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Once Again, I’m Walking

Here we are, on a lovely, warm, sunny, fall afternoon in northern Illinois.  And I’m in one of my favorite places to be; a coffeehouse.  Though not long-term really, I’m just here for the latte.  Oh and the WiFi of course.  So what else would I do but write, right?

One of the the adjustments I’ve had to make since I had to have Sophie put down (pour one out to a great dog) was that I essentially quit walking around the neighborhood.  And that was purely my choice.  It felt completely foreign to me, the thought of walking around a neighborhood where, in all seriousness, more people knew Sophie’s name than mine.  I say that matter-of-factly too.  It’s far easier and much less awkward for someone to walk up to a stranger and say “what’s your dog’s name?” than it is to ask that question of the person walking said dog.

And so, a lot of the people we’d met over the course of the last three years haven’t heard of Sophie’s shuffle off this canine coil.   I don’t know if “canine coil” is a thing btw, but I took a little literary license, so…

That kind of bothered me too, since she was quite popular around the hood.  But, as it was easier on me, well, that’s just how it went.

Until a couple weeks ago.

One of my neighbor’s asked me if I’d help her son with his daily walk of their dogs around the neighborhood after he got out of school.  Of course, I said yes.

A.) they’re excellent people

B.) I’m happy to help (usually)

C.) I figured it would be a good way for me to get over a mild case of mopery.

And so, these two knuckleheads became a semi-regular part of my routine-

     

Oscar and Chalupa are my new walk buddies, along with their human boy child.  We have a lovely walk in the afternoon and typically discuss human boy child things.  Not Oscar and Chalupa btw, the human boy child and I.  Just to clarify.  And I have to say I have enjoyed this time immensely.  Even though I was a little rusty on the whole “leash” thing, since Soph hasn’t used one in years, and even before that, when she had a leash on, I typically let it drag behind her rather than hang on to it.  She was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a flight risk.

Brief detour; did you notice anything different yet?  I’ll wait.  Go ahead, take a look around this post.  And think about my last post.

Back to dog-related issues…

So, I’m actually dog sitting these two this weekend while their aforementioned excellent people are out-of-town and I must say it’s been a blast.  I’m not about to start a dog-walking gig or anything like that, but I’ve had fun. Today, for example, as the fellas and I were walking, I had synapses firing ideas back and forth most of the time we were out.  Nothing Pulitzer worthy, but if you’ve ever read my stuff, you knew that already, amirite?  Technically I think the very existence of “amirite” eliminates me from Pulitzer consideration.  At any rate, as we walked I watched the two of them; Chalupa marching along with dogged (see what I did there?) determination, like a sled dog pulling towards the finish line of the Iditarod while Oscar plugs along, his stubby, little, cankles churning like a four-legged centipede, trying to keep up.  They’re quite the couple, these two.  They make me laugh a little and smile a lot.

That’s not to be underrated either.  Especially of late.  Too much stuff happening in our world today that is the antithesis of happy.  And I’m not going to go any deeper into that.  Just yet.

But in the interim, as I said before, I’m in a really good place and I intend to ride this wave as long as I can.  Because we all know how short life can be.

Peace

PS- Because, well, you know… Yes!  I conquered the Word Press beast!  Take that (expletive deleted)!!!

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Wendy The Walker

What do say when you’re discussing a legend?  And I’m not even joking.  Around the firehouse (specifically in the high-rise district, but her fame has spread) everyone knows who Wendy the Walker is.  Most of the town does too, at least that part of town that exists along and/or near Main Street.

So how does one become legendary?  Let me tell you…

I don’t remember exactly when the first time was that I met her.  But I remember I was working on another shift; trade or overtime I don’t recall, but I remember I was working with a guy that lives in town.  And I walked out on to the bay floor this particular day and saw Dick standing in the back of the station, talking to a woman.  This was not uncommon, btw, Dick was almost as much of a “chick magnet” as the Great Vincenzo.  Almost.  At any rate, I walked back to see who she was.  I’m pretty sure she was introduced as “Wendy the Walker” since everyone knows her as the woman that walks four miles down Main Street every. single. day.

Thus began a friendship that I value as highly as any I’ve ever had.

Flash forward a couple years.  I remember coming back to work after Diane died.  I had been off for a month, thanks to the efforts of a bunch of guys I worked with back then, and Wendy stopped to chat when she saw me.  I think she asked where I had been since she hadn’t seen me in so long.  And, since Wendy is the kind of person that is truly interested in people, I told her the whole story of Diane’s passing.  She listened intently the whole time and from the look on her face, I knew she heard, and felt, every word I told her.

Now, often times, people will tell you “call me if you need anything” and, it’s not that they don’t mean it; many, if not most, do.  But for some it’s just platitudes and you learn to take those words with a grain of salt.  That’s never the case with this woman.  She said, knowing about our Walk 5k for Caitlin, and knowing how much work Diane did for it, “I’ll handle the publicity for the walk”

And she did.  For the remainder of the time we did W5kfC, Wendy handled it.  She wrote more articles and got them in more publications than I ever imagined possible.  And that was just the start.  Every hare-brained scheme I came up with over the years, she was all in on.  Without question.  And, also without question and, as if I ever had a choice, she became my Jewish mother.  Which worked out well since she’s, you know, Jewish.  And a mother.

She’s had a profound impact on so many of the things I do (i.e. anytime you see a “PS” on here, it’s an homage to Wendy) but not just me.  Pretty much everyone that works or has worked at good ol’ #3 has become part of Wendy’s personal domain.  And if they’re no longer there I’ll hear from her “how is my Mike?” or “how is my Rob?”  She is our chocolate fairy as evidenced by the many random deliveries from her, of something made in large part from the seed of the cacao.  Even “Bagel Saturday” a long standing tradition from a few years back included chocolate bagels.

Wendy knows many of our birthdays and makes a special trip to drop off something because “birthdays are a big deal.”  And, while that may not be a direct quote, I feel it’s close enough to deserve the quotation marks.

Which brings me to today.

Wendy, my very dear friend, you have meant so much to me, and to so many of the guys at “your” fire station, I wish there was some way to let you know just how much I cherish our friendship.  Even though you continue to try and talk me out of moving south.  You mean the world to me and I promise I’ll always keep in touch with you.  And yes, I realize that putting that in here kind of locks me in to it.  And yes, I realize that you will remind me (not so subtly) should I falter in the frequency of our chats.  You win.  Besides, I’m kinda scared of you. And I mean that in the nicest possible way.

So, while I know you’re celebrating with your favorite cellist and this all but assures happiness, I’m still going to wish you the happiest of birthdays on this very special day and I hope the rest of your birthday week (because birthdays are a big deal) is every bit as awesome as I know today is.

Happy 29th!!!

It is 29th, right?

Peace

Gi #m L