A Mechanic, a patriot, and Dodge

They say that death comes in threes, sometimes. Well, lately this has come to pass near and dear to the Pillars. Suddenly, without notice, a life is gone, a huge void in our daily routine is presented to us and without a cure, pain ensues. Time heals all wounds, they also say, but how much time, when will it stop and is there something we can take in the meantime? To get close to a person runs a risk, set up house on a street and let the kids play with the other children, to say yes to bringing home a pet, to care for it, and cuddle with it during thunderstorms, arguments, or just plain days that didn't go quite right opens up a risk that getting close will have to end some time and that will undoubtedly be painful.

About six weeks ago, one of our dear neighbors lost his fight to survive cancer, it was devastating. Neighbors, family, and church members rallied around this special family as they said "goodbye" to a good man, who worked hard, was a good daddy to their 5 kids, and saved my knight and I many a time fixing whatever ailed our vehicles. At the visitation, we found out that it just wasn't us who got preferential treatment...it seemed that the entire city came out to pay their respects for this quiet, gentle spirit, who made his living in a garage.

On Friday, another gentle spirit was called home, this time rather unexpectedly. Rachel was to be a grandmother for the first time in October, looking forward to holding her grandchild soon was nearly all she talked about. There was another thing that occupied her mind, and that was being a staunch Republican, pro-life, conservative, and very much against what is happening in Washington, DC these days. We were on the same wave length in the political world. I didn't get to know her until very recently when I met her at the state convention in June and what a pleasure it had been learning from her and realizing that she was a product of a complete line of die-hard Republicans that couldn't sit still for long. She will truly be missed in our community.

This morning we lost our dear little friend and resident "make yourself at home" guy, Dodge. My knight is beside himself today, running through the steps he should have taken, the questions he should have asked, the money we should have spent, and the number he should have dialed. No matter, our little dachshund, Dodge has passed. He had this before about 4 years ago, it's a syndrome called HGE, but the vets won't tell you what it is because there is no definitive way to rule for it. Everyone knows about it and even the lady that we adopted Dodge from told me we should have called her as she had some drug that she gives her doxie that is prone to this condition....who would have thought?

Let me tell you about Dodge, he was the house greeter, official "make yourself at home" guy. He warmed your lap, kissed your hands, and made sure the cats didn't get too fat by rationing their food intake (when mom and dad weren't looking). He barked at the neighbors on their porch, the blond, single, Irish Setter next door and was the highlight of many a little boy at campgrounds after finding out Dodge only had one eye. Yes, he was expensive, there were a few situations where we had to drop about 2 -4 hundred dollars on him to keep him healthy, but he was worth every penny. He was afraid of thunderstorms, but loved to sing with our fiddle playing daughter. Everyone seemed to like him and most definitely he liked everyone he met. We will sorely miss our dear 'black tank," Dodge. Not sure if all dogs do go to Heaven, but in our case, we hope he's waiting for us at Heaven's gate in St. Peter's lap as his new best friend.