His brother Kellan and cousin Mitch were running on the path leading to the opposite side of the bridge. They were yelling while pointing downriver at Stranger, Jack's family dog. Stranger was trapped in the icy water, desperately pawing at the edges of the ice while yelping loudly, trying to free himself from the frigid grave that awaited him.
Running quickly, Jack ignored the danger of falling and made it to the other side of the bridge. Slushy ice flew as his feet hit the pathway, and his instincts took over. The dash to the area where the spring emptied into the Red Cedar took him only a minute. Stranger continued yelping and pawing at the ice as Jack laid himself out headfirst on the thinning ice cap and grabbed a paw, pulling the dog out of the water and completely off the ice to safety. The dog shook vigorously, covering Jack, Kellan, and Mitch with an icy shower before running in circles on the shore. It was an anticlimactic end to Stranger's life threatening event.
As the memory faded, Jack smiled, crossed his arms, and sat back on the stool. He had probably saved his dog's life that early spring day forty-five years ago.
My God, forty-five years ago. How could time pass so quickly? It didn't seem that long ago, and yet, it did.
So many things had changed over the years: marriages, kids, grandchildren. Thinking philosophically had never been his forte, but a strange mixture of melancholy and contentment filled his brain, and, as he resettled himself on his thickly padded stool, other memories began swirling in his head.
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