Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:15:10 -0700 From: Pete McDonald Subject: TIME-TO-SEE-27- TIME-TO-SEE-27 I've always known why I lived in San Diego, but today I was reminded once again. In the middle of an approaching winter, we are blessed with this marvelous, warm, and sunny day. I never ask where these things come from, I'm just glad they happen. Jilder had been unusually thoughtful, especially of Nicky, all through our rough week together. But the warm day brought a breath of fresh air that Jilder had captured on his own behalf. He was out in the backyard by himself, sitting there in the beautiful sunlight, just living out the day. I had to notice that he hadn't been absorbed in his PSP battles ever since Nicky's crisis began. I was impressed at his awareness of what mattered in life, and PSPs couldn't be compared with his de facto brother's grief. Jilder was there for Nicky all the way.... Yet, here he was enjoying life's blessing for himself too. He didn't need a PSP to enjoy a beautiful, warm, sunny day. It was rather early in the morning when I noticed him out in the yard, sitting on the porch with his feet hanging down on the fake grass; so I went out side to be with Jilder and to get some of that glorious sun myself. "You doin okay?" I asked. "Yeah,"... he said. (In the sense of 'sort-of' it seemed to me.) "So what's on your mind," I went on. "Well, now that Nicky's dad's funeral is over, I'm wondering whether you guys are still interested in going back to the dog shelter." Jilder asked. "I don't see why we wouldn't be," I replied. "Yeah. I'd like that," Jilder said without the usual exuberance that accompanied his every enterprise. "Humm? You sure you're okay, Jilder?" I asked, because I suspicioned otherwise. "Uh?" and Jilder paused for a very long time. Then he said, "I'm worried about something happening to Hugo." "What do you mean?" I probed a bit, feigning ignorance. "Well, Nicky doesn't have nobody alive that's his family. He lost his dad, and there's nobody to take care of him if something bad happens. I'm just afraid that will happen to me," Jilder admitted. "Ohhhhh, I see!" I said. "That WOULD be scary for a person to think about." I continued, attempting to lead Jilder with me as I reviewed the situation, thinking out loud: "Like Nicky was very sick in the hospital, like you, and nobody took notice, or came to visit him, or took care of him... Then he needed a place to live when he got out of the hospital, and nobody would share their house with him and make it NICKY's house too. And when he lost his dad, there was NOBODY to stay with him day and night, letting him know that he was not alone, that they were there for him, and that they loved him.... You mean, like "nobody to take care of him" like THAT...?" I said with a puzzled expression on my face. Jilder looked at me and smiled a bit embarrassed at his myopic view of Nicky's situation. Then he said, "I guess Nicky does have people who love him: me and you and Hugo, and we take good care of him... Humm. I see." And then there was a very, very, very long pause before Jilder spoke again, "But I would still feel really bad if Hugo died. I love him so much, and he took care of me when our dad left us to go back to Mexico. I love Hugo very much." "And I love Hugo too, more than you can know. I told you that Hugo helped me to want to live. And that's true. I really don't know what I would do if Hugo were to die." And I paused, shuddering at the mere freakish possibility, instantly understanding viscerally Jilder's dread. However, I was intent on helping him to see that life is always hopeful, and there is always love at every turn; so I didn't want to leave him suspended on the brink of some imaginary crisis: "But most of the time," I went on, "Life is good, and we have people with us who love us, and mostly they grow very old and stay with us a long time until WE are very old ourselves... You can be sure, Jilder, that you'll be ok, and Hugo will be okay, and you'll be loved: by HUGO and me and Nicky. Forever. Please don't worry," I told him. He lay back on his elbows, closing his eyes and looking up at the sun that warmed us both. I think that morning he found his place in life with the rest of us. ***** After a long while I asked, "Are you still in the mood to get a dog just for yourself?" "Oh, yeah! Only I'm hopin that they haven't sold the big brown one I wanted," Jilder said looking me in the eyes with some concern. "Yes...." I said...."I've been so distracted. That could be a problem. You want to go over there today, maybe just you and me and Nicky, and see if the dogs are still up for adoption, and if they are, we can pay for them and ask the shelter to get them ready for us to pick up later when Hugo gets off from work?" "Oh, yeah! That would be cool. I'll go tell Nicky," and Jilder jumped up off of the little back porch and ran inside..."WHHAAMM!!!" An unseasonably warm day and an unspeakably loud slam are telling me life will return to normal... on IT's terms, if I'll just hang in there. ***** A few minutes later Jilder came back outside and told me that Nicky was up in his room crying. I rose and went inside. The door to Nick's room was open; so I didn't feel like I was violating his privacy by entering. I walked over to the bed where he lay on his stomach, face buried in the pillow, sobbing quietly. I sat down on the bed and put my hand on his shoulder and then rubbed his back slowly, up and down. Nick's sobbing only increased; and he turned over and grasped me pulling himself to me, holding on to me as though he were trying to prevent me from leaving him... And I suppose that was exactly what he was intending to do. I said, "Nicky, I won't leave you- ever. Hugo and I will be around to take care of you for as long as you can imagine. And Jilder will be near whenever you feel like you want your brother. Hugo and I will be here for both of you boys." "I'm scared," Nicky said. "I know." I answered sympathetically. "I'd be scared too." "What if something happens to you or Hugo, what will I DO?" and Nick's sobbing began all over again. "Nicky..., Hugo and I both take very good care of ourselves. We're both going to be around for a very long time... You wait; you'll have two old poops hanging around visiting you when you'd rather go out with your own wife and kids." I told him. (Although, discussions of sexuality had not arisen, I just had a hunch that we were raising two "breeders"-- Okay. I supposed I could be wrong; we would just have to wait and see.) Nicky laughed through his tears at the picture I painted for him. "Really, Nicky. What's happened to you is extremely unusual, although you may not believe me-- I read it's less than 3% of the kids in the whole country. I think you're highly likely to be stuck with Hugo and me for a very, very long time, unless you run away from home.... In which case, we'd come after you..." and I ruffled his already wild, billowy, kinky, red hair. "Kevin, would you mind if I called you dad?" "Hummm? Only if you call Hugo dad too," I answered. "Oh, yeah! Of-course," he responded, like: "how silly of you to consider otherwise..." "Well, I'd be honored, Nicky." I said. "Thanks." he answered. "Will you tell Hugo, or you want me to?" he asked. "I think it's YOU who will honor Hugo with that important title; so it's YOU who must tell him what you're going to do," I said. "OK." Nicky said, and I noticed that he wasn't crying any more. ***** The boys and I drove up Caldara Blvd., both of them leaning over the front seats looking out of the front windshield, not seeming very different from what two dogs would do in the same situation... OMG... "Yeah! Right up there," Jilder said his excitement growing visibly. Then he turned to Nicky and said, "I'll help you take care of your dog, if you'll help me with mine." "Oh, thanks," Nicky said. "Maybe we can take turns with things sometime." "Yeaaah!" Jilder said After I parked and cut the engine, the boys were out and up on the steps leading into the shelter before I even realized that they were out of the car. Oh, well, I thought as I walked over to join them. Here goes another era for our little family. The young lady remembered us from our earlier visit and came over to greet us. The boys lost no time telling her why we were there and asking her whether their favorite dogs were still available for adoption. They pushed their crumpled pictures of their dogs and the one for Hugo at her. There was no way I could forget "my" little dog; so I gave her his picture too. Fortune smiled on all of us. The young woman told us that ALL FOUR OF OUR FAVORITE DOGS WERE STILL THERE AND NEEDING HOMES...., which sent the boys into rounds of cheers and jumping up and down. (Well, aw shucks, I guess I was happy about that too...) I explained that I would complete the paperwork right now, make payment for the dogs, and ask that they double check that the shots had been completed. Then, about 6:30, later that afternoon, we would all four come back to pick up our dogs. The young lady couldn't have been more pleasant or accommodating if the dogs had been for her-- or maybe she WAS accommodating because they WEREN'T for her??? Well, both of the boys had to go and visit with their dogs while I was doing the business. When I finished, I went inside of the shelter, and right in the cage where I'd left him, was my dog. The one for $10. I thought he was as happy to see me as I was to see him. Now there was the task of holding the boys down on planet earth until Hugo was free and could accompany us back here to take the dogs. Nicky and Jilder sat in the back of the SUV chattering and making exclamations which sounded pretty much like "the old boys," our pre-crisis sons. I had just begun thinking 'late lunch,' when we passed a Coco's restaurant. One would think our SUV had a computer chip in its navigation computer that homed in on those restaurants. Well, we could do much worse, and I was especially glad the boys liked to eat there because it was possible to avoid the worst aspects of fast food: high fructose corn syrup, excessively fat greasy cooking, and other dietary horrors that Hugo would have given me hell about had I fed that stuff to the boys. This was not our flagship Coco's, but the boys didn't care one whit; they were right at home with the big, mouth-watering, color photographs in the menu. And, happily, it looked like I had two health nuts on my hands. Nicky ordered first, "Good afternoon. I think I'll have the grilled salmon with rice pelaf and a lemonade." Jilder was right there with his brother, " Yeah! me too...salmon with rice and lemonade." Then Jilder turned to me and asked "Kevin, can I have some blueberry pie today?" "Yes. That would be fine, if you're sure you're hungry enough for all that food," I answered. "Oh, yeah! I'm really hungry. But I'll wait until we eat, and then order again. That'll be OK," Jilder said. "OMG," what did I just hear? "Are we ever developing realistic, adult thinking in our old age... " Not to be left out of the negotiations, "Yeah! Me too. But I'll wait and order again with Jilder." Nicky said. I smiled at the waiter who underlined our order as he told us 'thank you' and turned to leave. Almost immediately another young man, not much older than Jilder and Nicky delivered our beverages. Nicky leaned over to me and whispered loud enough for Jilder to hear too, "Maybe when I'm a little older I can get a job at Coco's doing that. You think?" he asked me. "Oh that would be very responsible of you, Nicky. And, yes, I do think that if you put in your application, you could get a job with one of the Coco's Restaurants... Different restaurants need help at different times; so you'd just have to keep watching and asking," I said. There was a short pause, but I went on: "Which brings up something else on my mind that I've been waiting the right time to talk about with you guys. The most important thing a young person, like you guys, can do is to go after your education. That's got to be number one in your life, because it really influences what you can do later in life," I said. "I realize that you can't go back to regular school right now, and maybe not until after Christmas, if then-- we'll have to see how you are. But I think we ought to get busy on some home schooling, to keep you from getting too far behind. As far as Math and English go, I know I can teach you what you'll need to know." I was pleased to find that I had their undivided attention. Both of them understood that young people have to go to school and complete their education, and they weren't expressing any resistance to my observations at all. "So I was thinking maybe, after we get the dogs and get that all settled, we could have about 3 hours of school each morning. That would give you both plenty of nap time, when you need it, and time with the dogs or for other things. What do you think about that?" I said. "Yeah. That's a good idea," Nicky said. "I want to graduate from high school, and I'd rather not be more than maybe a year behind because of my rib problem." "I'd like that too," Jilder agreed. "Well, then. We'll stop and pick up some notebooks and pencils and stuff for each of you at Walgreens, and I'll find some text materials on the internet that I'll print out. We'll start as soon as we can? If you don't mind," I said. "Hum? Well, maybe not tomorrow. I need some time to plan the lessons; so I'll get back to you to suggest a day for us to begin, Okay?" I asked. Amid bobbing and nodding heads that gave me the go-ahead, I felt a huge load lifted from my shoulders. Oh, yes, teaching is work, but this would be a labor of love for me. I wanted these two boys to have the very best opportunity possible to expand their intellects. I look at this educational task as another one of the gifts bestowed upon me that I didn't deserve, but which I am elated to receive. Lunch arrived and the boys lost no time beginning to eat. I watched them with a great sense of joy because I felt that they were moving along in their lives in spite of horrendous upsets, first their critical operations, then the death of Nicky's dad. My mind drifted to no particular place, and then, out of the blue, I thought, "God, what do you want me to do now?" I'm not at all sure why that thought occurred to me, but it did. Life seemed to be unfolding of its own volition, without any assistance from me, which I think is the way it's supposed to happen. That is, forcing things just doesn't work. People have to undertake life on their own, and follow the signals that arrive on some divine wavelength or that are decoded using God's own codes programmed into our brains. I said, "Say boys, the three of us have never been alone before just to talk family talk." They kept on shoveling in the food, but glanced up enough for me to understand that they were paying attention to me. I continued, "We've been through a pretty rough time together, but it looks like we can have some really good times together too. We'll be getting the dogs. We'll be starting home school. Christmas isn't too far away, and maybe then we can go away together on a little winter vacation." "Hey! Cool. Could we see some snow? I've never seen snow," Nicky replied between a mouthful of food and a gulp of lemonade. "Yeah! That would be awesome." "Well, I just wanted you guys to think about some of the good things that can be in our future," I said. "However, there's also something else very serious that we have to confront too," I said. The boys looked at each other with some fear in their eyes; they both stopped eating; then they turned to me at nearly the same instant. "Of course you understand that Hugo cannot hear." They both nodded yes with their mouths full. I went on, "There is a medical research organization headquartered in Ireland that has examined Hugo and proposed a very new and experimental stem-cell implantation to correct his condition. I won't go into the technology of it, I'll save that for later, but right now, it's enough for you to be aware that we're waiting for a letter to come any day for Hugo from Ireland telling him whether they can attempt the special stem-cell implantation operation." Jilder put his fork down and said, "Hugo didn't tell me anything about his having an operation." Just a glimmer of fear appeared in Jilder's eyes. We weren't very far emotionally from our conversation this morning where Jilder admitted his fear of losing Hugo, the way Nicky had just lost his dad. Realizing that his subtle, frightened look was probably related to that earlier conversation, I said, "Jilder, you shouldn't be worried about Hugo at all. The operation cannot hurt him. The bad thing that can happen is that Hugo will just still not be able to hear if the stem-cells don't grow correctly." "But the researchers are telling us that he has an especially good chance of regaining his hearing completely... His condition would be very well suited to the type of growth behavior that could be expected from the stem-cells," I explained. "Is he going to take the operation?" Jilder asked. "Yes. He wants to have it right now. But, Jilder, the possibility that the operation could fail makes Hugo very, very frightened." "Yeah. I can understand." Jilder said moving food around on the plate with his fork. "But I hope he'll try, 'cause I'd love for him to really be able to hear me tell him things. I'd like to actually talk to him. That would be so great. And I want him to hear me when I say 'I love you.'" Nicky joined Jilder: "I love Hugo too, and I hope he will take the operation, because then he can enjoy music and talking to people," Nicky said. Then turning to me he asked, "Is there anything we can do to help?" I took a deep breath and sighed, "Well, not directly, but you can let Hugo know that you think he's doing the best thing for himself, even with the risk that the operation won't do what it's designed to do, and help him to keep up his courage when he's sad. "Yeah! I can do that," Jilder said "Me too," Nicky added "When will he get his letter?" Jilder asked. "It could come in the mail any day. You guys could check the mail every day to see if it's arrived. And when it does, you can see that Hugo gets it right away." I said. "Oh, I'm going to look for the mail every day." Jilder said. Then he turned to me and asked, "Uh? Where's our mailbox?" "It's in a big metal box with five other mailboxes for the neighbors. The whole thing is built into the tall wall around our townhouse. I'll show you. You'll need to go out with the key and open it every day, say around one in the afternoon, or after your naps." "Sure." they confirmed together. "Is it OK if we tell Hugo that we know about he's getting the operation?" Nicky asked. "Of course," I answered. "You can tell him that you and Jilder and I had a meeting and decided we were all going to do everything we could to help him get ready for his operation. I think Hugo would like that very much," I answered. The waiter noticed that we were all sitting there talking after our lunch; so he returned to ask whether anyone was interested in deserts today. The boys both looked at me like their respective dogs would likely look when they appealed for table scraps: "Go ahead, if you boys feel like you can eat anything more," I said. Upon which Nicky got the jump on Jilder and said, "I'll have the blueberry pie." And you, Sir? (Referring to Jilder, which I KNOW must have made Jilder ecstatic with delight to be addressed with "Sir.") "Uh. Yes, Thank you. I'd like the blueberry pie too." (My goodness, from where was this gentility springing? Maybe from some former lifetime, I considered.) And they both got their blueberries and spent another 15 minutes discussing not only preparing for Hugo's operation but also preparing the house for the arrival of the dogs. "I think we need to get four big dog bowls; so they each know where their food is." Nicky suggested. I jumped in, "Well, you're right there. Dogs don't like other dogs eating their food. So we need to give each one his own bowl in a special place where we put food just for him. That way he can guard against the other dogs getting his food. It will make all of them feel better and minimize the dogfights--which 'ain't fun' to break-up," I pointed out. And since I had the floor, I continued, "And I think we need to get leashes for each of them too. There are many places where we have to use leashes to keep the dogs from bothering other people. And we need leashes to take the dogs out for a walk. You may want to take them for a walk when you go out to check the mail." Jilder joined in, "But aren't there dog parks where we can take the dogs to run and play. They don't need to wear a leash there, do they?" "You're right, Jilder. Yes. I think there's a dog park not too far from the house. We'll have to discover all of the dog things. Lots of people in the neighborhood have dogs, and they like to take their dogs out to play. Maybe you would like to check with Chuck, the neighbor with seven dogs." "SEVEN!" the boys exclaimed. "That must have cost him a lot," Jilder said. Then they went on contemplating the house preparations. "When can we get the bowls and the leashes," Nicky asked. "You know, I think there's a big pet store in the shopping center here with this Coco's. Let's look around when we finish lunch," I suggested. "Yeah. And maybe we can get their food there and some treats and maybe some toys too," Jilder added. I nodded agreeing with Jilder and saying, "We really need to get the food, the bowls, and the leashes immediately. Do you guys feel good enough to do that shopping before we go back home. Anybody tired or need to rest?" "Oh, sure; let's get the food," Jilder said. "I'm not too tired," Nicky added. "Great. When you get home though, I want BOTH of you to lie down for a while. We are supposed to be getting you healed, but I'm afraid that with so much going on, I haven't planned for enough rest for you. When you go to see Dr. Gilmer next week, I want both of you looking and feeling great... Got it?" I said. I don't give many orders, but the ones I do, I back up. I love them to death, but they'll get their asses in gear IN SPITE OF THAT! ***** I pushed a button on the remote, and the garage door closed behind us. The boys were immediately tugging on huge plastic bags containing the plastic bowls and leashes, the toys and treat, but I told them to leave the heavy bags of kibble for me. I don't want those boys dislodging their steel bars trying to haul in huge bags of dog food. We came into the kitchen in a clamor, banging against the doors and dropping the bowls and toys in the floor. Altogether, we were accomplishing our jobs with the precision and coordination I'd come to expect from our army of two privates. Jilder said, "Where should we put this stuff?" I responded, "Well, you'll have to find four different places around the kitchen where we can put the dog bowls and maybe their name on little signs too." The boys were very serious designing the dog feeding stations. "You'll have to leave a bowl for water next to each food bowl. And you'll have to drag each dog to his feeding spot every time until he gets the idea that his food will always be in the same place," I explained. "Ok." Nicky said; he walked over to a far corner and placed a red bowl for food and a blue bowl for water. Then Jilder picked up one red and one blue bowl and searched for another likely feeding spot. "Look for a place that won't be in a major walkway that we'll have to step over when the dogs are eating," I suggested. "OK. How about over here?" Jilder said as he dropped the two bowls in another corner of the kitchen near the refrigerator. "Hmmm? You think the refrigerator door will hit the dog when he's eating?" I asked. "Well, we'll all have to be kinda careful when they're in here together; so this will be OK," Jilder said. "You guys still have two more feeding spots to go," I reminded them. In short order they tried three or four other places that would probably work, but I could see already that we were going to be running a dog mess hall at feeding time. There just wasn't going to be any way around it. Maybe I hadn't thought this whole thing out very well.... Hummm? ***** Eventually the bowls were in place, the kibble stored in the pantry, and toys were sent to the family room. The boys hung the leashes on nails that they pounded into a shelf in the pantry. I think we were ready... maybe not perfect, but certainly ready for the main act... "Now, UPSTAIRS and hit the sack for ONE HOUR, both of you!" I announced. "You don't have to sleep if you don't want to, but you do have to lay down on the bed and rest a little bit," I elaborated. In a jiffy the house was quiet and each boy was tucked away in his room lying on his bed. "ONE HOUR," I called out. "And I'll let you know when the hour is up." And I retreated to Hugo's and my room and dropped onto the bed myself. I was out like a light... Who needed the nap? Who was I kidding? ***** I'd set the alarm to ring in one hour. I think that was the fastest hour ever. I looked over at the clock, and it was a little after four p.m. Better start on supper, I thought; so I got up and went back to the kitchen and started dinner before I woke the boys. Humm? I had decided with our needing to deal with the dogs tonight, that I'd do a Mexican food buffet. I started with whole brown rice that I'd later add my special tomato and pepper sauce. I had soaked a huge bowl of black beans which I rinsed once again and set on simmer at the back of the stove. In the frig, down in the vegetable bin, I'd stored several really plump red tomatoes, bunches of cilantro, and a bag of shredded veggies (purple and white cabbage, carrots, and onions) that I wasn't too proud to admit I bought to save me some time. Oh, and I pulled out two kinds hot chili peppers in vinegar sauce. I diced the tomatoes and grabbed onions from under the countertop and diced them as well. I chopped up the cilantro and mixed everything together to make a nice, mild, fresh salsa. Hummmm. Hummmm. If I did say so myself... Then I pulled out of the frig some chicken pieces that I had par boiled yesterday. I removed the meat from the bones, and just barely browned all in a smidge of olive oil. Then I mixed in some cilantro for good measure. The beans were cooking slowly and would certainly be finished by the time we got back from the dog shelter. The rice was done, and I stirred in my tomatoes and pepper sauce. When we get back I'd steam the corn taco shells and voila: Mexican Buffet for Four! Chicken tacos with Spanish rice and Black beans on the side and all the salsa and onions you could eat. I had even picked up a bottle of red wine for Hugo and me. The boys got fresh limeade... and would continue to do so until they were much, much older-- 24 or 25, I theorized! By the time I'd gotten this far, the scent from the kitchen was smelling wonderful, and I didn't even have to nudge the foot soldiers out of their bunks... Both were downstairs with renewed energy and ready to pick up Hugo from work and the dogs from the shelter... Everything seemed to be on schedule, I was happy to see. "Okay, guys, come with me!" I announced. With that I marched them into the front hallway and to the closet in the hall. I showed them were the key to the mail box was hung on a ring just inside the closet door. The three of us went outside and down the steps across the front lawn and out the front gate down to a bank of aluminum mailboxes, perhaps half a block away. I point out, "This one's ours. Number 4. It's right at the top of the second vertical row. If there is a package that won't fit in the small box number 4, you take the key that the postman will leave inside of it to open that really big box at the bottom of the mailbox display. " "Right now. I want you to check the mail for today. The postman usually gets here around one p.m." I explained as clearly as I could. Nicky had the key, and he reached up to box number 4 to insert his key. When he opened the box there were a small stack of letters and some folded magazines of various sorts. He pulled everything out and carefully closed and secured the box again. "There. Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" I asked. "Why don't one of you check it each afternoon and then put the letters that come on top of the kitchen table where Hugo and I can find them. Also, if anything belongs to you, why you should take it right then... Expecting anything?" I said kidding them... "Okay." I thought to myself. "This family is shaping up. Everybody is getting a job. Humm? Pretty soon we should be on autopilot... I hope... Oh, yeah! We'll have to deal with the trash and the dog chores: poop patrol and the like! This place really is beginning to feel like a full- fledged corporate operation." ***** Well I didn't express my disappointment, but I was really growing eager for a letter or something for Hugo from Ireland. Hugo asked everyday about getting something too. Of course, today, nothing either... I made a pass through the kitchen putting more water in the simmering black beans and covering everything; so that it would be fresh and ready to eat after we got home with the dogs. I decided to stop the beans from cooking any longer, because it's possible that we could be delayed getting back home. These days, any and everything seemed to be possible. The boys and I piled into the SUV. They had all four leashes and some old blankets for the dogs to sit on in the car. Good luck trying to get four dogs to settle down on those blankets! However, on the other hand, that task alone would keep Jilder and Nicky occupied for the entire trip; so I was all for it. "Wait a minute!" Nicky screamed just as I was about to back out of the garage. Before I could ask what was going on, Nicky opened his door, jumped out of the car, and ran throught the door back into the kitchen. Jilder said, "What's going on with Nicky?" "I don't know," I replied. A moment later the kitchen door swung open and out came Nicky with a small bag under one arm. He got back into the car and slammed the door. "We forgot the treats!" Nicky said "Ooohhh! Yeaah!" Jilder exclaimed with embarrassment. "Maybe those dogs won't suffer under the boy's care after all... Heretofore, I hadn't been too sure," I considered. Moments later we sped into the parking lot at the hospital and Hugo was outside waiting for us. He understood that this evening was the time we had set aside to pick up the dogs. Hugo was third in line according to degree of excitement. I was at the bottom of the list, but I WAS definitely ON the list. He jumped into the car without my having to cut the engine, and I turned back out onto the main street immediately. I didn't want to wear out our welcome with the shelter by arriving late and standing them up. Oh, my, when we arrived we were just a few minutes after six. We were plenty early. And the young lady was ready with paperwork for all of the dogs in 4 large envelops. She had them identified by cage numbers. "Oh, My God! We don't have any names, guys!" I said. How could I have forgotten about names? Both of the boys were so excited with actually receiving their dogs in the flesh, that the name issue didn't seem critical to them yet. But I decided to take pre-emptive action and said: "Okay, Guys... Now over the next day or two we've got to decide on names for our dogs. Then we can get little signs made to put on their bowls and on collars around their necks," I said. That was hardly out of my mouth when the young lady came out with Jilder's big (and I do mean big) brown dog with floppy ears on his leash. She handed the leash to Jilder. I wish I'd taken a video of his face... At that instant I remembered my new cell phone, pulled it out and did record everything for our enjoyment years from now... Next came Nicky's big black and white dog with long hair hanging down everywhere at the end of another leash. And this one went to Nicky who looked for all the world like another new father himself. Finally, the young lady brought out the last two dogs: Hugo's love-starved, super-gregarious black curly haired dog and a tiny, frightened, not-very-attractive $10 dog for me. We each assumed our charges, and they seemed to know who was matched with whom, before introductions were even attempted. The boys were happy and laughing and full of energy. I was suddenly once again very glad that they'd had a chance to take that good long nap this afternoon. And there we were. ***** Papa told me about when he was a little boy, there was this man who drew pictures. The man was named Norman Rockwell. Mr. Rockwell drew colored pictures of typically American themes that were then featured in picture essays and on the covers of national magazines. No one any longer thinks about Norman Rockwell or what he did. But if he had been around this shelter tonight, he'd have had yet another Classic American Scene for his picture essays, a scene with one small twist. It was the All American Gay Family: pragmatic in etiology, embarrassingly wholesome, fiercely bound in love, and totally committed to the nurture of its members, all of whom would be successful, like the Phoenix that rose reborn anew from the disaster of its own ashes.