“Come on, Zeus!” he exclaimed. ”Let’s take a truck ride!”
Zeus always wanted to go on truck rides. It was his favorite thing to do. Well, besides sleeping next to the fire. The fire helped his aging hips. But a truck ride? Time to go!
Zeus bounded to the door, tongue out, with that excited in and out breath.
“Wait just a minute, old friend,” he begged. ”I forgot my phone. As usual. Where did I leave that?”
With a press of the Apple Watch iPhone icon, the phone chirped incessantly. It was up in the office. Or maybe the master bedroom. He could never be sure. His creaking knees groaned as he trudged up the fourteen steps. Again.
“I can’t wait to retire!” he muttered to no one in particular. ”Move to a new house. With no more steps. Nary a one!”
The phone was on the bed, where he had laid it when he laced on his running shoes. They were running shoes. They just didn’t do much running anymore. Asics. He’d worn them for years. These were blue, with orange trim. Running shoes, but good for walking Zeus.
With shoes on, he slipped on a saddle-tan Carhartt jacket, with the blue fabric insulation. In the pockets he found leather gloves. Taking a step towards the front door, he stopped, turned, and went back to the closet. There, on the shelf, was his old brown hat. As cold as the day had turned out to be, he grabbed it. It fit him well, after so many years. In the cool December afternoon, the hat would be nice.
“Let’s go, big boy!” With that, he opened the door to the truck. Zeus looked at him, and cocked his head sideways just enough. ”Okay, okay, I’ll help you up.”
Zeus was about 85 pounds. It depended on the season, and how much exercise they had in the cold Virginia winters or hot humid summers. Zeus was a GSD. Being a GSD, he had that strong sense of duty, of purpose, and was so very bright. Being a family pet seemed almost a waste of such innate character and talent, but for Zeus, being that pet became his duty. He was exceptional as a pet. And, now, after twelve years together, with a touch of typical arthritis, Zeus needed that life of ease.
He folded the single seat up, making a low spot for Zeus to get into the truck. Zeus put his front paws on the truck floor, and looked back.
“I’ll lift you up the rest of the way…hang on.” And, with his long arms, he reached down for Zeus’s back legs and boosted him up on the floor. Zeus bounded up on the double seat, covered with his favorite old blanket, and nearly grinned.
He eased the truck forward, over the big curb at the end of the drive. With the heavy duty suspension of a three-quarter ton truck, every bump jarred the driver and passengers like a linebacker smashing into a running back. He had wanted the heavy duty truck, for towing, but of late, there was little towing to do.
In the mid-afternoon traffic, he found his way to that second-hand sporting goods store. He needed to buy covers for his set of golf club irons to protect them from banging together as they jostled in the bag as the cart careened around the cart paths.
“Wait here, Zeus,” he asked. ”I’m just going to the store for a minute. I’ll open the sunroof for you, just enough.” Zeus followed him every step of the way, as he swung around the corner of the parking lot and into the store.
There, while looking for the covers, he chanced to look at the rack of used putters. He already had three putters, but none of them worked very well. It was probably the putter, he told himself.
He spotted a putter with a white double stripe, and a white half circle. It caught his eye, because it was so familiar. Turning the Ping putter over, he saw the word “Craz-E.”
That’s why it was so familiar, it was the putter he wanted back when Craz-E The Big Brown Dog was his true and best friend. Crazy as the dog was, he was named Craz-E, on the AKC paperwork. Craz-E would never be forgotten, but Zeus’s friendship was special. His love eased the pain of loss.
The putter looked in good condition. He put a few balls on the filthy blue-grey industrial carpet, and tapped them towards the treadmills gathering dust. The soft face insert made a muted sound, and the balls rolled true and stopped at the about the same distance away. The barcoded price was $49.99. eBay pricing on similar putters was at least $75, so he reasoned it was a good deal.
He waited for the clerk to finish regaling the customer ahead of him with stories of massive 390 yard drives at Top Golf. It was his baseball athleticism, the clerk said, but he wanted some day to be a golfer, after his college baseball was over. The older gentleman smiled as he paid for a putter. His choice was a classic brass blade, with no alignment features, weighting, or shaft curves. Just a putter. Like they used in the 1930s. The man realized he was delaying another sale, and said a quick goodbye to the young man.
He laid the Ping putter up on the counter, where the scanner could see the bar code. It struck him as somewhat funny that two older men had purchased putters within minutes of each other. One with technology. One without. He wondered who would enjoy the next round of golf more.
“I’m back, young fellow,” he smiled at Zeus. ”Let’s find our way somewhere different for a walk.” He looked at his iPhone, and saw that they were near a local university. Perfect. Zeus hadn’t been to this university ever, and that would give him something to enjoy.
The university was a place he frequented years ago. Every couple of weeks, his workout program would meet there, and struggle to complete exercises and run around the campus. The hilly terrain and sidewalks made for perfect exercise torture, by the program leader who insisted he was doing his best for the team. He parked at the same parking lot as they met at 0545 those years ago, and grabbed the leash.
“Come on Zeus! Let’s walk around the lake. It’s around here somewhere.” Zeus clambered down from the seat, to the floor, and finally to the asphalt. His weight made it hard on the joints, and yet he remained young at heart. With a snap of the leash on his collar, Zeus bounded ahead.
“Let’s go this way” he asked Zeus. Without hearing, or without noting that he heard, Zeus made a straight line at nearly a jogging pace towards the pine needle-covered yard under the tall trees. He realized that his trip to the store must have taken longer than he thought, but Zeus managed to be a good boy even so.
Zeus was always a good boy. He didn’t say much, didn’t do much, but was always there. He never complained. He never caused any trouble. Except when there was occasion to dig in the back yard. For whatever reason, the soft earth in the spring time created a digging frenzy. He never knew what Zeus was seeking. But, with a wet towel, the big feet were soon clean enough and Zeus plopped down for a rest inside. He decided Zeuss was still a good boy.
Down the path from the parking lot he went. Zeus wandered from scent to scent. Trying to get exercise was hard, with the starts and stops, but it was Zeus’s time too. He looked at the signs on the campus, trying to remember where the path to the lake was. In a few hundred yards, he saw a marker pointing to the famous lake, and turned left there.
It was a lake like no other lake. In the olden days, the young women and young men resided on opposite sides of the lake. Somehow he didn’t think that stopped much of anything from happening, but it doubtless was a reassuring admission counselor commentary as parents considered sending their precious teenager to college there. Nowadays, the lake was a focal point, and with good reason. It was beautiful, just big enough, and just small enough. He could walk around the lake and feel like he had done something good for his health.
Zeus padded along beside him, on the asphalt that still looked new. Before, it was a dirt trail, some years ago, but with the money of this institute of higher learning, paving it was only a matter of time. He walked along the perimeter, heading towards the bridge.
There, nearly at the far end of the lake was the bridge. It was a unique bridge, with an island in its middle. A gazebo at the edge of the island sheltered those who paused to take in the view. Or, met for reasons only young college kids would understand. Zeus turned onto the bridge, as if he had been there before. In a few steps, he and Zeus were at the island.
“Hey, Zeus…let’s get your picture!” Zeus was always having his picture made. He was used to it, by now. Almost on automatic, Zeus found a spot where he could be seen. He sat, and waited.
In the setting sun, the lighting was just perfect. He asked Zeus to stay, and arranged the leash just so. The leash was always in the picture, and he hated that. On the island, he decided to take the leash off. Zeus wouldn’t go anywhere. He was a good boy. He backed up, away from Zeus who was sitting near the gazebo, trying to find just the right spot for a portrait. The sun was coming from the southwest, and there was only a few moments of that golden glow left. Zeus looked at him, but just when he was ready to take the picture, Zeus turned his head.
“Come on Zeus! Look at me. Look right here. Here, boy!”
Zeus turned to face the iPhone, but quickly turned away. He felt exasperated, but was used to it. Zeus looked back at him, and the shot was perfect. Until it wasn’t.
“Zeus!” he shouted. ”Zeus!”
Whether or not Zeus heard him, he couldn’t be sure. He was sure of one thing…Zeus could still run! In a flash, Zeus had leapt up, turned left, and bounded away across the bridge at a full gallop.
“Zeus!” He grabbed the leash and fumbled with his phone, trying not to drop it. Looking down at the Carhartt jacket he stuffed the iPhone in the interior pocket. and coiled the leash. The Asics running shoes were suddenly very appropriate, as he chased after Zeus.
Dashing as fast as his arthritic knees would allow, he made his way across the bridge towards the wooded shoreline. Coming around the gazebo, another walker was heading towards him, and he had to swerve to avoid a bone-crushing crash. At the same moment, a cold gust of wind swirled across the lake, and his hat flew off. Right into the dark brown water. His hat!
“Zeus!” he yelled. Zeus was still running, headed into the woods. With the setting sun, in the dark woods, Zeus’s deep black and tan coat was perfectly camouflaged. He couldn’t see where Zeus was. And, in that instant, he knew he couldn’t save the hat. Glancing back, he saw it slowly filling with water like a canoe under the rapids of the James River. His hat!
With pounding feet, he kept after Zeus. A branch from a tree had fallen across the path, and he nearly bought the farm, stumbling and leaping and pirouetting in mid-air just to stay upright. There! To his right, up the hill, he saw the familiar bushy tail heading over the top step.
He remembered these steps. They weren’t really steps, more like railroad ties placed randomly up the hillside. No way to just run up them, he had to look at each step carefully, to avoid crashing into the wooden beams. He hated the steps in the days of his fitness program, and with Zeus out of sight again, he hated them more. If only he had stayed in shape!
At the top of the steps he paused to scan for Zeus. There, right on the edge of the path, Zeus stood. His gaze was up, his teeth were visible, and he uttered a low growl. What in the world?
He slowly walked towards Zeus, doing his best impression of a Green Beret soldier creeping up on the enemy. Up in the tree he could see a dark shape. It was pretty far up the tree. Somewhat rounded in shape, in the body.
“Zeus” he whispered. ”What are you chasing?”
Zeus didn’t look away from the shape in the tree. He kept growling, just loud enough to be heard. The shape moved, and the tree bark screeched in response, as little bits of bark fell to the ground.
“Zeus…it’s a bear!” he hissed. ”Let’s get out of here!”
Sure enough, up in the tree was a small black bear. Probably a cub. Probably one of a few cubs. He didn’t want to stick around to meet the mother. Even with Zeus.
“Zeus…let’s go!” he whispered. ”Come on, boy! Let’s go!”
Looking back, Zeus realized he had done his job. He ambled back, keeping a wary eye upwards, but soon took his position beside his somewhat amazed father.
“Zeus…let’s get to the truck.” And, with the snap of the leash on the collar, they were off. Walking quickly away from the wooded area near the lake, they made their way along a service path and around a building. There, just ahead, was the truck, dimly lit under a parking lot light.
With the push of the key fob, the truck lit up and the doors unlocked. Zeus pulled ahead, to the back door, waiting for it to be opened. He reached down to help Zeus into the truck, but to his surprise, Zeus took one leap up and sat proudly on the back seat. His eyes were bright. His tongue was out. His breath was quick, in and out, and his excitement was noticeable.
“Good boy, Zeus!” he smiled. ”You sure showed him who is boss!” Zeus beamed. ”Don’t ever do that again!”
He walked around to the driver’s door. Something was wrong. Something was missing. His hat! His old brown hat. No doubt by now it was at the bottom of the lake. There were a lot of memories with that hat. What had it been, thirty years? Maybe longer? He remembered wearing it so long ago, with his brown leather jacket, as he mimicked Indiana Jones at a Sunday School costume party. My goodness, he thought. That was a long, long time ago.
The big V8 rumbled to life, and he flicked on the fog lights for extra visibility. Out of the university parking lot, and onto the road to the river, he eased the truck carefully along. Traffic was heavy, at the end of the day, and so many people were out and about for Christmas shopping.
He looked in the rear view mirror, and saw Zeus. Instead of sitting up, like he most often did, Zeus was laying across the seat, nestled in his old blanket, asleep. What a dog, he thought. Twelve years old, and chasing a bear cub up a tree!
He rubbed his thinning hair. It was not styled quite right, after wearing a hat and then running with all his might to find the dog. He smoothed the mix of brown and grey strands out of his eyes, and tried to comb them back with his open fingers as he stared in the mirror, stopped at the red light. He didn’t like the grey. It made him feel really old.
He heard Zeus from the back seat. It was one of those soft barks, heard in a dog’s dream. No doubt he was barking at the bear again, dreaming of being young again, and full of life. If only dreams could come true.
He thought back to the costume party, when he was young. There, he had dressed like a hero, and all it took to complete the look was that old brown hat. With a smile, he knew what tomorrow’s adventure would be. Shopping. With Zeus. For a new brown hat.
Seeking To Understand 