7-Apr-2006

I just found out that my parents got a new puppy!  He's a Jack Russell Terrier.  For those of you who don't know, we had a Jack Russell named Elvis when I was in college.  Elvis was happier at any given moment than I have ever been in my entire life.  He was the only creature I've ever seen overcome with joy the minute I walked in the door.  Granted, he drove the cats nuts, but he meant well with his yapping and tail-wagging and general merry-making. 

A couple of months after I  moved to New York, I got a call from Mom that Elvis had been hit by a car.  See, we live kinda in the middle of nowhere, and people tend to forget speed limits exist.  You go as fast as you can without harming yourself.  Dogs are another matter.  Elvis didn't make it, Mom said.  It was one of the only times I've ever heard Mom cry (Dad's the cryer in the house - don't show him Bambi or Stepmom, or God forbid an overly sentimental Purina commercial - he'll lose it).  I remember her telling me this even more vividly because I had just come out of the subway, and it was the first time the pace of New York got to me.  I wanted nothing more than to stop in the middle of the sidewalk and cry.  And I couldn't.  So I kept walking, and on my right, I found a tiny park I'd never even noticed.  And I sat down there.  And cried.  And cried.  And nobody bothered me, for which I was grateful. 

For a few years, Mom and Dad have both been trying to work up the courage to get another dog.  I would pester them about it occasionally, but they'd say, "Oh, we travel so much."  I would try and remind them that, as with most anything in life, it's much easier to say no than to say yes.  For a long time, I didn't think that was true, but think about it.  There's always going to be an excuse not to do something you find terrifying.  Sometimes, like, say, if someone challenges you to an E Coli-eating contest, that's a good thing; others, it just holds you back. 

So, Mom and Dad, welcome back to dog ownership!  I promise, they'll let you bring him on the plane out here.