Today is TSO

To explain the significance and importance of Trans Siberian Orchestra in my life, in this our story is pretty near impossible.  But I gotta try.  

It was the winter.  That winter.  A couple of fine folks in Colorado got me tickets to see them since I was there while Murphy was receiving care at CSU.  And it was my birthday.  

Being the music lover I am, I was sure I heard of them.  But even if I did, nothing could've prepared me for it...

An Angel Came Down was the first piece they performed and I was blown away. To put it into context, I've seen Pavarotti live, the three tenors, and Yo Yo Ma and even Kitaro... There was a hot, hot girl in a red sequined dress playing the electric violin that I still think about from time to time... 

Anyway, I was in rapture.  Pop culture has ruined the word 'awesome' but it was.  I was a kid witnessing the spirit of Christmas for the first time.  

And yet I hated it.  Because somewhere in a distant parking lot, alone and cold was Murphy.  He never left my side and the TSO concert was as far as I went from him.  We didn't stay for the second set because I couldn't. Even though thoroughly bundled up in the SUV.

And then after Murphy died, I was up in Bowling Green KY (heh, that's my TX roots showing - everything is 'up'), for two reasons.  To meet Indy for the first time and attend a fundraiser for their animal shelter.  It was the coolest of its kind - it was in a cave that Jesse James and his gang hung out in if my memory serves me well. 

Even amidst all the beauty, glamour, and glitz that I was graciously invited to be a part of, I didn't stay long, 30 minutes maybe, because I couldn't.  I left there and drove to a church parking lot and put my TSO CD in, listening to it for hours.  It must've been hours because someone called the police.  

The officer politely asked me why I was there.  I didn't know if he meant why I was in The City of White Squirrels, the parking lot of a church in the middle of the night, or asking a more theological question.  But I only had one answer.  

"I miss my son."  

He nodded and said goodnight.  I never asked his name.  

This is my Christmas story

The City of White Squirrels

We’ve traveled through some pretty magical places but there’s always been something a little different about Bowling Green, KY, that I’ve never been able to quite define. Even though it's a smallish town of less than a 100,000 people I suspect it is home to more dog lovers per capita than anywhere else we’ve been.

But then, during our most recent trip to Bowling Green, it became apparent why it's so special.  I was on an early morning walk with Hudson when I began to think about Buddy. The Crestmoor suburb we were staying in was loaded with squirrels and seeing all those insolent rodents running amok and unchecked reminded me of just how much I missed him.

You see, if the Bud Man was there with us he would tree every single one of them but he had passed away a few weeks earlier from end stage lung cancer and congestive heart failure.  But even in his final days squirrels remained his singular obsession.  He never met one he didn’t want to chase making him the anti-Will Rogers of squirrels I suppose.

He was much on my mind that morning when Hudson and I rounded the next corner and I saw something that sent chills down my spine: a white one. The short span of time between thinking about Buddy and then seeing an albino squirrel was spooky and surreal, but we are no strangers to seemingly impossible coincidences. Trail magic has always followed us on our travels and I wasn't surprised to feel Buddy's presence.   

Shortly after our morning constitutional, I put Hudson up at our host home and headed to Lost River Cave to help the BG Humane Society setup for an event later that day. Arriving early, I walked the grounds studying the geology and history of the place and then I spotted another white squirrel.  WTF?

I didn’t have my iPhone with me for my first sighting but I did this time. Though hard to see in the photo nearby it’s high left on the main tree trunk. I had never seen one before so twice in a few hours seemed particularly peculiar. Once Lorri Hare, the head of the Humane Society, got to the Cave I asked her about this strange occurrence and she said for some odd reason albino squirrels were common in that part of Kentucky.

And then it all made sense.

Bowling Green, the City of White Squirrels, is to dogs what Mecca is to Muslims.  It's a Holy place that Hudson, Murphy, and I were drawn to on our walk back in the winter of 2008 while on our own pilgrimage. 

And though the reason was not apparent to me back then, today as I adopted a Great Pyrenees puppy from them, I finally understood why. 

The circle is now complete.  One journey has ended and another has begun. 

Behold, Hudson’s new Brudda….

In The News - December 15, 2009

Thursday – December 17 -- Live Video Chat at 9 PM EST with special guest Lorri Hare -- Live Video Chat with Luke, and Lorri Hare from Bowling Green Warren County Humane Society . Luke, Hudson, and Murphy met Lorri, the Director of BGWCHS some time ago – way back when they were in Kentucky – and she will be our first guest on the video chat Thursday night. She’ll visit with people on-line and discuss what they do at her shelter, and give a general presentation on what all shelters could use/need this time of year. She’s a terrific person and we’re very happy she’s made time to be on our video cast. After Lorri speaks, Luke will take questions. The Chat will last 1 hour and can accommodate up to 30 participants. I will post the link here when I have it, so if you’re interested in getting in on the chat this week, please stand by. We’re using WebEx, a much more user-friendly system, so if you tried unsuccessfully to get in on another chat, please try again. You can even use it successfully on dial-up so even those still stuck in the 20th century can be a part of the fun!

By the way – WebEx has a nifty recording feature. So even if you can’t get in on the live Chat, you can access a recording of it and listen in. More on that later. (OK, OK, I have yet to figure out how it works. But it does, and it will, and we’ll post the link. Promise!)

Friday, December 18 – Crossing the George Washington Bridge and into Bryant Park Friday December 18 – The George Washington Bridge crossing is this Friday morning at 9 AM EST. Then The Boys will walk along the Hudson Esplanade to 110th Street, through Central Park and and up at Bryant Park – meeting at Annie’s Dog Bakery and Boutique (which, Luke tells me, is in the “B Section” of Bryant park – there are maps throughout the area to help you find your way) at around 6 PM EST. Folks and their dogs who are in the area and would like to meet The Boys and welcome them to NYC & celebrate their 13th state are invited to attend. And I’m sure Annie’s Dog Bakery will be happy for the business too! (I think Murphy, the Stomach on Paws, must have suggested the meeting spot to Luke. Check out their web page and see all the delicious goodies.) And there are lots of other shops at Bryant Park, so bring your Christmas list, check it twice, cross off the naughty and load up the nice. (Yeah, yeah. I won’t quit my day job.) (Wait – this IS my day job!)