Marley and Me

John stood outside, pacing up and down the street. He was hoping for the best, but knew the time had come deep within. His phone kept ringing every hour, he would answer and try and sound positive for his family. "Marley is doing everything he can," he said. "All we can do is pray." Putting he head against the cool, damp wall, John thought back to ten years ago, when Marley was just pup. The dog drove him crazy, but taught him so much about life. As John strolled down memory lane, the vet was inside, doing everything she could for Marley.

It didn't take long for the vet to realize that there was nothing she could do. She walked outside and grabbed John's sweaty hands. "It's time to say goodbye, he's ready to go," she said. John slowly walked through the vet's office, although it was a very small place, John made it seem like it was huge, taking the smallest steps, almost like a toddler. John entered the room to see Marley panting heavily. "Take as much time as you need," the vet said.

John stroked Marley as he talked to him. "You've been a great dog," John said. " You don't have to suffer anymore." He said his goodbyes and Marley licked John on the face, as if saying his last goodbye. John broke down, not in a way that most people think of breaking down, instead John was laughing with tears in his eyes. His memories strolled to all of the good times and he new that it was time to put Marley out of his misery.

John opened the door. "It's time," he said. The vet walked in and got the needle ready. "Will it hurt," John asked. "He won't feel a thing," she said. John held Marley's paw until all of the fluid exited the needle, within seconds the heavy pants had stopped.

"A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbol means nothing to him. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside. A dog doesn't care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his. It was really quite simple, and yet we humans, so much wiser and more sophisticated, have always had trouble figuring out what really counts and what does not. As I wrote that farewell column to Marley, I realized it was all right there in front of us, if only we opened our eyes. Sometimes it took a dog with bad breath, worse manners, and pure intentions to help us see."

My Take on It

As we hugged goodbye I knew things were never going to be the same. No more advice. No more secrets. No more Anna.

Since she was six years older than me, I always looked up to her. She was gorgeous, guys were lined up to have a date with her and I was the tomboy with dirt on my face, never getting a second glance. When she left for a date, I would steal her clothes and put on her make-up, just to try to look as beautiful as she always did. When friends of mine would come over I wouldn’t show them my new Nintendo game, I’d take them to meet Anna.

As we got older our age gap seemed to disappear. She transformed from my big sister to my best friend. When I had a problem I knew I only had to walk ten feet to resolve it.

As we talked about different problems, she was always very honest. When I did something wrong she would tell me, but would always provide me with a plan to get things back to normal. She had a way to make me feel better about things and by the end of our conversation I would always feel happier than I did when we started our talk.

This all was about to change. I knew the second we let go of each other my best friend was gone. Instead of walking ten feet to get advice, I would have to talk to her on the phone, over 2000 miles away.

When we finally let go of each other I noticed tears in her eyes. It was clear that I wasn’t the only one hurting. She was the one leaving for California, leaving everything she grew up with behind. She was the one starting a new life, a life she has always dreamed about.

All of these years I thought the world revolved around me and my problems. I never stopped to think about how Anna might be feeling.

Pg. 46 #2

• Monday's were always the same at my workplace.
  
• I imagine that Aunt Janet was cleaning the house like she always did.
  
• It was unclear what she was thinking; perhaps she wasn't thinking at all.
  
• I'm not sure how the events unfolded; however, I do know the end result.
  
• As I looked him in the eye I could not tell what he was thinking. I want to believe he was trying to say 'I Love You'.