Azimuth and Peanut

I know the title will seem confusing to most if not all of you. After all, what would a word for an angular measurement have anything to do with a legume? In the context of this blog post, they have completely different meanings. It all has to do with a story that happened last week.

Last week, a group consisting of Conner, David, Katie, Marly, and I went on a walk. Apparently this happened because Conner felt that he and David should go on a walk, so they invited us to go with them. While we walked down a sidewalk, they noticed a dog wondering around on its own. They decided to watch over him and play with him. During this time a man with two dogs came over and asked about the dog who still had a leash. He and the others have seen the dog around, but we did not know the owner. The man then gave us advice on how to handle the situation like looking for a name and number, then taking him to foot patrol. Since foot patrol was closed, we would have to take care of him for the night.

As we walked away from the foot patrol station and back to the sidewalk we found the dog at, we heard someone shout "Azzy" with excitement. At that point we realized it was the dog's owner. We watched as she started running as fast as she could, and Azzy started running to her as well, pulling Conner while doing so. It was an amazing sight to see a person reunite with her dog. She thanked us and introduced herself as Peanut. She then introduced the dog as Azzy. If I were to define Peanut in simpler terms I would call her a hippie, but I feel like it could be rude to do so. Even though she thinks of Azzy as more of an equal friend than her as an owner, the most important thing is that two friends are reunited. Azzy wondered off from her friend's house while she went out for a couple hours.

How did I find out Azzy's name was Azimuth? Well, a day or two after the incident I was walking back to AGO where I was staying until my lease starts. As I walked back, I noticed Peanut riding her bike and taking Azzy with her. They were going with some friends to IV Market. It was during this time that Azzy remembered me and followed me into the AGO house. Peanut's friends called her Azimuth and had to take her out of the house. They started apologizing to me, but I was fine with it. I guess Peanut did not recognize me, but at least Azimuth did.

Why is this all important? I was thinking that this parallels our relationship with God in a way. People are like Azzy in that we sometimes wander off on our own, and we get lost when we rely on our own. However, when we return to God, there is reason to be joyous. As Azzy reuniting with Peanut was joyful for them and us who were watching, it is a joyful experience to be reunited with God who created us.

I find the name Azimuth interesting. Although it is an angular measurement in a spherical coordinate system, it comes from the Arabic word for "direction". We all need direction. There's probably a lot more I could say about direction, but I might just save that for a later date.

Until next time,
Kenneth