The Block Dog

The wife is out of town for the week. She’s back in Texas attending baby showers for her very pregnant sister and spending time with her cancer stricken father. It’s a strange time for her, a mixture of joy and sorrow.

For the first time, I’m experiencing what its like to be the one back at home when the spouse leaves. She’s had to endure this several times but this is the first time the tables have been turned and it’s really strange. The condo feels so empty. I spent the first forty years of my life on my own and after only eight months of marriage, living alone again feels unnatural.

Granted, there are a few advantages, I don’t feel the need to shave every day, I don’t have to share the remote, and I get to leave the toilet seat up, but that’s about it.

Recently, I’ve been listening to an old David Wilcox CD on my ipod. A good friend re-introduced me to this little known artist that I had forgotten. I ran across a song he wrote that well expresses the changes brought about by my upgraded marital status.

Block Dog:

I had a long talk with the block dog
All summer he runs with the kids
He's happy as a block dog
Every day the choice is his

'Cause they all feed him when he's hungry
They all keep him from the cold
But he don't wear their collar
He makes the neighborhood his home

There'll be a fireplace in the winter
There's lots of houses down this street
Summertime he'll catch your frisbee
Beg the best of your dinner meat

I had a long talk with the block dog
All summer he runs with the kids
He's happy as a block dog
Every day the choice is his.

I said Rusty, I'm gettin' married
I used to like your kind of life
But life's different now, it's like a garden
I'd like to tend it with my wife

Dig in one spot make a straight row
You're only diggin' to hide the bone
But when I lived so free alone
I had an empty harvest

I had a long talk with the block dog
All summer he runs with the kids
He's happy as a block dog
Every day the choice is his

Rusty looked up, sad at me and said
Dave, I understand
'Cause we're different now, I'm still a dog
And you're acting like a man."

I had a long talk with the block dog
All summer he runs with the kids
He's happy as a block dog
Every day the choice is his

I ain't nothin' but a hound dog
I ain't nothin' but a hound dog

Thanks for the harvest you’ve brought to my life sweetie. Come home soon. We’ve got a garden to tend and a life to build.