Wednesday, August 09, 2006

The leader of the pack

I usually enjoy the sounds of a good thunderstorm, but we've had one almost every day for the past couple of weeks. Frankly, I've reached my quota. That's enough rain, thank you very much.

In this part of the country, thunderstorms frequently mean power outages, and today I was one of the Lucky Lightning Lotto winners. I stepped into my living room after work, flipped the light switch, and nothing happened. Oh, joy! No air conditioner, no computer, no TV, no phone (except the cell).

It was unbelievably dark at only 5:30 in the afternoon. Even with the blinds open, there was barely enough light for me to find my way to the candle stash. While I was feeling around for matches, with Kadi pressing her agitated self against the back of my legs, something crossed my mind that brought a big smile to my face.

I realized that in the worst case scenario -- candles burned down to nubs, flashlight rolled out of reach under the sofa -- all I'd have to do was hold on to Butch. My little blind dog knew exactly where he was.

It made me feel good for him to have the advantage over us for a change, even if he didn't know it.

7 comments:

  1. Velvet, I had just read the second paragraph and I'm thinking to myself, she should hang onto Butch!
    It felt kind of strange to me to "know" what you should do, even though I don't know you.
    And, no disrespect meant, but talk about the blind leading the blind! lol

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  2. i guess your lights are on you are bloging. does it realy get dark there at 5;30 here it's not dark till 8 o'clock.

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  3. I got a little goosebumpy myself as I read about you holding onto Butch, I'm sure he understood. :) How comforting to have him there.
    It does get dark very ealy in yur neck of the woods, its 8.45 here in the UK and just beginning to get dark.
    Sandy

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  4. FHG Rebekah, the *idea* of holding on to Butch kind of gave me goosebumps, too. In reality, he probably wouldn't have appreciated that too much. LOL.

    Schremsgems, you're really good at this "getting to know you" stuff. Maybe one day I'll post a true/false quiz about previous blog entries. Hmmmm, gotta think of a prize.

    Patsy and Sandy, it doesn't normally get dark until 8:00 p.m. here. It was just raining really hard at 5:30, and there was a thick coverage of low black clouds. The sky got lighter after the worst of the storm passed, but we continued to have rain and thunder until bedtime.

    Janet, you're right, I'd have had to watch out for Butch's shortcut under the dining table.

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  5. I think I've said it before, but I love your dog.

    Oh and run don't walk to your nearest bookstore and get, "Chosen by a Horse," by Susan Richards. I finished it last night, selfishly reading it in two days because I could not put it down. It's a moving story and I want to share the joy of that discovery.

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  6. perhaps what seems like a dog with a disability some will one day be the very thing your family needs. guiding you through a dark area could really be of help in situations like black outs and what not. It's nice to discover blessings isn't it.

    (some might say a blind dog is disabled dog but clearly your guy is not.)

    Austin

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  7. Alison, thanks for the book recommendation. I've promised my cousin I'd read her favorite book next, but I'll put "Chosen by a Horse" in line right after that. I just LOVE the feeling of having a stack of good books just waiting for me.

    Austin, it IS kind of ironic that Butch's disability would make him the BEST at something.

    Have y'all seen the recent news clips of the dog named Faith that walks upright on her back legs like a human? She's missing her front legs.

    I don't know how to create a link in the comments window, but you can copy and paste this url to see a video clip. Talk about inspirational!

    http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8025218193636377093

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