I have a couple of posts that I go back to now and then.
I do not know why they stand out for me, but they do.
Maybe because they touch exactly what I am trying to do here with DERAILLEUR.
LEMON AIDED
NEXT TIME
…Two I really like.
Two I read, and I am ‘there.’
I think this one will become one of the ones I go back to.
‘It touches.’
Plus, it involves nature, dogs, cycling, and really nice people.
That is all I am looking for.
Let’s go.
In the winter, I walk.
Long, aimless walks.
Urban and country.
There is one walk I like as it perfectly combines the two.
I walk through downtown, the university, and then up a long hill.
Every step I take past the university, the sounds of the city start to leave.
I am now at the base of Mount Royal and ready to make my ascent.
There is a set route with stairs.
There are also a couple of trails.
I like the trails.
The trails are a slog.
Deep snow.
But the rewards are wonderful.
Within ten minutes, you could be in any remote forest.
I do this trail three or four times a week.
I see no one.
I stop many times to admire the beauty.
The way the sun shines through the trees to the white snow.
The silence.
I see no one.
Okay, I see one person.
Not every time, but close to every time.
A guy.
Leonard.
…And his dog WENDELL.
There is no need for a leash.
I remember the first time.
The dog saw me.
Stopped.
Then came barreling through the snow at 100 KM/H towards me.
I could tell by the way it was running that it was a pup.
That kind of goofy, kind of a bit spastic run that pups do.
I squatted, opened my arms, and prepared for impact.
Boom!
Love at first sight.
It was wonderful.
It became my highlight of this walk.
Leonard told me that it was WENDELL’s highlight too.
She would look for me the moment she got on the trail.
This same scenario reenacted itself at least 30 times that winter.
Boom!
It never changed.
It played out the exact same way every time.
There could be no other way.
There was no other way.
So, it is now spring.
This walk was slowly ending as the winter turned to spring, this trail turned to mud, and I turned to cycling.
It was not long until I was not walking at all anymore.
I was cycling.
Towards the middle of the summer, something started to happen regularly.
It began to happen so often that it almost became part of my daily ride.
When I am returning home, I ride up the canal.
People running, walking, baby carriages, dogs.
I turn it down and go with the flow.
It is a nice way to wind down and enjoy the ‘view.’
So, there is this woman.
She walks her dog.
Minds her own business and does her thing.
But her dog sees me from afar.
…And goes KRAZY.
Excited KRAZY.
Like stands on its hind legs.
I ride by and try not to give the lovely woman any more reason for her dog to get excited.
But you see?
This happened countless times.
Sometimes, I would pull off the path and hide to give her a break.
She would always shake her head in a nice way, saying, ‘I don’t know what is going on?’
One day, and I remember it vividly.
A day I relive more than I think I do.
The path was quiet.
Really quiet.
It was just her and her dog.
She was sitting on a bench.
Her dog lying peacefully at her feet.
I slowed down to make a U-turn.
It was too late.
The dog was on its back legs.
I got off my bike and walked towards them.
I put my bike down.
The dog was in another dimension of excitement.
As I greeted the dog and let it go KRAZY on me, she said to me that she could not figure out why this was happening.
‘You know, this is not my dog. It is my neighbour’s. I just love to walk with her. Her owners had a baby, and I am helping them out.’
Yeah, okay, haha, you see where this is going.
IT WAS WENDELL!
IT WAS EFFING WENDELL!
IT WAS EFFING WENDELL ALL THIS TIME!
She recognized me and wanted to do our greeting.
Our Boom!
But, you see?
You are asking how did you not recognize WENDELL?
WENDELL was a pup when I met her on those winter trails.
She was now a FULLY GROWN dog.
Twice the size.
Her colours had lightened and changed.
And we were nowhere near those winter trails.
And she was with a woman and not a man.
When I put it all together and explained the whole situation to her, I got down on my knees and gave WENDELL the biggest apology, the biggest hugs, the biggest apology, the biggest hugs, over and over AND OVER.
I had to make up for a lot of lost time.
I had to make up for a lot of lost love.
I think about this now and then.
My heart breaks.
Poor WENDELL telling me time after time after time.
‘TJ!! IT IS ME, WENDELL!!’
…And I would ride by.
Oh man, I get choked up thinking about it.
That a DOG, in SUMMER, not with her OWNER, on a trail NOWHERE near where we first met, could pick me out, on a BIKE.
I truly honestly wholeheartedly believe that life does not get better than this.
‘MY EVERYTHING…EVERYTHING’
Insert that heart emoji that beats here.
‘There is another way to ride.’