Martha Plimpton’s Lesson

By Edith Zimmerman August 3, 2011

“I’ll put it to you this way: I don’t dislike children as much as I used to. Who knows? I’m really not a planner. Apparently, as you can see, because I’m 40 years old. You know, when you’re independent and you’re female and you’re working, it’s just … you wake up one morning: ‘Holy shit! Oh, that’s right, I didn’t do that. Huh.’ You know what I mean. Eloiiiiise!” [Nearby, Eloise has made a new friend, a male friend, presumably not fixed.] “Eloise! You’re getting slobbered on, on your vagina. That’s not something I’m enjoying. Eloise, come on. Don’t give men too much. It’s unseemly. You can’t just roll over for any old bulldog. You need to know your worth, dear.”
— Martha Plimpton’s two-year-old wheaten-terrier mutt learns its worth.