50 Years In The Making

So tomorrow night is Halloween.

My parents were married on Halloween 50 years ago tomorrow.

They are celebrating at Emeril Lagasse’s restaurant in New Orleans, so Happy Anniversary Mom and Pop!

Mom is my biggest fan and reads all of my emails and always posts them on Facebook.

She is actually the one responsible for me becoming a dog trainer.

She is a huge dog lover and when I was about seven she brought home a puppy. She and my father were walking around Union Park in Boston.

There were a couple of hippies with a box a puppies. She took one home and decided to name the little guy after the park.

She didn’t name him Union. She named him Union Park and always called him by his full name.

For some reason that I couldn’t understood we never shortened his name, never came up with a nickname, we always called him Union Park.

This was funny because Union Park loved to dash out the door and run full speed up the street.

For the next hour or so we would walk the streets calling his name: UNION, UNION PARK. UUUUNNNIOONNN, UNNNNIOOOONN PAAAARK!

I still remember the look on people’s faces when they would walk up to pet him. The conversation would go like this:

“What a cute dog. What’s his name?”

“Union Park.” I would mumble.

“What?”

Eyes looking down I would mumble a little louder, “Union Park.”

“Union Park?” the person would say with a strange look on his face.

I would then explain why my dog was named Union Park. I always wished my parents had found him at Fenway Park.

Union Park was a great little dog and I went to my first obedience class with him and it must have set the mold for future events.

It’s amazing how random, small events can have effects on us years and years later.

Peace,

Eric