I love getting blog responses from my friends, but sometimes I get the most surprising responses from strangers. Last week was the best. It was a comment addressing the accidental dead squirrel photo. Someone thought it was "pointless and gross." Right on! As artists, we plan, we think, we pray for inspiration, we sweat, we create. Yet the most poignant pieces come when we allow the unexpected; when reality imposes itself on the imagination. "Pointless and gross" might describe many things. I would say war is pointless and gross. A photo of something the dog dragged in captures reality both at its simplest and most profound moment. Surely it is not the thing I'd have assembled for a photo, but it was a moment I will never forget, now recorded. When life seems pointless and gross, art reminds us of our humanity. That's why we make it. Thank you, O.G., whoever you are (and for your meaningful tip about hand cream)!