sammy raze he's become one of my favourite backyard buddies. he was the first one to start coming around on a regular basis. seniority doesn't factor into it, though. i feel a special kinship with him. there aren't many friends who will stand with you in the rain just so you can share the same space for a minute or two. he did that last week. we let the dark clouds that were following us around slick our hair back and listened to the soft music our bodies made. a month to the day we met, he pulled up a chair at my little greasy spoon and i held out half a walnut. i thought he would back off. as comfortable as he is with me now, we have a ritual. i stand right here. he stands on that platform over there and waits for me to place a treat in front of the water_dish. i take a step back. he moves in to investigate. yesterday he came to me without any hesitation. his eyes locked onto mine and he offered me his deepest trust. i was so stunned, i couldn't speak. but i think he knew what i wanted to say. and i think i saw him smile. 220906 what's it to you? who go blather from