The Day of Clyde

I am a great lover of ritual and tradition. I don't mean political or social tradition necessarily, in fact I rather admire rebellion. It is the cycle of the days, the seasons that I relish. I love that the Milk Moon always, always comes right before the Moon of Making Fat. I love that right now it is tomato season. I love that certain Thanksgiving dishes trigger certain memories, the stuff legend is made of. The variations in the ritual, both natural and cultural, build and trigger memories. These days set bonds that strengthen our relationships.

What is so special about today? One year ago exactly, I drove breathlessly down highway 64 to get a puppy out of the pound. I can't say that I rescued him, because I honestly didn't know what I was going to do with him. It was just a mission really, an idea close to compulsion. I had to find him. In the days before his arrival, while I was waiting to see whether his previous people would show up to claim him, I restlessly painted my living room for the fifth (but not final) time. (I did not finish painting until January.) Nevertheless, the day arrived when Animal Control would release him. I remember that I got lost on the way to the Henrico County Animal Protection site, and had to turn around twice (which is notable because the Henrico pound is near nowhere you want to be.) I finally found the building, and had to walk through the entire room of hopeful, undeniably sad dogs before I spotted him- the pup who, only a few weeks before had captured my heart with his intrinsically joyful (what I would discover later as inherently dog) nature. He was in the second to the last cage, and as I searched, I remember worrying that I had perhaps forgotten what he looked like. But, there he was, and for $10.00 and a promise that I would 'sterilize' him, we were on our way. We stopped by the backdoor of the car, and it finally dawned on me that I had no idea about dogs. I couldn't even get him to get in the back of my car!

So, after a moment's pause, I put my arms around him, and helped him in. He rode with his face in mine all the way home.

Now, I will not bore you will all of the reasons my life is better because I have Clyde in it. Yet, for many reasons it is, and as a fan of anniversaries and other days of note, I am glad to have this opportunity to remember the day this goofy, lovable, nearly 80 pound beast came barrelling into my heart.



And there he stayed.