Grumpy Old Ganz

“Kyle”

As we travel on our journey through life, friends may come and friends may go. Some move away, some may pass away and others we just plain lose contact with.

A few years back I met “Kyle”.

Kyle is the strong, silent type and an extremely good judge of character. He is a very good listener...never really “speaking” much, but is clearly heard when he does.

We spend a lot of time together, as friends usually do. We watch TV, listen to music, hang out around a fire and just converse. Well, in this case, I do most of the talking. We cover a lot of topics and at times I just get a glance or a nod if he feels I need to be acknowledged, but there’s really nothing he needs to add to the conversation.

I have daily chores to do and Kyle, just being Kyle, isn’t much help, often choosing to sit or lay in the shade or just mill around the yard. He’s not much help, I must admit.

There is a person (we’ll call him John to protect his identity) who calls me regularly and I answer on the speakerphone in the house. John knows Kyle and doesn’t care for him. Over the years John has not been kind to Kyle. When Kyle hears John’s voice he immediately leaves the room or goes outside. Having been to John’s house regularly, Kyle will not acknowledge him and sometimes would just rather wait in the car. Another trait of Kyle’s...he does hold a grudge!

A few weeks back I had just finished mowing and stopped along the woods next to some raspberries. Kyle was with me as usual, of course. We walked back to the house and upon entering Kyle glanced out the window and beckoned me to come to take a look. We both peered out the window together as a Black Bear walked out of the woods right where we had been minutes ago. The bear started eating raspberries and Kyle turned and gave me a look that conveyed “how could we miss that?”

As far as I am concerned my friend Kyle is irreplaceable. A famous phrase coined by Frederick the Great “man’s best friend” couldn’t be more fitting for my dog...“Kyle”.