Solitude is a breeding ground for idiosyncrasy, and I relish that about it, the way it liberates whim. Caroline Knapp breedgrindidiosyncrasy Change image and share on social
I walk into a health club locker room and feel an immediate impulse toward scrutiny, the kneejerk measuring of self against other: 'That one has great thighs, this one's gained weight, who's thin, who's fat, how do I compare?' Caroline Knapp clubcomparefat share on social
When you study a dog you love, you find beauty in every small detail, and so it is with Lucille: I have become enchanted by the small asymmetrical whorls of white fur on either side of her chest, and by her tail, which she carries in a high confident curve, and by her eyes, which are watchful and intelligent, the color of chestnuts. Caroline Knapp asymmetricalbeautycarry share on social
My recipe for bliss on a Friday night consists of a 'New York Times' crossword puzzle and a new episode of 'Homicide;' Saturdays and Sundays are oriented around walks in the woods with the dog, human companion in tow some of the time but not always. Caroline Knapp blisscompanionconsist share on social
Me, I walk along and feel quietly defensive, a recluse in the Land of We. That's quite the loaded word, 'we.' Caroline Knapp defensivefeelland Change image and share on social
Before you open the lunch menu or order that cheeseburger or consider eating the cake with the frosting intact, haul out the psychic calculator and start tinkering with the budget. Caroline Knapp budgetcakecalculator Change image and share on social
I don't think that the world would be a better place if everyone owned a dog, and I don't think that all relationships between dogs and their owners are good, healthy, or enriching. Caroline Knapp dogenrichgood Change image and share on social
Census figures be damned: If you choose to be alone, you're destined to spend a certain amount of time wondering why. Caroline Knapp amountcensuschoose Change image and share on social
The kinds of roles dogs fill can be hard to come by in human relationships. We touch the dog or the pet at whim. There is a lack of self-consciousness and a fluidity to it that is absent from most human relationships. If someone acted that way to you, you'd feel claustrophobic pretty quickly. It's a boundary violation. Caroline Knapp absentactboundary share on social
Around the time I began starving, in the early eighties, the visual image had begun to supplant text as culture's primary mode of communication, a radical change because images work so differently than words: They're immediate, they hit you at levels way beneath intellect, they come fast and furious. Caroline Knapp beginbeneathchange share on social