My dogs have taught me that to have good dogs, I have to be a better human. This is a lesson I learned in the hot and wet fields of Bedlam Farm. I believe the same is true for love. To find love, you have to be a better person, and you have to keep getting better all the time.

A week or so ago, I was joking that I didn’t want to clean the bathroom because I was a New York Times Best-Selling Author. At least I thought I was joking. Maria gave me a particular look – she is Sicilian – and she said I reminded her of Elmer Fudd when he said “I am Elmer Fudd. I am a millionnaire. I have a mansion and a yacht.” This just before Bugs Bunny made him look stupid as usual.

This has become a standing joke with Maria and I whenever I get attitude. One or the other of us will say “I am Elmer Fudd. I am a millionnaire. I have a mansion and a yacht” and we both end up laughing. It’s one of those stories that is funny, but isn’t.

To find love, you have to earn it, be open to it, find those closed up, walled off, selfish and self-absorbed parts of yourself and root them out. Being a New York times Best-selling author is meaningless when it comes to love, of course. Like most wortwhile things, you will find it when you get to work at it.

I clean the bathroom regularly. And do the laundry too.