Speak to Me Sunday: What Happened to the Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat?

When I was in the sixth grade and living in Italy, my teacher Mr. Benanti had the students memorize Eugene Fields’ poem, The Duel. The first stanza begins like this:

The gingham dog and the calico cat
Side by side on the table sat;
'T was half-past twelve, and (what do you think!)
Nor one nor t' other had slept a wink!

The poem goes on to describe how the Chinese plate and the Dutch clock witnessed a terrible spat between the two which littered the air with bits of gingham and pieces of calico.

I thought of that poem yesterday as I was contemplating passion. Not the passion of Hallmark movies and Harlequin romances, but the passion that inspires artists, creates teachers, and builds cathedrals. The kind of passion that inspires leaders to lead, missionaries to evangelize, activists to protest, and pacifists to make peace.

It is a beautiful thing to be passionate about something. It fuels belief systems, provides focus and clarity, and propels action. It is the kind of passion which cannot be contained, but unabashedly spills forth. It must be shared, taught, proclaimed; after all, you want others to experience what you have.

But here is where it gets tricky, for if one is not careful that passion can yield far different results.

When passion comes from a wellspring of kindness, patience, and example, then there is room for growth on both sides. It opens doors and encourages dialogue. It understands, empathizes, and welcomes. It does not make you superior, or anyone else inferior.

But if passion comes from a place of hatred and scorn, from a place of finger-pointing and name calling, then it serves no purpose other than to alienate. Furthermore, the only people sticking around to hear your message are those who are just like you, and then there is no moving forward.

It is like drawing the proverbial line in the sand. 

Anyway, that is why I was thinking about passion—because the same kind of passion that can inspire a ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, can also spark a war.

Which brings me to the calico cat and the gingham dog who had a “terrible spat” as they “wallowed this way and tumbled that” using “every tooth and claw.” What happened to them is quite dramatic ... 

Next morning, where the two had sat
They found no trace of dog or cat;
And some folks think unto this day
That burglars stole that pair away!
      But the truth about the cat and pup
      Is this: they ate each other up!