Charming Szarlan, (?)2004-June 17th, 2009
Charming left this life very peacefully on Wednesday, after a lovely last drive through the hay-scented evening. I can see him running with his friends in dog heaven, bolting after small creatures, swimming in streams and ponds, rolling in the tall grass, or, preferably, powdery snow.
Lately, my writing prompts have run to list-making, so as I've been remembering every little thing about him, I've been making lists of all the things that made him his Charming self. His adventures, his few misdeeds, all his quirks. For instance:
1) when we first met, when I went down to Trenton NJ to get him, how he jumped right in the truck, happy from the first to go with me
2) how he'd take off on toots from the farmhouse where we first lived together, and always be gone exactly 3 hours, usually from 10pm-1am
3) how during a meeting of my writing group, after everyone had been admiring a lovely glossy brown loaf of millet bread that I'd put on the table with some goat cheese for our snack, Charming jumped up on the table, snatched said loaf and devoured it while we were in the next room (Charming happened to be missing a back leg).
4) how he'd always greet every day with joy, bouncing on the bed to get me up so we could both enjoy it
So, this weekend, concentrate on your favorite person in the world, on all the things you love and that drive you mad and make you laugh until you cry. List them, write about at least one in detail. I hope you are able to have a peaceful and joyous few days, in Charming's honor.
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My girl, Boca, my wonderful black Standard Poodle, met Charming when she was still an impressionable young dog. (She is now a mature ten year old.) We often walked with a few friends and all of our dogs down River Road in Cummington or in the Hawley Forest, and Charming would lead the way, always. Boca would watch him with pure admiration as he ran a good football field in front of the others. And the next day she would copy him, well her version of it, which would be maybe twenty feet in front of us on the walk. To Boca, Charming was a handsome and mysterious leader. I told her last week that Charming went to the "spirit world" and she cocked her head the way she always does when I say his name. Thank you, Charming, for being such a wonderful presence on this earth, and showing us the way. We miss you. love, Aimee and Boca
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