THE BLIND MAN SEES

This spring break I went with my Intervarsity chapter to Pine Ridge Indian reservation for a sort a kind a missions trip. The very last day we were there all twenty five of us students took sixty kids to Hot Springs, SD to go swimming and then out for pizza. Now I usually wear my glasses when I swim in a pool so I went ahead and did the same here. Five minutes into the springs and my right lens decided to pop out and disappear to the rocky bottom. Fortunately I had my prescription sun glasses along. So I had to suffer the last day of the trip looking cool every waking moment, it was so hard, so hard.

Monday afternoon was when I got a chance to find a new pair of glasses. After going to a couple of places in town I decided on Pearl Vision. It just so happens that they are one of only two places in town that can make a pair of glasses in a day. The whole selection process would have been easier if my girlfriend had been there to give me her opinion but that was not to be. I couldn't decide if I wanted them to blend in with my features or stick out. I wanted to go with a similar shape to my old pair and in the end I found these really sweet G. ARMANI's.

I went through one more day of being cool every waking moment and believe me it was hell. Tuesday I awoke once again donning my coolness but alas only for half a day; all good things must come to an end. After my first class I called Pearl Vision to see if they were done and they were; this kind of service can only be found in good old North Dakota. I sauntered in to the shop ready to view a normal Ben. The lady brought my new specs out and tried them on, a few adjustments later I was back to normal. But wait to my surprise the guy who made the lenses came out from the back and he queried the woman "Hey, are those the glasses?" and she said "Yes they are". Well lets just say that he told me they were those beautiful pair of glasses he had ever made. And you know I have to agree with him, they are the best pair of glasses I have ever seen! I have since learned that it is really hard being cool all the time.

MY DOG

It is a long time ago now that I first received this dear friend. I was five years old and I only had two siblings. We lived at our old white rancher on Brookdale drive over by the old LOWES. I wanted a dog so badly, just like every boy when he's young. I asked and I asked for a dog but mom and dad wouldn't budge, their was to be no dog in their house. So I cooked up an elaborate plan as elaborate as it can be in the mind of five year old. I knew that if I got Hayley and Greg to ask at the same time I did they wouldn't be able to refuse us. They did and once again my attempts to get a dog were foiled.

The next morning I awoke and took a shower with my dad. When we got out, my dad told me to look out back and I thought for sure that he had gotten me my dog. I ran excitedly to the windows at the back of the house and peered hopefully into the backyard only to find it full of wet grass and a very stormy sky. My heart dropped down to my feet and right through the floor and settled quite roughly on the dirt. Dad spoke, which brought me out of my reverie, he said: Hey Ben look in the kitchen! OH BOY!!! There was my dog, my very own dog... He was so happy that his whole body was wagging right down to the tip of his tail. My dog came running up to me jumping up and down, barking and licking me, his eyes beaming happiness.

We didn't know what to call him, not for a lack of names but for a lack of good names. So for the first couple of months he was simply known as Dog, until a fortunate outing at Pemberton Park. My family really enjoyed PP back when I was a kid, picnics, bike riding, walking and the beautiful scenery. This particular Fall outing we were simply out for a stroll through the woods. Our walk lead us down to the river where there are wooden platforms to stand on to get a better view of the river and wildlife. We had just passed one of these when it was observed that Dog looked a lot like a piece of fallen Cedar wood. Once we realized this, the name stuck and everyone fell in love with the name, Cedar!

Some how he new that we belonged together, he was my dog and I was his boy. Every night he would jump into my bed and take as much space as possible; I never minded because he made the night safe, he made me safe. His warm reddish fur moving fluidly with each breath never ceased to comfort me. He was a dog that loved white socks, he would lovingly nibble at our toes when we would tease him with our feet. If there was a piece of wood around he would chew it, sticks were one of his favorites. His soul nevered stopped playing.

When he was twelve he started getting a twitch and we didn't know what was wrong with him, so he went to the vets. The Doc diagnosed and treated him for limes disease but we had caught it too late he already had permanent damage. I watched him deteriorate for the next four years. He couldn't make it on my bed anymore, he could barely make it down the stairs to get outside. When I went outside he still followed me and if I tried to leave him inside he would bark until I let him out. I was their when he couldn't bark anymore. I was their when he had seizures. I was there for his life. I wept when they took him to the vets to be realized. I wept when my dad carried him in his arms to be buried. I wept for my friend.

He was and will always be my favorite pet, he was mine, he was my friend. No matter where I went he always went too. When I decided to play in the drainage pond he gladly joined the group, when we played hide and seek he always found us, when we went sledding he followed us down the hill and when I walked home in the dark he marched fearlessly ahead of me. If I went into a friends house he waited until I came out, if I went into the woods to explore he faithfully followed, if I was sad he licked away my tears, if I was happy he played with me, he was my friend. Goodbye my friend.