Posts by Hank

The Day We Brought Ricky Home

August 12, 2003 had finally arrived. The day that had been circled on the calendar. The day we’d be traveling up to Templeton, MA, to pick up some very special cargo. It was the culmination of a flurry of activity that had been going on for months. Years, in fact: The 2,000+ times that Robby…

Robby’s Home!

Ricky Turns 9

Just got off the phone with Robby, in L.A. He called to wish Ricky a happy birthday. I put the phone on speaker, and Robby sang. Ricky had been snoozing on the playroom couch, and he kept right on snoring during Robby’s “Happy Birthday to You” — but toward the end, he opened his eyes, lifted…

Sunday Morning at Winslow Park

A dog party! A big dog party! Big dogs, little dogs, red dogs, blue dogs, yellow dogs, green dogs, black dogs, and white dogs are all at a dog party! What a dog party! OMG — how many times did I read those lines???!!! Let’s see . . . maybe 900? (That would be 300 nights x 3 boys.) If…

Ricky and the Wrangler

Sunday, April 15 was the big day. I put the top down on my Jeep, and that’s how it would stay — at least for the next 7 months. Oh, sure, you can yank it back up in a heavy rainstorm, but I generally don’t bother. I just suck it up. That’s why Jeep put those rubber plugs under the carpeting –…

CSI: Westport

Last week I walked into the playroom to a sight I might never see again: Ricky the Beagle asleep on the couch — with an untouched tray of sliced apples not more than than two feet away. I knew what was going on, of course. Ricky, as many of you know, has epilepsy. Not often, but occasionally…

Easter Sunday at Snout Hook

We got off to a late start. Those of you who followed my September cross-country road trip have heard this refrain all too often. (Getting up and getting out has never been my long suit.) I also had to do without my breakfast banana, because Nana, my mother-in-law (no relation to ba-nana), sn…

LA/XC — The Sequel

Last Thursday I ran into an old writing acquaintance at Barnes & Noble. She asked me what I’ve been up to. “You wouldn’t know about this,” I started, “but in September I drove cross-country with my dog . . .” “Of course I know about that, ” she interrupted. This happens to me all the time. …

Beagleness

Why we feel the way we feel about beagles: • The very name “beagle” is a cute name (American Staffordshire Terrier? Rottweiler? Scottish Deerhound? I don’t think so . . . ) • Their velvet ears (OMG!) • The way it looks when those ears blow back and up in the wind • Snoopy is a beagle • Th…

Moms and Madness

This has been a tough March Madness for me. As if it’s not bad enough that I currently wallow in the 24th spot in my son Matt’s 31-person pool, Carol — Matt’s mother and my wife — is in 4th place! Fourth place in a pool with some pretty hardened college hoops aficionados. Fourth place with the…