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Did you ever do something and later sit back and think "What was I thinking?"
We've all been there, I'm sure.
Maybe it was the purchase of something we felt we could not live without only to learn we really could. You know, like a pair of lime green shoes that really look like clown shoes on your feet.
Anyway, let me relate such an incident that has me scratching my head decades later. Many years ago I remember a summer of constant nightly storms with lightning, thunder and rain -- lots of heavy rain. One steamy summer night I was awakened not only by the thunder, but by a strange sound coming from the neighbor's backyard.
It was a mournful, howling sound piercing through the storm. I shot up out of bed and listened closely. Despite the rain, the screened bedroom windows were open to allow in the breeze. We did not have air-conditioning at the time.
Clearly there was something or someone in distress. I grabbed my robe and threw on some shoes and headed outside. The air was thick with steady rain as lightning lit up the yard with each crash of thunder. The howling was obviously coming from the neighboring backyard.
As I headed toward the sound, a flash of lightning revealed the source of the crying. There on the sloping hillside in the yard was a dog. It was some sort of hound, not too big, not really small. I approached the animal trying to ascertain the source of its distress as I calmly spoke reassuring words.
Getting closer I saw that the dog's collar was attached to a long chain that had gotten caught around the base of a large bush on the hillside. Obviously the dog had broken loose from wherever it had been chained.
With the storm escalating, I quickly moved toward the dog, grabbed the chain and unhooked it from the dog's collar. The dog must have sensed I was there to help as it did not attempt to bite or even growl at me. When freed from its predicament, the animal took off running across the yard and disappeared. Now soaked to the skin, I returned to the safety of my house. A chill ran through me even though the night was hot. I think I suddenly realized the stupidity of my actions.
The dog could have seriously harmed me. I could have been struck down by the lightning or fallen in the rain-soaked yard. But I was lucky. It all ended well. I never did learn whose dog it was.
As I look back now I wonder if I would do the same thing again today. There is something about the aging process that brings with it hesitation. I'm no longer quick to run into the face of danger. I don't make solo night visits to the shopping mall or go walking on the trails alone.
However, being a grandparent brings out the mama bear side of me and I wouldn't hesitate to help any child I see in need or danger. Just watch what happens when a lost child calls out for his mother in a store. Every mother's head turns and heads toward that cry. I'm sure fathers would do the same.
I'm not asking you, my readers, to become caped crusaders. But I do hope that we would all figure out a way to help one another when the need arises, doggone it!
Heather Ziegler can be reached via email at hziegler@theintelligencer.net.