when I come up behind a golf cart with the driver’s arm around his black Lab, both looking from side to side, enjoying the ride, the weather and the day. If I was Norman Rockwell I would probably run back to my studio and paint another cover for Life Magazine, but seeing as I am not, I will just paint a picture with my words. It is always fun to see a grandparent with his small grandchild riding along in a golf cart, the child sitting straight up with a look of anticipation, perhaps there is a treat at the end of the ride…maybe ice cream? I remember noting many years ago, long before cars required seat belts or any child protective devices, if you took a child to a birthday party they would sit straight up in the front seat, hands on dash board staring straight ahead.  I always wondered if they thought they would get to the party sooner or quicker if they took that position.  If you were on the way to the dentist, they would slink into the backseat, and if they could have gotten into the trunk I think they would have.   Our children today are buckled and bound and it is hard to enjoy any of their body language, whether going to a birthday party or the dentist.  As teenagers, we would ride along sitting right next to our boyfriends, sometimes he would drive with his left arm while putting his right arm around you.  That is really a sight you don’t see since the introduction of seat belts.  So when I see the arm around the black Lab, or the grandchild sitting erect in anticipation of an ice cream cone, I am pleasantly reminded of many happy yesteryears and I can’t help but smile.