4 posts tagged “love”

 1Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

 2And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

 3And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

 4Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

 5Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

 6Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

 7Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

 8Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

 9For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

 10But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

 11When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

 12For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

 13And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Paw Prints

Inspired by Bill. Rugrat wants a dog. And I'm sure we'll get around to it, once we've got her finally housebroken. But we're honestly too busy right now for the pitter patter of little paws. Between soccer, gymnastics, school, and volunteer commitments we barely have enough time to sleep, let alone care for something else that needs gobs of attention. Besides, I know that once the novelty wears off, it will be mom and dad taking care of the little ball of fluff.

But between Rugrat and Bill, I got to  thinking about the dogs in my life:

Skippy: My grandfather's old hound dog who had mange. Who I still petted and played with anyway when the grownups weren't looking.

Ticky: Yeah I know, not a particularly original name but I was 4 or 5 at the time and Skippy was the only other dog I knew. I really think I thought (the way kids do) that they'd be friends because of the similar names. Which didn't happen. They fought all the time. Ticky was perhaps the smartest dog I've ever seen. Just showed up one day in the back yard. Terrier I think. Ma was away in Oklahoma doing grad work and Daddy was in Texas so I snowed Grandma into letting me keep him. He'd do whatever you told him to do. If you said to "sit", he wouldn't move a muscle until released. He knew all the standard tricks. And some we made up. Basically, he followed voice commands. His only bad habit was car chasing. Got hit by a tractor.

Ginger: Daddy and I "snuck" this one into the house. Consequently, Ginger and Ma never really hit it off, but she was a good dog. Smart. Lots of personality. Collie Malamute mix. Beautiful. This was the dog that I begged for, but Ma wound up taking care of. Had a litter of 7 ("Ginger & The Seven Dwarfs"). I think Ma tolerated her because she was good company for Daddy after he got sick. She looked after him all day in the apartment. We gave her to my grandparents after Daddy died. She became  my grandfather's best friend. When Ginger died I think my grandmother cried over her as much as my grandfather.

Foots: So named because he had enormous feet. But he was the runt of the litter and the smallest dog I ever owned. Slept on his back with his head on (my) pillow. Lived to be about  16 or 17.

Sam: My contribution to The Puppy Farm. That's what we called the house we lived in outside of D.C. in Capitol Heights, Maryland. There were also George and Elroy, Kojo, and Alex. All owned at one time or another by various housemates. Sam just showed up one morning as I was rushing to get to campus. I was incredibly late and there was this little white puppy yelping on the side porch. So I put him in the abandoned chicken coop in the back. Over the course of ONE OF THE WORST DAYS OF MY COLLEGE CAREER, I forgot about him. Hell of a day it was. Fortunately it was a Friday and a payday so I picked up an order of barbecue, a six pack of Rolling Rock, and a stack of comics on the way home. Getting out of my car that night I hear Sam yelping from the coop and only then thought about him. I happened to be the only one around that weekend so we got drunk together and read comic books. Sam grew like a weed and was a great companion for the summer I had him. I have no idea what he was - "white long-haired Labrador Retriever" is the closest approximation. Unfortunately he disappeared over Christmas Break right after I got him.

Rusty (Destroyer of Squirrels, Slayer of The Blankie): Sweetest dog you could ever imagine. Yellow Lab. Stole my wifes heart. Stole it, I tell you. Rusty understood the important things in life: Treats, finding the best place to get the best sunlight for naps, a good belly rub, a good game of fetch,... did I mention Treats? None of the other dogs in doggy school would ever bother to cheat off of Rusty's homework, but you couldn't find a sweeter disposition. He was an old soul. Rusty lived in a constant state of Grace. Kept the collective blood pressure of the house at optimum levels. We still miss him.

Today Significant Other and I are celebrating 16 years of marriage. Not sure what to celebrate with.  Last year was crystal, I think.

I wish I could impart some piece of brilliant insight, but then I'd have to be brilliant. I can say that it's been fun, life affirming, challenging, (sometimes) frustrating, illuminating, and well... good.  All good.

I'm better with her than I was without her.

On my trip home recently I had breakfast with a man whose parents were married for 75 years before one of them died recently.

Here's to the next 59.