Meet Ember.
Ember
Ember is an aging mixed-breed dog who
found her way into our family when she was only about six months old. She'd been living wild on the streets of a small OK city for most of that earlier portion of her life.
Ember is a quick, clever little dog....er, well she was quick. Now, she's getting on in years and isn't quite so fast. And she's very, very creaky.
Ember likes to go for drives. For her, it's not the trip
itself, but the destination.
Of course, she still doesn't have
her driver's license yet.
She's got multiple nicknames - including "Sasquatch" - but "Miss Ember" and "Ember Dismember" (more the former than the latter over the past couple years) are two of the most popular.
I constantly tease HawkWife about our scrappy little dog. I have a schtick that I constantly cycle through about Ember being the "Doggie of Darkness" - it goes on, and on. And HawkWife's role as Ember's eternal servant has evolved over the years - she's been Ember's #1 minion, then disciple, then acolyte, then busted down to minion again... I keep asking if she's set Ember on fire yet, so she can "recharge" ... Ember ignores me. Usually. As does HawkWife.
Can you escape the Doggie of Darkness and her laser-like eye beams of death?
When she was still a pup (under a year old), my friend Paul (a.k.a.
Crow) once asked aloud "OK, who wants to volunteer for a suicide mission?" Ember leapt up, both front paws in the air, jumping on her hind legs - a volunteer! Missy the mal just looked at her...and carefully, while remaining seated, scooted herself backward a foot or two.
Ember went on several (or at least volunteered for several) "suicide missions" until one day when Paul called for volunteers. As she leapt up, Missy (I swear!) snickered. Ember paused, half-standing on her hind legs, and shot her a look...then slowly, as if light was dawning, lowered herself back to all fours on the ground and backed up, sitting next to Missy.
She never volunteered for any more suicide missions after that.
At some point, I need to write & share a more accurate depiction of the relationship that she has with HawkWife - it'll be entitled "Me, and my Shadow."
____
That's it. Short tale, but fun one.
Two quick requests: please go to my diary from earlier today and let people know that they can get Her Final Year: A Care-Giving Memoir free through Sunday (Mother's Day). The free Kindle version download has been running since Friday - we want to get the book into the hands of as many people as possible; ideally, into the hands of folks in, or facing, the caregiver's journey.
Second, most of you know Aji. Many of you know that Wings has a one-man exhibition of his photography and silverwork ongoing at the Jean Cocteau Cinema in Santa Fe. Tomorrow (Sunday, May 11) is the last day of the exhibition. And you still have time to help make it even more successful. Here's how, from Aji's blog:
Only today and tomorrow remain to catch Wings's one-man show at the Jean Cocteau Cinema, so it's send-it-viral time again. You know what to do. Please share these links once again (and like, and tweet, and cross-post, and e-mail, and whatever else you can think of):
Facebook announcement
Events at the Jean Cocteau Cinema: Wings - Silversmith and Photographer
Announcing Taos Pueblo: Ancestral Places, Sacred Spaces
...I need to go to bed; as I don't often sleep much (contiguously, esp.), I'll be back from time to time tonight, so please feel free to leave comments.
Thank you, and thanks for sharing and participating.