The Truth about the End
of the Story
Chin time passes so very slowly all is good and well with the world. I suppose that is because Chin are problem solvers and if there is no problem to solve… the mind spends all of its time reliving the tales from the past and making them mostly true. In times of great calm, naps are plentiful and play
Such was the current state in the Yard that Goes on Forever, on the big red deck and all around and in the Old Brown House during the days after the Oldest One, Butch, Buster and the Shopper had returned just in time to join forces with Mamie Chin and the Squirrel Army to vanquish the cats. It was as if the Sun had whispered to his friend Spring to come and spread his special magic over the yard and all of the creatures that it held… including the peoples. For you see, once the balance of life was returned to the Old Brown House, Chris the Shopper found that Mary the daughter of the Round Man was an excellent choice for his peoples mate.
Chris ran with Mary for many months, finding out much about her Father and the Old Brown House, and the two decided to become one pack. This made Butch especially happy, as it meant his friend Chris would become his forever Father… much as Auntie May Chin had been the fur child of the Round Man. During this time, Mamie Chin grew older and began her formal training to take the role of the Oldest One. Many Chin decades (or about 18 peoples months) later, Mamie was officially passed the title of the Oldest One, a title which she held longer than any Chin who had ever lived. She was a good, fair and wonderful leader of the pack of the Round Man at the Old Brown House.
Buster, the very long doggy and almost Chin, had helped to save the Yard that Goes on Forever from the cats attack… and he never left. He never worried about not being wanted, he was never taken back to the horrible shelter again and he lived the days before he went to the place where you go when the light behind your eyes goes dim in much happiness. Buster secretly held a crush in his heart for a certain older lady Chin and loved her from afar for many, many years.
General Squeak and the Angry Squirrel Army were less angry with each passing day and, just as Mamie Chin had promised the General, they learned to co-exist in the Yard that Goes on Forever and worked as a team to tend to it, protect it and always assure their very special place in the Real World was safe for all who lived there. It is said that, in the years that followed their triumph over the cats, squirrel and Chin would even tease and play together. The General will deny that ever happened… I’m sure… but his daily walks with Mamie Chin, the Oldest One, were the stuff of legend and Mostly True tales in Chin history.
The Old Brown House was transformed with the energy of the new Round Man and his beautiful wife and became young again. The pair of peoples made it a mission to find and rescue even more Chin who had no forever home and little hope of a truly wonderful life. They would seek out these Chin and bring them to live in the splendor of the Yard that Goes on Forever. In fact, the yard became too small for all the new members of the pack and the tall wooden fence was torn down… only to be expanded to be almost twice as long as it surrounded the even larger space beyond the big red deck. This was a time of growth and change for the pack of the Round Man.
A young Chindren named Ollie, who had come all the way from a place called South Africa, was brought to the Old Brown House to be raised. You see, Ollie was a beautiful boy but he could not hear sounds because his ears did not work. The peoples called it “deaf” but the Oldest One said that the First Chin had blessed Ollie with abilities so grand that his ears didn’t need to work for Ollie to hear. Mamie Chin was so taken by Ollie and his handsome face, South African woo’s and barks and his gentle and kind nature that she fell in love with him. Together they had a litter of Chin puppies who they names Sophie, Dingus, Finnegan and Bitty Chin. The four Chindren grew older and wiser with their Mother and Father teaching them life’s lessons in the Yard that Goes on Forever… but that is a Mostly True tale for another day. This was the state of life at the Old Brown House for many years to come.
As with Chin and all other animals in the Real World… Springtime brings love and birth of a new generation that replaces the old and worn that winter takes away. The same was true for the peoples, as Mary gave Chris a fine young peoples puppy. This was the first peoples to be born and raised at the Old Brown House, so he was considered very special to the pack.
Sophie Chin sat on the sleeping place in the room where the peoples watched the back of their eyelids when the Sun went home each day. She sat up tall, well… as tall as her very old bones would allow… and looked over the wooden cage that housed the small peoples boy. Her head tilted and her eyes grew very large and round as the child coo’ed and made soft noises. She smiled and nodded her head in approval. As she gazed down on the babe, a form appeared behind her and sat down next to her.
“Hello Shopper,” she softly said to Chris, as he scooted closer to the old dog.
“Hello, you stubborn old dog,” Chris returned with a smile. He reached over and picked up Sophie, holding her on his lap so she could get a better look at the child in the wooden cage. “He’s something else, isn’t he?”
Sophie nodded her approval and looked back at Chris, “Oh yes,” she admitted, “he is as fine as any Chindren I have ever seen.”
“We have give him a name, Sophie,” Chris continued, “We have named him Bennett Dale. Does the name Dale mean anything to you?” Sophie shook her head to say she that it did not. “Dale was the name of the Peppermint Grandpa. We honor the Round Man and the legacy of this Old Brown House by naming him after the man in the Rolling Chair.”
“Bennett Dale?” Sophie questioned… then she nodded, “yes, I think my Auntie May would likes that fine. Someday I will tell this child the tale of his Peppermint Grandpa so he understands the history of his pack.”
The pair of one time adventurers sat in silence, watching the small peoples puppy and living in the moment. The Shopper rubbed the old dog behind the ears and kissed her on the top of the head.
“You changed my life, Sophie,” Chris admitted, “Without you and your stubbornness, I would not have Mary or Bennett or this Old Brown House. You changed the course of my life and gave me a purpose. Through you I found a light deep inside me that I thought was put out long ago. How did you know that it would all work out?”
Sophie leaned back into the hand that was petting her, more relaxed and at peace than she had ever been. This was the life she had always wanted but never had. A good peoples man to care for her and the pack, a wonderful and active Yard that Goes on Forever that was filled with Chindren and life. She watched as the two young ones who she had raised grew older and raised family of their own. This was the life she had always dreamed of living.
“My Auntie May once told me,” Sophie advised, “Life is nothing more than a long walk down a dusty and winding trail. Take the time to stop and smell every rose, every blade of grass and soak in the sights and smells of everything around you. Give yourself a moment to breathe in the world you live in and enjoy life at its simplest. Treat every day like it’s the first and the last one you’ll ever have because it may well be.” She reflected on her life and continued, “You know, Shopper, I always thought she was mistaken… and then I met you. My life was not a beautiful walk, it was full of the tragedy and sadness of loss. My Auntie left me, my brothers and sisters left me, I was along for so many years. And then… Butch and Mamie came. They started my road back from the darkness… and then I met you. I fought with Someday and all of his trickery, believing that he and I were somehow connected and he would always interfere with my life and make me miserable… and then I met you.” Sophie looked up into the kind eyes of the Shopper who had cared for her like no other peoples ever had before, “You made me believe in all those lessons that my Auntie said to me all those years ago. Live life as if each day is the last day… don’t spend more than a moment dwelling on things that did not go your way… always know how your action impact those around you and… beyond all else… breathe in the world, believe in yourself and just live.”
At that very moment Bennett Dale cried out from his wooden cage. Chris hurriedly removed Sophie Chin from his lap and gently placed her next to him. He stood up to check on the peoples puppy.
“What’s wrong, little man,” Chris asked the child. “What can Daddy do?”
Sophie closed her eyes and listened to the baby cry for a moment. After a moment she opened her eyes and spoke, “He says he is hungry… and that there is quite a bit of pee in the cloth you keep around his bottom. He would like that tended to, as well.”
Chris stopped fussing with the child and looked back over his shoulder with a puzzled look on his face, “You understand him,” Chris questioned?
Sophie nodded. “Why yes… is he not the Grand Puppy of the Round Man? Do you not also understand the Chin and hear their thoughts?” She asked in a matter-of-a-fact tone, “Why would you not think that this child would also have that ability?”
Chris stared at Sophie with a blank expression, “Yes… what was wrong with me?”
Auntie May continued, “He also wants you to know that he approves of his name… he dislikes the color of his blankets you have around him… oh, and that he would prefer more music from the glass viewing box and less of your singing to him. He does not think you sing very well.”
“SOPHIE… You made that last part up, didn’t you?” Chris questioned.
“Maybe,” admitted Sophie with a stink eye look on her face, “but you do not sing very well and the peoples baby does not appear to appreciate it.”
“You, my dear, are the most difficult dog I have EVER encountered!!” Chris continued, “Some days I wonder what I was thinking when I brought you home with me. I could have had a new couch in my apartment, you know… but no, I had to be a hero…”
This discussion between a peoples man and the oldest Chin ever to have lived continued on for two hundred Chin hours (or long enough for the two to smile and laugh at the silly thought of trading a Japanese Chin for a couch).
Their happiness as a pack signaled the end of the end of the story of the Old Brown House, just as the Round Man had promised. The funny thing was that, this time the Round Man was wrong. For, you see, there was never really an end to this story. For as it was with the seasons, winter had become Spring in the Yard that Goes on Forever. The story of Sophie Chin was indeed ending but the Mostly True Tales of the Old Brown House would continue for many Chin decades (or for the remainder of human history) as each ending would only spawn a new beginning.
And so it was and will always be, in the Yard that Goes on Forever, with its big red deck, surrounded by the tall wooden fence, smack dab in the middle of the Real World… at the Old Brown House.
THE END… and a NEW BEGINING
Chin time passes so very slowly all is good and well with the world. I suppose that is because Chin are problem solvers and if there is no problem to solve… the mind spends all of its time reliving the tales from the past and making them mostly true. In times of great calm, naps are plentiful and play
Such was the current state in the Yard that Goes on Forever, on the big red deck and all around and in the Old Brown House during the days after the Oldest One, Butch, Buster and the Shopper had returned just in time to join forces with Mamie Chin and the Squirrel Army to vanquish the cats. It was as if the Sun had whispered to his friend Spring to come and spread his special magic over the yard and all of the creatures that it held… including the peoples. For you see, once the balance of life was returned to the Old Brown House, Chris the Shopper found that Mary the daughter of the Round Man was an excellent choice for his peoples mate.
Chris ran with Mary for many months, finding out much about her Father and the Old Brown House, and the two decided to become one pack. This made Butch especially happy, as it meant his friend Chris would become his forever Father… much as Auntie May Chin had been the fur child of the Round Man. During this time, Mamie Chin grew older and began her formal training to take the role of the Oldest One. Many Chin decades (or about 18 peoples months) later, Mamie was officially passed the title of the Oldest One, a title which she held longer than any Chin who had ever lived. She was a good, fair and wonderful leader of the pack of the Round Man at the Old Brown House.
Buster, the very long doggy and almost Chin, had helped to save the Yard that Goes on Forever from the cats attack… and he never left. He never worried about not being wanted, he was never taken back to the horrible shelter again and he lived the days before he went to the place where you go when the light behind your eyes goes dim in much happiness. Buster secretly held a crush in his heart for a certain older lady Chin and loved her from afar for many, many years.
General Squeak and the Angry Squirrel Army were less angry with each passing day and, just as Mamie Chin had promised the General, they learned to co-exist in the Yard that Goes on Forever and worked as a team to tend to it, protect it and always assure their very special place in the Real World was safe for all who lived there. It is said that, in the years that followed their triumph over the cats, squirrel and Chin would even tease and play together. The General will deny that ever happened… I’m sure… but his daily walks with Mamie Chin, the Oldest One, were the stuff of legend and Mostly True tales in Chin history.
The Old Brown House was transformed with the energy of the new Round Man and his beautiful wife and became young again. The pair of peoples made it a mission to find and rescue even more Chin who had no forever home and little hope of a truly wonderful life. They would seek out these Chin and bring them to live in the splendor of the Yard that Goes on Forever. In fact, the yard became too small for all the new members of the pack and the tall wooden fence was torn down… only to be expanded to be almost twice as long as it surrounded the even larger space beyond the big red deck. This was a time of growth and change for the pack of the Round Man.
A young Chindren named Ollie, who had come all the way from a place called South Africa, was brought to the Old Brown House to be raised. You see, Ollie was a beautiful boy but he could not hear sounds because his ears did not work. The peoples called it “deaf” but the Oldest One said that the First Chin had blessed Ollie with abilities so grand that his ears didn’t need to work for Ollie to hear. Mamie Chin was so taken by Ollie and his handsome face, South African woo’s and barks and his gentle and kind nature that she fell in love with him. Together they had a litter of Chin puppies who they names Sophie, Dingus, Finnegan and Bitty Chin. The four Chindren grew older and wiser with their Mother and Father teaching them life’s lessons in the Yard that Goes on Forever… but that is a Mostly True tale for another day. This was the state of life at the Old Brown House for many years to come.
As with Chin and all other animals in the Real World… Springtime brings love and birth of a new generation that replaces the old and worn that winter takes away. The same was true for the peoples, as Mary gave Chris a fine young peoples puppy. This was the first peoples to be born and raised at the Old Brown House, so he was considered very special to the pack.
Sophie Chin sat on the sleeping place in the room where the peoples watched the back of their eyelids when the Sun went home each day. She sat up tall, well… as tall as her very old bones would allow… and looked over the wooden cage that housed the small peoples boy. Her head tilted and her eyes grew very large and round as the child coo’ed and made soft noises. She smiled and nodded her head in approval. As she gazed down on the babe, a form appeared behind her and sat down next to her.
“Hello Shopper,” she softly said to Chris, as he scooted closer to the old dog.
“Hello, you stubborn old dog,” Chris returned with a smile. He reached over and picked up Sophie, holding her on his lap so she could get a better look at the child in the wooden cage. “He’s something else, isn’t he?”
Sophie nodded her approval and looked back at Chris, “Oh yes,” she admitted, “he is as fine as any Chindren I have ever seen.”
“We have give him a name, Sophie,” Chris continued, “We have named him Bennett Dale. Does the name Dale mean anything to you?” Sophie shook her head to say she that it did not. “Dale was the name of the Peppermint Grandpa. We honor the Round Man and the legacy of this Old Brown House by naming him after the man in the Rolling Chair.”
“Bennett Dale?” Sophie questioned… then she nodded, “yes, I think my Auntie May would likes that fine. Someday I will tell this child the tale of his Peppermint Grandpa so he understands the history of his pack.”
The pair of one time adventurers sat in silence, watching the small peoples puppy and living in the moment. The Shopper rubbed the old dog behind the ears and kissed her on the top of the head.
“You changed my life, Sophie,” Chris admitted, “Without you and your stubbornness, I would not have Mary or Bennett or this Old Brown House. You changed the course of my life and gave me a purpose. Through you I found a light deep inside me that I thought was put out long ago. How did you know that it would all work out?”
Sophie leaned back into the hand that was petting her, more relaxed and at peace than she had ever been. This was the life she had always wanted but never had. A good peoples man to care for her and the pack, a wonderful and active Yard that Goes on Forever that was filled with Chindren and life. She watched as the two young ones who she had raised grew older and raised family of their own. This was the life she had always dreamed of living.
“My Auntie May once told me,” Sophie advised, “Life is nothing more than a long walk down a dusty and winding trail. Take the time to stop and smell every rose, every blade of grass and soak in the sights and smells of everything around you. Give yourself a moment to breathe in the world you live in and enjoy life at its simplest. Treat every day like it’s the first and the last one you’ll ever have because it may well be.” She reflected on her life and continued, “You know, Shopper, I always thought she was mistaken… and then I met you. My life was not a beautiful walk, it was full of the tragedy and sadness of loss. My Auntie left me, my brothers and sisters left me, I was along for so many years. And then… Butch and Mamie came. They started my road back from the darkness… and then I met you. I fought with Someday and all of his trickery, believing that he and I were somehow connected and he would always interfere with my life and make me miserable… and then I met you.” Sophie looked up into the kind eyes of the Shopper who had cared for her like no other peoples ever had before, “You made me believe in all those lessons that my Auntie said to me all those years ago. Live life as if each day is the last day… don’t spend more than a moment dwelling on things that did not go your way… always know how your action impact those around you and… beyond all else… breathe in the world, believe in yourself and just live.”
At that very moment Bennett Dale cried out from his wooden cage. Chris hurriedly removed Sophie Chin from his lap and gently placed her next to him. He stood up to check on the peoples puppy.
“What’s wrong, little man,” Chris asked the child. “What can Daddy do?”
Sophie closed her eyes and listened to the baby cry for a moment. After a moment she opened her eyes and spoke, “He says he is hungry… and that there is quite a bit of pee in the cloth you keep around his bottom. He would like that tended to, as well.”
Chris stopped fussing with the child and looked back over his shoulder with a puzzled look on his face, “You understand him,” Chris questioned?
Sophie nodded. “Why yes… is he not the Grand Puppy of the Round Man? Do you not also understand the Chin and hear their thoughts?” She asked in a matter-of-a-fact tone, “Why would you not think that this child would also have that ability?”
Chris stared at Sophie with a blank expression, “Yes… what was wrong with me?”
Auntie May continued, “He also wants you to know that he approves of his name… he dislikes the color of his blankets you have around him… oh, and that he would prefer more music from the glass viewing box and less of your singing to him. He does not think you sing very well.”
“SOPHIE… You made that last part up, didn’t you?” Chris questioned.
“Maybe,” admitted Sophie with a stink eye look on her face, “but you do not sing very well and the peoples baby does not appear to appreciate it.”
“You, my dear, are the most difficult dog I have EVER encountered!!” Chris continued, “Some days I wonder what I was thinking when I brought you home with me. I could have had a new couch in my apartment, you know… but no, I had to be a hero…”
This discussion between a peoples man and the oldest Chin ever to have lived continued on for two hundred Chin hours (or long enough for the two to smile and laugh at the silly thought of trading a Japanese Chin for a couch).
Their happiness as a pack signaled the end of the end of the story of the Old Brown House, just as the Round Man had promised. The funny thing was that, this time the Round Man was wrong. For, you see, there was never really an end to this story. For as it was with the seasons, winter had become Spring in the Yard that Goes on Forever. The story of Sophie Chin was indeed ending but the Mostly True Tales of the Old Brown House would continue for many Chin decades (or for the remainder of human history) as each ending would only spawn a new beginning.
And so it was and will always be, in the Yard that Goes on Forever, with its big red deck, surrounded by the tall wooden fence, smack dab in the middle of the Real World… at the Old Brown House.
THE END… and a NEW BEGINING