opportunity to watch a small tug pull a barge full of dirt under a green bridge.
    Have I mentioned The Beast used to run like the wind? Or that Yorkshire Terriers have leg bones the size of pencils? It is not unusual for this breed to have knee problems and The Beast has been no exception. One morning I woke to find her dragging herself along the carpet because her left knee was out of its socket. I won't tell you how I felt when I saw this, but we were lucky. That night she managed to get everything in working order.
    Anyway, she chased me on a bike everyday as a puppy and as she grew up. We hadn't given it a try in years, but the day (a few weeks back) we resumed bike rides she literally leaped into the air with happiness. Of course, she's old now and her will is stronger than her physical ability. She "runs" after me for a little ways and then I pick her up and carry her in my jacket. I think she resents me for not letting her run further, but I'm not taking any chances.