Saturday, July 5, 2008

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.

14 comments:

Lori Whitwam said...

I'M SO JEALOUS!!!!! I don't have a groupie, not even ONE!

Greg said...

Memorization?!?! Okay, Curt, slow and easy...take a breath, then let it out.

You really need to be working on your Etsy site...I bet you could get $50 if that paw print was framed.

Curt Rogers said...

Sorry, Greg! See what happens when you get famous! I was a little drunk with power for a bit there! Thanks for bringing me back down to earth (I had a feeling someone would!).

Curt

NodakJack said...

Better to have a groupie than a Grouper...or to be groped...or to gripe.

Marty said...

Curt,

You have several groupies who religiously read your blog first thing every morning. We're just not near Colorado.

Sometimes, it's the one peaceful time in my day. And, I thank you for it.

Marty

Valerie Cummings said...

Im a fan! Im a fan!! Out here in San Diego! Oh that is so awesome you guys met! She is so lucky! I am so addicted to your blog!

Curt Rogers said...

Thank you all for being fans of Duncan! Your daily readings and comments mean the world to me and give me the encouragement to work on my "real" writing. It's nice being a part of your day. Thank you for being part of ours! I mean that from the sincerest, deepest part of my heart.

Nik said...

Dude,

I didn't know you had a blog.
I've only read like 2 posts,and I'm a fan already.

Where's MY paw print?

I will especially be reading since I'm a lover of all things canine. My dog Smokey is to blame.

It's great to see you're doing well. I don't know if you knew I had a blog too. You can visit my knitting blog at

http://niksknits.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Aw shucks, Curt. It was nice to run into you yesterday and especially nice to finally meet Duncan. He's adorable! Keep up the good blog and I hope we run into you in the park again.

Rick said...

Dang. You're making me nervous Curt. There's actually real people that read blogs? Who'd a thunk it. Maybe not in my case.

Unknown said...

Yes Curt, you have a whole contingency of fans out here! CaboVal and I head up the San Diego fan club of "While Walking Duncan."

You and Duncan ever make it out this way, you'll have a Golden Friendly place to stay, complete with dog friendly pool, and tour guides!

Charlie said...

Ditto - we envy Joan & Bing for getting to meet you & Duncan in person!

Unknown said...

I've always been your fan. From the first story on.

Curt Rogers said...

And if it wasn't for you, mom, taking dictation on that very first story, about the monkey and the pig and the jungle, I might never have learned to love the written word as much as I do.

I'm your number one fan, too.