At Last, A Groupie

A blessedly gray, cool and hypnotic day with short bursts of heavy winds and then the slow lull of sporadic rain showers, the kind of day made for sitting on the patio with your feet up and listening to someone like Robert Johnson, John Lee Hooker or Mississippi Fred McDowell pluck at their guitars and sing the kind of blues that sound like pebbles rolling over fine, moist sand.

The park was mostly empty tonight when Duncan and I were in the big field tossing a baseball we stumbled upon back and forth, although there wasn't a lot of forth since Duncan refused to retrieve. He's happy chasing after them but prefers to plop down in the cool grass to gnaw once he has them. And sometimes, if he's lazy and doesn't want to run, he'll just it out and roll over on it so I can't grab it.

I noticed a woman and her young Golden strolling along the edge of the field, moving occasionally in our direction then off again. I'm always excited to meet other Golden companions so I grabbed the ball and headed in their direction.

"Hey there," I called and pulled Duncan close to me while he and the pup sniffed each other. "Who's the little one?" I asked, bending down to scritch the boy's chin.

"This is Bing. He's four months old and very much a puppy." she said, patting his back and grabbing the tip of his tail, which wagged rapidly back and forth. "And this?"

"Duncan," I told her as Duncan dipped his head under Bing's belly and sniffed the goods, practically flipping him over in the process. "Sorry about that," I smiled.

"It's what they do," she offered, then smiling shyly said, "Can I ask a silly question?"

Always up for silly questions I nodded, "Sure."

"Are you Curt?"

I cocked my head. "...Yes."

"And this is Duncan from 'While Walking Duncan?'" By this time Bing had rolled over on his back and was pawing at Duncan, who having checked under the trunk was now more concerned with searching for sticks.

"I read your blog," she admitted and hunched her shoulders in embarrassment. "I found it right after I got Bing and I've been reading it ever since. We come to Clement Park every now and then and I always watch for Goldens just to see if it's you guys."

Never having met "a fan" I didn't quite know what to do so I blushed and took my turn hunching my shoulders and kicking my feet awkwardly in the grass. We talked for a bit (I, of course, quizzed her and made her recite her favorite posts, then charged her $20 for a muddy Duncan paw print just to see how big a fan she was) and I learned her name is Joan, she's recently divorced and got Bing back in May when he was "frighteningly small". Her ex didn't like dogs so she makes a point of letting Bing climb all over the couches and sleep in bed with her now that he's gone. She was quite nice and very friendly (and was also able to recite two posts, a lesson to those of you who haven't memorized any yet!) and Bing was pure joy. There is nothing as magical as a young Golden who's still discovering so much about the world. I look forward to running into them again soon.