in 8 years I have been down many roads in this small town with my dogs

tonight so many memories came to surface as I passed through the city then over to my dad's for some time in the pool

when I got there it was inside away from the thunder, the lightning , and the rain
it amused me that my dog Brutus was inside with everyone eating dinner while my dad's dog Max was still outside on the screened in porch

after dinner the rain stopped
I swam with five year old dean and two year old grant
Grant is highly mobile with his life vest
while five year old Dean is using goggles sans life jacket and chasing me to the bottom of the deep end
as the swimming pool was always Roscoe's thing and never Brutus'
lisa opted for a breather from the action and went to the street with Brutus

it was good for her to get away from kids screaming out for mommy
it was good for her to get some one on one time with Brutus
sure Brutus has stepped up to the plate and is along side of lisa in bed
but it is good for them to be out on the street together covering some ground

after dinner and swimming it was still early
rather than heading straigh home I offer to switch cars with lisa
she can take brutus....
I will take the boys
we will switch cars as my car is without kids seats at the moment

I offer to take the boys to best buy for some kid's walkie talkies
it is something to do
I had talked about getting Dean and Grant some kid's walkie talkies
and well
it seemed like a good way to entertain them
that and the fact that I am tired of fearing that my walkie talkier are going to get destroyed when one of the kids tosses them off the ladder of the clubhouse

either way...
it was something to do
if they cost me 15 bucks and only occupied this time shopping and an afternoon.... then the toys will have paid for themselves

we roll up wisconsin avenue from bethesda into northwest washington dc
as I get closer to the best buy within the decco building that was once known as the sears building I realize that I am headed right for the animal hospital
as I look for a space I see two spaces right infront of the vet clinic
I keep rolling
the site of the vet clinic makes me sick to my stomach
not hollow like the sadness I have
just sick... I do not feel well with the way things were handled
not well in any way at all
the slate exterior makes the clinic look not like a decco building made of cement
it looks like a big tombstone

I roll around the corner and find another spot
closer.... not entirely out of view... the passing itself did its damage
but
what was I going to do?
avoid that part of town for the rest of my life?
there are more memories from that city block then this weekend

it was painful just the same

the trip into best buy was also painful
only in a basic parent and grumpy child sort of way
there were no kid's walkie talkies
not at best buy
not at radio shack
the boys each wanted something
daddy played hardball
we went for walkie talkies
it was walkie talkies or nothing
kids are so quick to grab the first thing off the shelf and start in with the daddy buy me this

it is amazing
they get fixated

the kids demaned enough attention that I could not dwell on the proximity of the animal hospital