When I was 19 years old, my brother had a friend named Earl Duane Seeger. I took one look at that man and life was never the same. As soon as I met him we began dating and 3 months later we were married.
For our first anniversary he gave me a puppy. I named the puppy Jakie after my brother. It was a little brown Chihuahua. At the time we lived in a third floor walk up so potty training was a real challenge. That dog was a real challenge. If I left the house without him, he got in the hamper and drug all my dirty clothes out and strung them through the house. I would take him for walks and he would go wild wanting to get back to the house to pee on the floor.
He did have redeeming qualities. He would stand in the middle of the floor and talk to me. I could never understand what he was saying, but he sure tried! He even made paw gestures which I never understood either. But he was a lot of company when Duane was gone. Not so much company, as work! Damn dog was into everything.
Duane was a tree trimmer and so we moved around a lot. The first year of our marriage we lived in 14 different cities in Kansas. When I learned I was pregnant we were living in a hotel in Toronto, Kansas. The doctor was located in Yates Center. When he told me I was pregnant I asked him where the hospital was located and he told me, "Around these parts folks have their babies at home." Well, that scared hell out of me and we moved back to Hutchinson where mother lived. But the best part was there were also hospitals there!
We found an apartment on Sherman Street. It was a ground floor apartment with a fenced back yard. There, 2 years into the marriage the inevitable happened and we were blessed with our first little bundle of joy, Debra Louann. The dog hated her. He hated that I held her. Hated that I fed her and we often joked that if we did not watch out he would drag her out the door and bury her in the back yard. By then we were living on Sherman Street in a ground floor apartment with a fenced back yard.
She was born in February and that spring we decided to "Make the circuit" again. For some reason we were in Salina, Kansas and it was hot! I was in the car with Debbie and Jakie. Duane had gone into the bar to pick up a 6 pack. When he came out we drove off down the street and did not miss Jake until we had gone a few blocks. I do not know when he jumped out, just that he was gone. We drove around and walked around and called him, but we never laid eyes on him again. I advertised in the lost and found and got nothing. Jake was gone and that part of our life was over. I cried for days.
So we were alone with no doggie. Just Duane, me and Debbie. It would not stay that way for long. I set here 55 years later and apparently I survived. There would be 3 more kids in the next 3 years, a short break and then one more. There would be lots more pets, but I will always remember Jakie. There would be lots more husbands, but I will always remember Duane. He taught me to speak in alpha-alpha. His name was: Duansie ka bansie ti alago fainsy; tee legged tie legged bow legged, DUANSIE! I remember lots of things. Not sure why, but I do.
It is funny the things we remember, isn't it? The good part is that as the years pass, our memories alter just a little bit in our minds. The gut wrenching memories that threatened to destroy us many years ago become just memories. Maybe they are factual and maybe they are not, but they are mine. I have good memories of 75 years of living and some not so good, but they are all mine and they made me who I am today, and for that I thank the God above for every moment it took to make every one of those memories.
For our first anniversary he gave me a puppy. I named the puppy Jakie after my brother. It was a little brown Chihuahua. At the time we lived in a third floor walk up so potty training was a real challenge. That dog was a real challenge. If I left the house without him, he got in the hamper and drug all my dirty clothes out and strung them through the house. I would take him for walks and he would go wild wanting to get back to the house to pee on the floor.
He did have redeeming qualities. He would stand in the middle of the floor and talk to me. I could never understand what he was saying, but he sure tried! He even made paw gestures which I never understood either. But he was a lot of company when Duane was gone. Not so much company, as work! Damn dog was into everything.
Duane was a tree trimmer and so we moved around a lot. The first year of our marriage we lived in 14 different cities in Kansas. When I learned I was pregnant we were living in a hotel in Toronto, Kansas. The doctor was located in Yates Center. When he told me I was pregnant I asked him where the hospital was located and he told me, "Around these parts folks have their babies at home." Well, that scared hell out of me and we moved back to Hutchinson where mother lived. But the best part was there were also hospitals there!
We found an apartment on Sherman Street. It was a ground floor apartment with a fenced back yard. There, 2 years into the marriage the inevitable happened and we were blessed with our first little bundle of joy, Debra Louann. The dog hated her. He hated that I held her. Hated that I fed her and we often joked that if we did not watch out he would drag her out the door and bury her in the back yard. By then we were living on Sherman Street in a ground floor apartment with a fenced back yard.
She was born in February and that spring we decided to "Make the circuit" again. For some reason we were in Salina, Kansas and it was hot! I was in the car with Debbie and Jakie. Duane had gone into the bar to pick up a 6 pack. When he came out we drove off down the street and did not miss Jake until we had gone a few blocks. I do not know when he jumped out, just that he was gone. We drove around and walked around and called him, but we never laid eyes on him again. I advertised in the lost and found and got nothing. Jake was gone and that part of our life was over. I cried for days.
So we were alone with no doggie. Just Duane, me and Debbie. It would not stay that way for long. I set here 55 years later and apparently I survived. There would be 3 more kids in the next 3 years, a short break and then one more. There would be lots more pets, but I will always remember Jakie. There would be lots more husbands, but I will always remember Duane. He taught me to speak in alpha-alpha. His name was: Duansie ka bansie ti alago fainsy; tee legged tie legged bow legged, DUANSIE! I remember lots of things. Not sure why, but I do.
It is funny the things we remember, isn't it? The good part is that as the years pass, our memories alter just a little bit in our minds. The gut wrenching memories that threatened to destroy us many years ago become just memories. Maybe they are factual and maybe they are not, but they are mine. I have good memories of 75 years of living and some not so good, but they are all mine and they made me who I am today, and for that I thank the God above for every moment it took to make every one of those memories.
