MISSING MY DOGS AND MY SON

 I'm sitting on the couch of the room we’ve rented for our stay at Key West. This is our last night here, and it’s been a good vacation, especially with the wet, cold weather in Knoxville. Amy and I have enjoyed the sun, excursions to places, the food, and the pool that overlooks the ocean. Tomorrow will be a long one as we don’t arrive home until 11:00 p.m. 

I’m ready to be home.  Amy and I needed a break from home, but I miss my dogs. Sadie and Harvey have been in good hands as my niece Mindy dog sat for us. Prior to our leaving, those two old dogs had sat with me constantly over the three weeks that I suffered and healed from pneumonia. My sleeping was confined to the recliner on the right side of the couch, and at some point every night, both pooches were in the room with me. After we moved to the kitchen for my first cup of coffee, Saide herded me back to the couch, where she and Harvey once again watched over me. 

The time has come to return to life in Knoxville. I’m also looking forward to having Sadie lie on my lap with her head on the arm of the couch and Harvey burying his nose behind my back as he sits so close to me. Including Amy, we are a pack. Our loyalties run deeply, and our love for each other has no bounds. We’re all in the senior years of our lives, and taking care of one another is the top job of every day.  

I have another confession to make as I sit in this warm weather paradise. I miss my son Dallas. He’s been gone for more than a year, but the emptiness seems to increase. I crave his constant picking at me over some silliness just to get a rise out of me. He would push until I reached the boiling point and then grin at me to let me know he’d won the battle again. I want him to come to Christmas dinner early, pick up turkey from the tray and eat it and then grab a corner piece of dressing and stuff it in his mouth while I howled at his uncivilized actions. 

I have been re-reading Sh!t My Dad Says. Without a doubt, it is the funniest book I have ever read. Dallas loved that book as well, and he often stated that he was going to begin writing down the things I came up with and declared they were every bit as funny. He never got the chance to write them down. I wish he had because those words would have taken me back to the time when he was here and so much fun. The boy added to our lives every minute of the five years he’d moved back to Knoxville.  

Christmas will be here soon. I’m thankful for my sweet wife, my two dogs, and my daughter and her family. We’ll celebrate the season and be happy, but just a whisp of sadness will pass by as we feel the emptiness of the chair where Dallas sat. For so many folks, this time of year is one mixed with joy and sadness, and getting through it is tough. I’m glad to know that the reason we celebrate Christmas is because it signals the arrival of a child who grew up to save us all from death and offers us an eternity in a better place.  

DO UNTO OTHERS

 Does it seem that bad news fills every day? Maybe that’s just my warped impression of the world, but I’m concerned. Our government is incapable of accomplishing anything. Instead, both sides delight in labeling opponents as “far right” or “far left.” The econonmy is struggling along, and prices soar each month. At the same time, jobs aren’t being created, and layoffs are growing. Believe me, I’m not condemning either side. Both sides of the aisle are own plenty of guilt.  

The above paragraph is intended to be an introduction to a recommendation to all people to watch the Netflix new movie “A House of Dynamite.” Rarely has any movie evoked in me such concern for the plight of our nation and our world. As the movie ran, the same feelings that I had when President Kennedy was assassinated. The identical cloud of dread that engulfed the US as true radicals flew planes into the towers billowed from the swept in.  

Many will say that they have no desire to watch a movie that brings so much pain. Then folks will add, “It’s only a movie.” I will address those statements with a line from this film: “This isn’t insanity; this is reality!”  

The government officials are incapable of working together. They can’t even meet in the same room. In years gone by, elected officials would argue with ferocity for their side, but in the evening, those same individuals would share a meal and return to being cordial and friendly. Now, neither side seems willing to even speak to the other. If these so-called leaders are unable to be civil to each other and work for the “common good,” how in the hell can they ever come together in the face of a major crisis? 

“A House of Dynamite” leaves viewers asking the same questions. This country and those who are against it have enough nuclear weaponry to destroy the world several times. Each year, the US adds more dollars to a defense budget to buy new systems, weapons, and gadgets. Yes, we might well have the world’s mightiest army and navy, but how much is enough? Don’t we, at some point, arrive at a time when we don’t need any more weapons? I especially wonder about our spending when I hear reports of the effectiveness of cheap Ukrainian drones on the Russian’s war machine. 

This very day, thousands are suffering as the government shutdown continues. The intransigence of Democrats and Republicans has created long lines at food banks. Anxiety for those who are affected is at a dangerous level. Being political isn’t worth a nickel when a man or woman and family are hungry, can’t pay the utilities bill, and are unable to pay the rent or mortgage. 

Common sense is in short supply in too many places right now. If our country faced the threat of a nuclear strike, such as the one in the movie, all the concern for talking points on each side would disappear. I doubt whether anyone would care to which party his neighbor pledged allegiance. The truth is that when troubles loom, the basics become the most important thing. Petty squabbles take disappear when survival is on the line.  

“A House of Dynamite” might be the best thing to come in the last few years. All of us need to watch it, to experience the feelings of desperation and hopelessness. Then, we can come to our senses and demand that our elected officials work together to ensure that this world will continue to exist.  I, for one, am exhausted from all the bickering between sides. We are all equal in the eyes of the Lord, so the time has come to accept one another and “to do unto others as we would have the do unto us.” It truly is that simple to fix problems of this world. 

TODDLERS

 Amy and I are blessed to have had two wonderful children. Lacey and then Dallas filled our young lives with all sorts of joys, and even the woes weren’t so bad when we look at them in hindsight. Our children learned the importance of an education, and both earned college degrees. No, that hasn’t made them better than others; those degrees just assured that they would have a chance, that more doors would open to them.  

We completed the first parts of our jobs when Dallas earned his degree. We always planned to be parts of their lives, but becoming “empty-nesters” was also exciting, even more so when we retired. Of course, the old adage that “man plans and God laughs” applies here. 

Amy wanted another dog after my Jack Russell Snoop died. I wasn’t big on it, but when it came time, I, in fact, picked out the dog from her picture. Sadie was meant to be ours. She’d already been selected, but the family gave her back when she had an accident in the house. See, our coming together was meant to be.  

This little girl, part Schnauzer and part Border Collie, came for a visit and never left our home. For the last 10-11 years, she’s been our baby. We’ve taken her with us on visits to Nashville, and the dog proved to be the perfect traveler.  

After Dallas passed, we had to decide whether to give up his dog Harvey for adoption or to keep him. In the end, Harvey stayed with us. He’s some kind of hound that was rescued during the time Hurricane Harvey hit Texas. Now, “Harve the Marve” is a different kind of pup. His hound characteristics are dominant.  

In the blink of an eye, our lives have changed. We are the parents of two toddlers, each that weighs somewhere north of seventy pounds. For us who are in our seventies, picking up one of them is a “back-straining-gut-buster!” According to research, a dog usually has the IQ of a three-year-old human. I think both are much smarter. 

One reason to marvel at their intelligence is their ability to tell time. Each and every evening, those two mutts rise from their places and begin whining barking, and looking deep into our eyes to make us aware that 5:00 has arrived and that we are tardy with food. Just like some men who worked hard days back in the ‘50’s our two canines expect supper to be served at 5, and not a minute later.  

These two can tell time at other times. Each evening, one or both begin a whine and include a pitiful look at 8:00 p.m. That’s bedtime for them. What they refuse to do is go to the bedroom alone. The expect me to deliver treats to them as the lie on the bed. Most nights, Sadie remains on the bed, but Harvey sneaks back into the family room. There, he hops on the couch and snuggles with me. Eventually, I head to bed and fight for a place to lie down and have at least a portion of the covers. Four of us fill the king-sized bed, and by morning, Harvey has wormed his way from the foot of the bed to some place between Amy and me.  

Our travel plans have severely changed. To be honest, we just can’t take two bigger dogs on vacations. A boarding facility is necessary, and that cost sometimes makes vacation a bit pricey. At that same time, both dogs are older, and neither of us wants to leave them for long periods of time. Leaving them home and having someone drop in doesn’t work too well. Harvey is prone to diving in the trash. He also becomes nervous and marks his territory with the raising of a back leg.  

Even though our later years have turned out differently, Amy and I aren’t complaining. Sadie and Harvey are loving dogs. Their barks are ear-piercing, but we know they’re protecting us. After supper, we all climb onto the couch. Once settled, the furry ones fall fast asleep until their internal clocks ring at 8:00 p.m., at which time they walk down the hall, hop on the bed, and enjoy a treat.  

Amy and I admit that we are trained. Our dogs have us on a tight schedule. We don’t mind. Being parents to two toddlers on four legs is a privilege. One thing is for sure: no one can ever love us more than Sadie and Harvey. That’s comforting to us old folks.