A Stray Friendship

I’m really not an overly sentimental guy. While time and a couple of beautiful daughters have softened me up some, I still don’t get misty eyed over Hallmark commercials or Meg Ryan movies. I guess I never will be that “modern” man who is in touch with his “feminine side”, whatever that means. However, from time to time I will see or hear something that gets to me. Yesterday was one of those days when I felt like I saw something special.

I had just finished gassing up my truck when I noticed a couple of dogs across the road. They were both clearly mutts. They were shaggy and looked like they were probably strays. The first was a medium sized dog. He was not as big as a lab but not too far from it. He had a lot of energy and would run ahead of the other dog before stopping and running back. The second dog was considerably smaller than the first. He might have been the size of a cocker spaniel. One thing I did see was that the smaller dog was not healthy. He was limping noticeably and did not appear well at all. Once the pair reached the side of the road, the smaller dog stopped and sat down and patiently watched his larger more energetic friend sniff around the shoulder of the road.

I don’t know what it was about these dogs that caused me to pause and watch them. I do know I felt some trepidation as I figured they were about to try and cross the road. This particular stretch of road is very busy. It is four lanes wide and, as usual, folks were whizzing by in both directions at fifty to sixty miles per hour. I really hoped I wasn’t about to see them get hurt or killed.

For just a moment it seemed they were going to be content to sit and watch the cars go by. The larger of the two had returned to sit by his friend and I hoped that they would sense this was not a good time to cross the road and go back in the direction from which they had come. That was not to be, however. For no apparent reason, they decided that it was time to cross the road. The pair bolted in unison into the heavy traffic. The smaller dog seemed to know right away he was not going to make it. He got about halfway across the first lane of traffic before he stopped, nearly getting hit by a pick-up truck, and retreated back to the shoulder of the road. The larger dog, apparently not realizing his partner was no longer with him, bobbed and weaved his way through the traffic and somehow managed to cross all four lanes without being hit. I was greatly relieved to see that both dogs were ok and started to get in my truck to leave. It was at this point that things got interesting.

I saw that the two dogs were not going their separate ways after all. They sat on opposite sides of the four lane road looking at each other. The traffic continued to fly by without giving either of them any notice. The larger dog, that had successfully crossed the road moments earlier, began to get antsy. He got up and paced about ten yards in one direction and then the other while looking across the road at his traveling partner. Maybe I am attributing too much human-like emotion to the larger dog but it seemed very clear to me that he was deeply worried about his smaller and less agile friend. I watched intently at what happened next. The larger dog, that had just narrowly avoided being killed crossing this busy road, decided to risk everything one more time. He bolted back into traffic and managed to zig-zag his way to the other side without being hit and took his spot next to the smaller dog. The pair watched the traffic for another minute or so before getting up and going back in the same general direction from which they had come earlier. Once again the larger dog would run ahead as his smaller friend limped along behind. The larger dog would never get too far ahead before stopping and running back to his buddy. I stood and watched them until they were lost from sight in the tall grass of an uncut pasture.

I lingered for a couple of minutes after they were gone and marveled at what I had seen. Words like loyalty, friendship, and honor came to mind. Somehow, it seemed there was more to this than I was fully grasping. I looked around and none of the other half a dozen or so people who were busy filling up their vehicles seemed to have noticed any of the drama that had just transpired. It was almost as if it were a lesson just for me. I wish I could tell you that I have gleaned some kind of great cosmic truth out of this but I haven’t. I can tell you only that I have found myself thinking of this unlikely pair almost continually since yesterday.

Maybe some revelation will come to me and I will come to understand why this incident made such an impact on me. Maybe the lesson is as simple as being a better friend to those I care about. Either way, I don’t think I will soon forget these two friends. I know they were just a couple of stray dogs but in many ways aren’t we all?

My best…

Classic Tune of the Week 11

Today I'm posting my favorite Christmas song/hymn. "O Holy Night" was composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847. Adam based his composition on a poem penned by Placide Cappeau. Cappeau had written the poem as a favor to a parish priest. "O Holy Night" is thought to be the first song broadcast on radio. On Christmas Eve in 1906, Reginald Fessenden, a Canadian inventor, broadcast the first AM radio program. Fessenden performed the song on his violin during the program.

The video below shows "O Holy Night" being performed live by Michael Crawford. Crawford is probably best known as the star of the long running Broadway musical "The Phantom of the Opera". His version is simply the most powerful I've ever heard. No other artist, in my opinion, has come close to this performance. Make sure and watch/listen to the end. The notes Crawford hits toward the end of the song will give you chill bumps.



This will likely be my last posting until 2009. Merry Christmas to each of you.

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Classic Tune of the Week 10

This week I'm posting 'Blue Christmas' by Elvis Presley. The song has been recorded many times by many different artists but this seems to be the version everybody knows and loves.

'Blue Christmas' was written by Billy Hayes and Jay W. Johnson. The song is a tale of unrequited love that takes place during the holidays and has long been considered a Christmas staple on popular radio. The song was first recorded by Ernest Tubb in 1948. In 1957, Presley recorded his version of the tune and cemented its status as a Christmas classic. The song was also included in my favorite children's Christmas television special, 'The Year Without a Santa Claus'.

There are several versions of the song on the video bar to choose from. My favorite is the live version. Click the picture of Elvis and his band on stage to hear this version. I hope you enjoy it.

As always, ignore the other videos that have tagged along.

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Quote of the Week

Today I am starting something new. I am going to start posting some of my favorite quotes. I am starting with what might be my favorite quote of all time. I hope you enjoy it.

"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy course; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

- Theodore Roosevelt

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A Christmas Story

This past week my family and I continued what has become a yearly ritual. It has become a tradition for us to gather together over the Thanksgiving break to watch ‘A Christmas Story’. The movie is one of my all-time favorites and has also become one my kids love as well. They look forward to seeing it every year and it isn’t unusual for them to begin talking about the movie weeks prior to our actually sitting down and watching it. Watching the movie has become the event that officially kicks off the Christmas Season for us.

The plot for ‘A Christmas Story’ centers around nine year old Ralphie Parker’s quest to obtain a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. While the story revolves around Ralphie’s BB gun mania, the movie is a wonderful look back into what life was like for a typical, though slightly eccentric, American family living in the Midwest during the 1940s. The director, Bob Clark, created a veritable time capsule with this movie. Vintage toys, radios, autos, and furnishings provide, by all accounts, an accurate portrait of what 1940s Indiana looked like.

The movie was released in November of 1983. To be perfectly honest, I do not remember it at all. Much like Frank Capra’s ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’, it was a modest, at best, box office success. Though loved by critics it was largely ignored by the movie going public. I first took note of the film when I realized it starred Darren McGavin. I was a huge fan of ‘Kolchak: The Nightstalker’ as a kid and have been willing to watch anything starring Darren McGavin ever since. He was brilliant as the father of young Ralphie and, though I loved his turn as Kolchak, I must admit this may be his finest work. The scene where he tries to put the pieces of his “major award”, the famous leg lamp, back together is a classic.

While ‘A Christmas Story’ provides dozens of genuinely hysterical moments, I think the reason the movie has become a classic is how it reflects a simpler time. There is a gentleness to the movie that isn’t often captured successfully by actors or directors. My two favorite scenes, both near the end of the movie, illustrate this quite well. The scene where Ralphie is directed to an unseen gift, behind the desk, by his father really touches me. Ralphie’s joy at discovering he has received his beloved Red Ryder BB gun after all is surpassed only by the thrill his father gets from watching his boy open his dream gift. I didn’t really understand this until I became a father myself. The second of my two favorite scenes is the second to last scene of the movie where the mother walks into a darkened living room illuminated only by the lights of the Christmas tree. After turning on the radio, which plays Christmas music softly, she is called over to the couch by her husband who is watching a beautiful snow falling outside the window. She sits down on the arm of the couch next to him. They then put their arms around each other as they watch the snow gently fall outside. It is the one scene in the movie where the mother and father are seen alone. It conveys, in a very simple but elegant manner, how much they love one another. Truly, at that moment, all is right with the world.

If you have never seen ‘A Christmas Story’ I highly recommend giving it a viewing. I can almost guarantee that you will want to watch it at least once a year thereafter. Who knows? Maybe it will become a Christmas tradition for your family as well.

Until we visit again, remember not to shoot your eye out, stick your tongue to a flag- pole in sub-freezing weather, or stand beneath those dangerous icicles (they’ve been known to kill people, you know).

My best…

Classic Tune of the Week 9

In honor of the holiday season, I will be posting some of my favorite Christmas music over the next couple of weeks. The songs will likely range from pop tunes, to hymns, to traditional classic Christmas songs. This week I have chosen "Christmas Is The Time To Say I Love You" by Billy Squier.

This song, to the best of my knowledge, made it's debut on an MTV Christmas special back in 1981. Squier appeared on the show and performed the song with the MTV Chorus singing back up. This "Chorus" was made up of MTV's production crew and on air talent. If you look carefully at the video, you will catch glimpses of original VJs Martha Quinn, J.J. Jackson, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, and Nina Blackwood. The song and video, taken from the Christmas special, continued to get heavy air play for years to come on the radio and MTV respectfully during December.

I've always liked the song. These days, however, I think it is more than the catchy tune that keeps me coming back to this song each year at Christmas time. It takes me back to my early teens when MTV was new and the "M" actually stood for music. This was when everbody under the age of 25 spent hour upon hour watching music videos on this network. It reminds me of a one of the best time periods of my life.

Hit the one of the pictures on the video bar showing people in Santa Hats to see the video. I hope you enjoy it.

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