FUN Tuesdays and Dog Tales in the Dark

Welcome to the dog days of summer in New York State!

It seems like only a short time ago I was whining about our winter woes... and how difficult it is to travel by car across the Catskill Mountain Foothill Region of the Hudson Valley to visit a very dear friend named "V".

Given that not too distant experience, it would not seem fair for me to whine about the severe Summer storms our region of the state has been having the past few weeks, especially when other parts of the country are being ravaged by terrifying tornadoes, devastating droughts, and ferocious floods.

To be fair, there was a tornado that touched down in a small New York State town the other night that killed at least four people.  For people not from this area, this occurrence is actually not uncommon.  Nor are floods, as there are certain rivers and creeks that often overflow from a surplus of rain, crippling entire communities in their wake.

If only we could share our deluge of water with the drought victims out West...

Recently, I went to visit "V" on a Tuesday night.  It is a fun evening to share with her, as her eyes light up at the prospect of watching the long-running, immensely popular television drama, "NCIS."  I believe that "V" has a crush on the show's star, Mark Harmon, and any mention of his name makes her eyes sparkle almost as brightly as seeing her new great-grandson in person.  Almost.  Nothing can quite compare to that joyous moment.

But watching Mark and company on a Tuesday night comes pretty darned close, and I get great joy out of sharing this not-so-secret pleasure with her.  

Alright.  I admit it.  One of the other main characters, Tony, is pretty easy on the eyes, too.  As a movie buff, I find his frequent film references and quirky characterizations quite entertaining.  Equally valuable are the other members of the cast, most of whom (We miss you, Ziva!) have become an endearing constant in a world filled with never-ending change.

Plus, it's just plain FUN to watch something FUN with another person that appreciates the FUN!  And that's what "V" and I, and millions of other viewers, have in common on Tuesday nights.

This recent Tuesday, however, was definitely different.  

For one thing, "V" didn't want any chocolate pudding and cream puffs during the show, stating that she was on a self-imposed diet.  What?  No chocolate pudding and cream puffs during "NCIS"?  It certainly wouldn't be right to have some without her. I sensed this was going to be an unusual evening.

Although FUN had been downgraded to fun, I still knew we would have fun, chocolate pudding or not!

A more significant change in routine occurred throughout the entire broadcast, and it was something that simply could not be ignored.

Across the top of the TV screen in BIG RED LETTERS was an ongoing warning about a very dangerous storm that was moving quickly approximately fifteen miles Northwest of "V"s home.  60 MPH winds.  Heavy downpours.  Lots of lightening strikes.  And a possible tornado.

Okay, the letters were not THAT big.  They only seemed that way to me thanks to my brand new birthday bifocals.  Yes.  I am proud to admit that I have officially joined the millions who, as they age, must begin wearing bifocals for distance and close-up reading.  And to think... if this weather warning had been flashing across the TV screen only a few short weeks ago, before my birthday bifocals, I would not have been able to read it, thereby continuing to enjoy "NCIS" in blind ignorance of the severe weather that was approaching.

I also wouldn't have been able to see Tony quite as clearly as I now could.  WOW!  The actors on TV really aren't all blurry after all!!!

As if the letters weren't enough, my new Samsung Galaxy cell phone (not the latest and greatest edition, just a mid-grade model), whose performance was greatly inferior to my trusty old Droid, decided to step-up and be noticed.  Extremely loud and unpleasant sounding noises emoted from the gadget throughout the course of the show, also alerting me to the dangers of the imminent storm.  I suppose this is a very good feature to have in a mobile phone, but NOT during Tuesday night's airing of "NCIS"!  Luckily, I could put that feature on vibrate.

"V" is hard of hearing, although she does wear hearing aides, and her vision is inferior to mine.  That turned out to be a good thing.  With every weather warning that I heard or saw, I looked over at her to see if she had noticed it.  Nah... She remained happily engrossed in Mark and Co., even though, to be honest, he rarely looks happy in the show... probably because he is so seriously solving crimes while at the same time being the straight-man leader to a bunch of amusingly quirky sidekicks. 

"V" was having FUN.  And I was having fun.  And there is a difference!

Next to her television set is a window that looks out upon a giant maple tree.  It is a beautiful tree, especially in the Autumn, and its' gorgeous rainbow of leaves can almost make one forget the mess that it makes when those very leaves turn an ugly brownish gray and all drop to the ground.  Almost. 

"V"s Home from a Distance... With a Giant Maple Tree as a Hat!

Even in the dark, I could see that the leaves were beginning to blow wildly, but not steadily.  More of a gusty pattern.  Increasingly gusty.  Thanks to the bifocals, the leaves weren't blurry either, and that beautiful maple tree began to look more and more like a major threat as the branches swayed back and forth with a highly uncharacteristic fury.   My FUN level had now dropped from fun to fun.

I didn't want to interrupt "V"s FUN, however, so I kept my growing anxiety about the approaching weather to myself.  

Luckily, the storm passed North of us, and we were able to finish watching the entire episode of "NCIS."  Another case solved in a most satisfactory manner!  And another whole week to wait before seeing our favorite heroes save the day (unless you watch the USA Network at certain times during the week... then you could enjoy what is commonly called "Marathon Viewing," episode after episode after episode aired back-to-back-to-back... talk about taking away the FUN of anticipation!  Some things still actually are worth waiting for, making the experience that much more FUN!!!)

"V" turned to Turner Classic Movies after "NCIS" ended, which is her usual back-up plan when something she usually watches has come to a conclusion.  An early black and white film featuring a very young Maureen O'Hara and a supporting "B" movie actress named Lucille Ball (in a flamboyant back-up role that was not a Lucy to love) was playing, and "V" told me she had seen this when it first came out in theaters, seventy-five years or so ago!  It always amazes me when she tells me about seeing some of these old classics as first-run features so far back in time.  Then again, my seventeen year old son seems to have that very same amazement when I talk about films from the 1970's and 1980's... long before I needed bifocals!  And especially ones I saw at the now nearly defunct Drive-In Movie Theater.  (We are indeed lucky, however, to have two in our area!)  

Ahhhhhh... The Good Old Days!

I couldn't help but wonder what kinds of movies from his youth he would talk about when he got older, and the thought was a scary one!

Maureen and Lucy were not to keep us company for very long, however.  Although it had appeared and sounded as though we had dodged the severe storm, a sudden power surge drained all of the electricity from the house, reminding me that we were still dangerously close to the wild weather.

Dangerously close and now extremely dark.

Luckily, "V" had a wide assortment of flashlights strategically placed throughout her home, in all colors and sizes.  Knowing there were two near the microwave, I fumbled into the kitchen and found the blue one for myself.  Next to "V"s chair was an everything side table, where she literally kept anything and everything she could possibly need while seated there.  Not surprisingly, this included a yellow flashlight, which I helped place in her lap.  

And there we sat... "V" in her blue chair holding her yellow flashlight, and me, now feeling kind of yellow, clinging to my blue flashlight.  

This, I thought miserably, is NO FUN!!!

Or was it?

"V", oddly enough, seemed completely un-phased by the loss of power to her home.  I suppose that when you live to be ninety-six, you've more than likely experienced one too many moments in the dark.

We started chatting, and at first I was not sure where the conversation would lead.  

After a while, though, the direction became very clear, and it wasn't a bad one at all.  In fact, it had an element of FUN about it!

It was time for dog tales in the dark!

"V" initiated the conversation by talking about their family dog named Lex.  He was a beautiful, but characteristically temperamental,  Irish Setter, with a coat of hair the color of Lucy when she really was loved.  In fact, that's probably around the same time period when young Lex had actually graced the lives of the members of "V"s family.  Her boys were... well... boys, which meant that her tale took place about fifty or sixty years ago.  Over half a century, to put it in a more amazing perspective.

The story was about the time Lex ran off in a terrible thunderstorm.  He was gone three long and worrisome days, and everyone in the family was very upset, especially "V"s youngest son.  "V" recalled how he would crawl into bed with her and her husband, seeking solace as he grieved the possible loss of his beloved pet and best friend.  

With her yellow flashlight shining up onto her face, the only light in the dark room other than my blue flashlight, which was turned off for the moment, "V" looked just about as happy as she did when she was watching Mark Harmon in "NCIS."  And if you've gotten anything out of this excessively long blog entry so far, then you know just how happy that is!!!

As she talked about the lost dog, and the comfort she gave to her youngest son, who was only a small boy at the time, I could swear that "V" actually did look fifty or sixty years younger, transported to a very bright time and place that defied the darkness.  She was back in another era, a young mother to a treasured family, a memory that had been rekindled, perhaps, because of the power outage.  Or in spite of it.  There may not have been much light around us, but whatever light there was radiated from "V"s tone of voice and flashlight tinted joyful expression.  

She continued her tale about her family's missing canine.  After three days of anguish, Lex showed up at the front door, bounding into the home happily.  Everyone, especially the boys, was thrilled at his return, even "V", who was then tasked with cleaning up Lex's large muddy footprints from everywhere in the house! When a pet goes missing, she and I agreed, it is like a piece of a puzzle that just can't be found.  Better to know the fate of the pet than to be left in the dark about its whereabouts.

I suppos it's that way with many things in life.  

When "V" was done talking about Lex, I told her about my girl, Goldie, a clumsy Golden Retriever mix who had been an integral part of the family when my son was a little boy.  And although the tale didn't happen nearly as far back as "V"s, it nevertheless held many similarities.

I told "V" how I felt when Goldie ran off in the thunderstorm.  She was gone for over a week, and I was full of guilt and sadness, which I tried to hide as I, too, provided solace to a young boy who was grieving the disappearance of his beloved pet and best friend.  It was only thirteen years ago, not nearly as long as "V"s five or six decades, but the memory had been rekindled by the same power outage, and the images were just as clear and crisp.

My family found Goldie after nine days, and hundreds of dollars worth of signs posted throughout the county.  I told "V" how we would get leads about her, phone calls to come look at dogs that had been found after the storm.  It's amazing how many of our four-legged companions go missing in the wake of severe thunder and lightening.  And it is indeed a miracle when they do come back to us.

Lex came back to "V" and her young family a long time ago, but the images were as clear in her mind as if it was yesterday.   In fact, I imagined that Lex had crossed the Rainbow Bridge quite a few decades ago, yet here he was, brightening up a dark room in present time.

As was my Goldie, who crossed that same bridge only three summers ago, at the age of sixteen.  

Me and Goldie a Month Before She Crossethe Rainbow Bridge

How much joy both animals had brought to our children!  And to us, as Mothers!  Were it not for the lights going out, "V" and I may never have shared these wonderful memories.

And so our FUN evening ended, with thoughts of Mark, Tony, Lex, and Goldie warming our hearts.  (The rest of our bodies were already quite warm, as the air conditioner had now been off for a while, and the wild weather brought with it an 

Lex (Immortalized Forever as a Figurine)

oppressive mugginess that is a common 
characteristic of the dog days (no pun
intended) of Summer on the East Coast!)

Ultimately, the power came back on, and in the morning, the savage storm seemed like a distant memory, just like "V"s tale of Lex and my story of Goldie. 

Luckily, our beloved pets continue to wag their tails in our hearts.  Perhaps as "V" and I were sharing our dog tales in the dark, Lex and Goldie were watching from the Rainbow Bridge...


Postscript

A very odd thing had occurred during the night, however.  At one point, I heard "V" speaking in her bedroom.  I went in to see who she was talking to, and as clear as a bell, she pointed to the little boy that she saw standing on the other side of the room. 

"I think that little boy has to go to the bathroom," she told me, pointing at the image only she could see.

I didn't ask who he was.  At ninety-six, I imagined that a great many people and places from the past visited "V" while she slept.

"Okay," I assured her gently.  "We'll help him." 

With that, "V" fell back to sleep within seconds.  In fact, I don't think she even remembered the exchange the next day.  I decided not to bring it up when I saw her again.  Some things are best left to the mysteries of the mind.

I bet that boy had a beloved dog and best friend, though :)