“Carpe Dory”?

“Seize the Dory?” Yes, that’s right. That’s what it means.

Our Alto is named Dory

Reason 1 – “Just keep swimming” is what we’ve been clinging to the past couple of years. Whatever happens, whatever might happen, we have no control. I think there are few works of art that more poignantly sum up this Buddhist concept than the film “Finding Nemo”. Dory is the counterpoint to the struggle to control and protect. She embodies living in the moment, having faith that whatever happens, you deal with it when you get there, so why worry? She’s the lesson I’m working on learning right now, so what better namesake for our live-in-the-moment portable home?

Reason 2 – Look at her. She looks like a fish when her roof is open. Can you see it? The porthole window is her eye. The back wall raised at an angle is her tail. If she comes with air conditioning, she’s smiling. I picture her trailing behind the tow car, oblivious to where we’re going, but having a grand old time back there anyway. When we pull into a campground, she’ll laugh and say: “Ha ha! Hey look! It’s a campground!”

“Carpe” comes from carpe diem, “seize the day”

When I was looking up the quote, I was surprised that I’d only understood part of its meaning. Here’s the whole thing translated, (according to Wikipedia):

Don’t ask (it’s forbidden to know) what end
the gods have given me or you, Leuconoe. Don’t play with Babylonian
numerology either. How much better it is to endure whatever will be!
Whether Jupiter has allotted you many more winters or this one,
which even now wears out the Tyrrhenian sea on the opposing rocks, is the final one
be wise, be truthful, strain the wine, and scale back your long hopes
to a short period. While we speak, envious time will have {already} fled:
seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the next day.

It all fits. We are “seizing” “Dory”. We are striving to find ways to embrace the moment given whatever time we have left on this planet. I am trying not to be fearful, but at the same time am mindful of how frightfully fast it can all go by. Life can change, even cease, in a moment, so we’d better not put off doing the things that fill us with joy. Out we go, off to see what’s out there.