Have several boxes of Kleenex handy, I'm sure my reaction to this isn't unique.
I Died Today
Saturday, October 10, 2015
Page One
A little less than nine years ago, a wee redheaded corgi
named Conan joined my life's adventure. I'm generally mystical to a fault, and
believe that the Universe put this "heart dog" in my life right on
time. I hadn't had a dog since high school, and it was time again when I lived
in Livingston, Montana. I'm settled down in Denver now, sharing a small house
with Conan and cats Gunther and Jimmy. I've learned a lot from many cats along
the way, and they're woven into the mix.
Lately I've had a lot of friends and fellow dog lovers lose
their faithful companions to old age, cancer, and tragic accidents. I dread the
day when my wee Barbarian and I part ways so painfully that I've needed a
reality check... He looks and acts about a third his age, and he very well
might go the better part of another decade. As an act of appreciation for him
and what he has taught me, this blog needed to be.
About the blog title-- I kept a travelogue-style blog
chronicling my work and travels in Antarctica and abroad, off and on for the
last several years. http://pen-gwin.blogspot.com/ With very little of international adventure in my life
these days, that blog has lied dormant and out of place. Hence the new one.
As a long-time participant in the US Antarctic Program, the
nickname "Pen" Gwin was inevitable. Few ever actually called me
"Pen", but I like it. My dad's name is Ken, so I guess I'm Pen Gwin,
son of Ken Gwin...
Conan's name has several layers of meaning. I've only
started referring to him as "the wee Barbarian" in the last couple of
years. His name originally had nothing to do with the barbarian character, but
nearly everyone appreciates the epic irony of the title. More later.
"Ice People", or fellow workers on "the
Ice", or Antarctica as it's sometimes called, will need no explanation of
the blog title's reference to the "Real World". There is the Ice, and
there is the Real World. I have deployed for two Antarctic (austral) winter
seasons, and five or so summers. It's an unreal world. Really. Conan can't go
there with me, so our life so far together has been Lee "Pen" Gwin
and Conan the Barbarian's Wild Ride in the Real World.
I saw a bumper sticker once that went something like,
"I hope to be half the man my dog thinks I am". Conan is the purest
example of explosive, unconditional love that any being could ever hope to
emulate. Total strangers are greeted by Conan as the long lost love of his
life, pretty much like he breathes in and out. I want to follow his lead. I
thought blogging about our relationship, and describing the insights and
impacts we've shared might help me (and maybe others) learn to love like a dog.
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