July 3, 2011 Blog 5

Kids, Music and, Good Friends   

It’s funny how kids, music and good friends can change your outlook from negative to a positive. On Friday July 1st it was one month since Jagger had passed away.  I was still feeling out of sorts, I was still looking in the garden when I went to the kitchen sink window to see if I could see him or when I heard something jingle I would look for him.  However these feelings were slowly starting to change from sadness to remembering a better time.  Last summer Jagger and I helped to build a ship out of cardboard and other materials at our local church for the week long summer day camp that our good friends put on.  The enjoyment we felt as Jagger guided me around the tight spaces while checking to make sure nothing was coming at me or I was not hurting myself (with tools) was always reassuring.  Of course when the kids had seen him on the last day of camp they thought that he was great.  Of course you could see the pup coming out in Jagger just to be with the kids.  Being back doing another project at the same church but a different theme; being with our good friends, and having their dog run around brought back these wonderful memories of Jag’s and I last year.

On Saturday July 2 I accompanied my best friend Steve to the music store to buy a new keyboard for him and the camp. Steve and I love to pull pranks and banter back and forth in public and we have such a great time and laugh at the different things that happen while we are out in public.  Steve and Karen have supported us with Jag’s and me while my feet were healing and Arlene with her back injury, they have been fantastic friends and for us a part of our family. As Steve went to pay for his keyboard I bought a Keyboard stand for Arlene. The sales person brought me to the cash, I asked the guy to find my friend you can’t miss him he is the tall guy (Steve is 6’5”).  I finished paying and Steve grabs his keyboard and turns to me “okay blind man you got your keyboard stand”, the sale guy was so shocked he said to Steve in a stumbling voice “don’t make fun of the guy’s disability and he turns to me and said you should hit him” I said “I can’t he will hide my shoes” the guy was more puzzled and Steve and I laughed more. During the car ride we were talking about walking a mile in someone shoes and all it gets you is shoeless! LoL

That evening we shared a wonderful BBQ and laughed and joked and it started a time of healing and sharing of funny times that we shared with Jagger and all of us out in different functions and of happier times.    

           
John & Steve and Jagger in front of the ship we built after summer camp July 10 2010