The Good Life

A few years ago in a hotel room in Arizona, I ordered a hamburger and fries from room service. Normally when I'd eat a meal, Huckelberry would be at my feet persuading me to share. But that night I was on a business trip, so I would have the pleasure of watching ESPN and actually having a whole burger to myself for a change.

When I was finished eating, I stretched back with my arms behind my head. I glanced down by my my feet. Little bits of my burger and half of my fries were sitting there on the floor. They were in a nice little pile waiting to be eaten by Huck. As I was cleaning the mess I made, I began to appreciate what an integral part of my life that little fucker had become.

It wasn't always that way, but eventually he would become my best friend. He truly was our best friend. Carrie and I used to get off work early so the three of us could have the dog park all to ourselves. There was a hill at the dog park where you could see everything. We'd let Huck loose and he would slowly roam around sniffing. Periodically he'd look back at me on the hill with an expression on his face that said "this is the good life". And it was. In part because of him I finally came to the realization that my own life, the life I was sharing with my fiancee and our dog, was in fact, "the good life". THIS is the good life.

As I write this I know that a month or a week from now I'll be on the couch, eating a peanut and butter and jelly sandwich. When I'm done, I'll look down and I'll find all the crust of that sandwich on the floor. And he won't be there to eat it.

Huckelberry the Dog
1993 - 2009