One Day

[Butterfly]

There was a question in the Parade Magazine this weekend that I thought was intriguing.  The question was as follows:

If you had a chance to spend one day with someone who's gone.  Who would it be ?  What would you do ?

[Veda]

Only one person?
 
Well . . . today, I decided that I'd really like to spend the day with my Grandpa Bonnett.  I'd show him how grown up I'd become and ask him so many questions about his past that I never thought to ask him as a child of 9, since that's how old I was when he died. 

I'd take him for a drive to visit all my children and grandchildren, (his posterity) and not knowing if he'd ever been to Utah, I'd drive him to some special places and just take in the beauty around us.  If time allowed, maybe "since this would be a magic time" we could zap to Illinois to watch The Chicago Cubs play a game that he always said we could go to one day, but never got the opportunity. One more thing. . .  being me, I'd take  hundreds of photos of us all together for the sake of memories.   

As dusk started to arrive on the horizon, with the thoughts of our time together drawing to a close, I'd probably just sit by his side, leaning on his shoulder and soak in the last fragments of the day before I had to once again bid him farewell. 

What a great thought for today . . . and sometimes . . . I feel that he is so very close to me.   I love you Grandpa . . .

[Veda]

Well . . . I see you're all still pondering who it is YOU would want to spend the day with, but I keep thinking of different ones, so here I am again.

Today . . . If I had the chance to spend the day with someone who's gone, (now don't laugh) but it would be with my dog Topper.  Since I got him as a wee little puppy, I guess you could say that he was my buddy for almost HIS entire life. 

I was told that if he was going to indeed be MY dog, I would be responsible for him.  At night he would sleep in a box next to my bed and I would check on him a lot to make sure he was really in there.  As he started to grow, which for a Collie German Shepherd mix didn't take him very long, he would just lay on the floor next to my bed and yes . . .  when mom wasn't looking he was ON my bed.

His dad's name was King and his mom's name was Queenie, so naming him Topper was a shoe in for me cause he topped them all. 

If I could truly spend the day with him today, we wouldn't do anything monumental, just run around the neighborhood where we both grew up and go down to the docks and watch for fish.  Topper always seemed to scare the fish away cause he had his OWN method of catching them. . . jump in and get the slowest one first!( then there weren't anymore for me to catch)

During school days Topper would wait to hear the sound of the school bus coming over the hill, then he would run as fast as he could to beat the bus to the corner and be there awaiting my departure from it. 

Now that I don't go to school anymore, we'd probably just sit and watch cars go by and I'd have to keep wiping my face cause he always seemed to think I needed it washed, and never brought along a towell to dry it with.  

I have to say he was my best friend for some years, no matter what was going on in my home or with friends, he was always the one who brightened up my day and he's the one I always told my deepest feelings to.  He even looked like he was smiling from time to time. 

Yes, spending the day with Topper again would be a huge treat, not only for me but for my grandchildren who have heard stories about him many times over. 

Hey Topper . . . here's a stick boy . . . go get it!!   Good boy!

[Butterfly]

Veda, I love both of your answers.  I will post mine..... I just need some time to think and compose.  All this running around the county and helping the neighbors has taken up any quiet time I may have had......  

[Guardian Angel]

Veda I loved your story about Topper.  We had a collie named Topper and he sounds like a twin to your dog......I too am trying to think of something to post here but I just need to slow down long enough to think....