The lesson in all this, for me, was a simple one: LOVE REMAINS.
It always does. It always will.
It lives on firmly in my heart and in John’s and in Ryan’s—and in Lee, Rose, Paul, and Naia—and in Katie’s beloved Ramon and her lifetime groomer Betty.
I hear each of their voices so clearly, and see, in flashback, the entire movie of our lives together.
Nowadays, each morning at 10:00 a.m., a lanky young man with brown curly hair can be found walking along the right bank of the Seine with his two dogs, Jacqui, an assertive black teacup poodle (“the boss”) and Chance, a mellow white-and-brown-spotted papillon.
He’s laughing as the spunky dogs pull him along, steering him toward a neighborhood patisserie, where he buys a chocolate croissant.
“No, chocolate isn’t good for dogs,” he lectures the hungry canines, instead feeding them a cinnamon palmier, a puff pastry with granulated sugar. This young man with the deep baritone voice is Ryan! And I can barely juxtapose the boisterous, plump-cheeked boy I remember so well with this mature, rather poised nineteen-year-old.
Thankfully, John reports back all about Ryan in our biweekly phone conversations, catch-ups that have gone on ever since John and Ryan moved to Paris six years ago.
It wasn’t so long ago that “the kid,” as I still think of him, was walking Katie along the Hudson River in Battery Park City.
Oh, how I miss Ryan barreling into my apartment, unhitching Katie’s leash and wildly chasing after my dog, whipping up bubbles in the tub, or getting chocolate all over his face.
But time moves on. John works as an editor for the International Herald Tribune and is entirely content in Paris with a new partner, not likely to come back to the United States anytime soon. I really wish he would.
Ryan, a master of computer games, graduated from the International School of Paris and has plans to continue his studies in Japan and California. While I remember him as a bubbly, talkative kid who challenged Katie to hallway races and soccer matches, he’s now thoughtful and introspective, rather shy and sweetly sensitive.
“I always thought of Pearl as my grandmother, of course,” he recently told me via Skype, peering into the camera lens and waving.
“We talked about a lot of stuff. She read to me, played cards with me, picked me up from school at the bus… liked spoiling me with her chocolate pie, and brought home all those baked goods. Then Katie would stick her nose into the boxes trying to steal the goodies. She kissed me a lot, always licking my face, and I remember how she cheated in races!”—all of it a bittersweet gift that none of us will ever forget.
As for me, I should tell you that I still live in the same apartment on the third floor overlooking the Hudson River. So I pass by Granny’s door all the time. Sometimes it’s kind of spooky. It feels like the ghost of what had been still lingers there. There’s even the mezuzah, a Hebrew prayer scroll, still attached outside her door—the one put there by Arthur twenty-seven years ago, a reminder of his strong faith.
But I’m quickly brought back to the present by the rap music blasting from her apartment. Ironically, a young disc jockey has moved in. (What would Granny think of that!?) Seeing him go in and out of “her” apartment is a little surreal. Sometimes, when I can, I steal a glimpse inside when he opens his front door, curiously wanting to recapture, for just a moment, what had taken place within those rooms.
But it doesn’t really matter whether or not I go inside that apartment ever again, for what happened there is inside me.
Indeed, the story that began in a little town built on water would never be forgotten. It was probably a once-in-a-lifetime happening, and nothing like it will ever unfold in quite the same way again.
I’ve come to believe that the events that unfolded here were not just random or coincidental, but rather somehow guided by a higher, providential force. I don’t pretend to understand it—but I do feel it all around me.
I often think of that phrase about opportunity knocking—and see it at work every day. Things seem to happen when the timing is right, and I have faith that this will always be true.
I sometimes ask myself, how did I find the right dog breeder who just happened to have an unwanted puppy? Why did I “accidentally” meet Pearl, or come upon John and Ryan by a chance encounter on that cold January day at the Community Center?
In my heart, I now know that this string of seemingly unrelated events were gifts, invitations from a higher power that led me to taking a step forward—to taking a chance.
And I believe that Granny and Arthur, John and Ryan, and my Katie were just such gifts.
Nowadays, without them, our hallway is, of course, a lot lonelier and the vacuum left behind has not always been easy to cope with. Yet it’s funny how new friendships develop and old ones deepen when we most need them to.
Instead of Granny, I’m now incredibly close to my neighbor Linda, on the eighteenth floor, who had always been in the background of my life until we got involved in our neighborhood tenants’ association. She’s a rock—witty, irreverent, and supportive—a daily source of wise counsel and laughter.
Then there’s my unofficial “life coach” and confidante Peg on the eighth floor, who is, coincidentally, my sister’s best friend. With her soothing voice and buoyant spirit, “Peggsy” has that rare ability to put everything into perspective no matter what the day has thrown at me.
Twenty floors up from Peg is my screenwriting partner Brandon, his young wife Sheila, their two toddlers, Merrick and Rhys, and a perky Maltese named Fred. Their home has become yet another warm harbor, filled with lively conversation and baby mayhem.
And literally across the hall from me is my ninety-four-year-old neighbor Freda (“your local sage!” she laughs), the retired judge mentioned earlier who had polio as a child. (Katie always sensitively avoided jumping up on her legs.) Freda and I were always cordial but never especially close; but with Granny gone, we’ve developed a deep connection—trading stories (and dark chocolate bars), celebrating precious birthdays, and looking out for one another.
And on it goes.
No matter what blessings may or may not come my way in the future, I realize that I have already had plenty. God has been good to me.
After all, some people never experience the good fortune that I did. And every time I look at one of my scrapbooks, or walk outside on the Esplanade, or sit on Pearl’s favorite park bench, or see another cocker spaniel trotting by—the entire story I’ve told you comes flooding back to me.
I often tell my friends that maybe, right at this moment, there’s somebody down their hallway or across the street just waiting to open their door to you. I never did understand the idea of neighbors staying apart from one another.
And neither did the incomparable Katie, who always broke down any door she could paw her way into!
In fact, she owned our hallway, and her greatest pleasure was running up and down it, herding us all together.
That was her gift, a legacy I gratefully pass on, from one dog lover to another, indeed to everyone.
Create Your Own Tail of Love
Glenn’s Favorite Dog and Animal Charities
AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB
The nation’s only not-for-profit registry promotes responsible dog ownership, donates millions to canine health research, assists with disaster relief, and provides purebred rescue grants through its AKC Humane Fund; www.akc.org
ANIMAL MEDICAL CENTER
A nonprofit veterinary hospital that promotes the health of companion animals through advanced treatment, research, and education; provides free veterinary care to guide dogs and subsidized health care for the pets of the indigent elderly; www.amcny.org
ASPCA
The first U.S. humane organization established to fight against cruelty to animals, rescue animals from abuse, and share resources with shelters nationwide; www.ASPCA.org
BROADWAY BARKS
Created by Bernadette Peters and Mary Tyler Moore; fosters the adoption of homeless
animals; promotes community spirit among shelter and rescue groups; www.broadwaybarks.com
CESAR AND ILUSION MILLAN FOUNDATION
Delivers humane education programs and promotes animal welfare by supporting the rescue, rehabilitation, and re-homing of abused and abandoned dogs; www.millanfoundation.org
GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND
Provides guide dogs throughout the United States and Canada for the blind and visually impaired at no cost; www.guidedogs.com
HUMANE SOCIETY OF NEW YORK
A no-kill shelter that rescues abandoned animals and places them for adoption; offers low-cost hospital services; www.humanesocietyny.org
HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES
Seeks a humane world for all animals and fights against cruelty, exploitation, and neglect, advocating new public policies and working to enforce existing laws; www.humanesociety.org
MORRIS ANIMAL FOUNDATION
Improves the health and longevity of companion animals and wildlife by funding humane health studies to advance veterinary medicine; www.morrisanimalfoundation.org
NORTH SHORE ANIMAL LEAGUE AMERICA
The world’s largest no-kill shelter dedicated to rescuing, nurturing, and adopting as many dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens as possible; www.nsalamerica.org
PEDIGREE FOUNDATION
Dedicated to helping the four million dogs in U.S. shelters find loving homes by providing grants to 501(c)(3) animal shelters and rescue groups; www.pedigreefoundation.org
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Veteran journalist and celebrity interviewer GLENN PLASKIN is the bestselling author of Horowitz: The Biography of Vladimir Horowitz and Turning Point: Pivotal Moments in the Lives of America’s Celebrities. His profiles and columns have appeared in the New York Times, the Daily News, San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Family Circle, US Weekly, Ladies Home Journal, Cosmopolitan, W, and Playboy. His interview subjects have included such figures as Katharine Hepburn, Nancy Reagan, Calvin Klein, Senator Edward Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Leona Helmsley, Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer, Donald Trump, Al Pacino, and Meryl Streep. His TV appearances include The Today Show, Oprah, and Larry King Live. He lives in New York City. Visit the author’s websites at www.glennplaskin.com and www.katiebook.com.
Advocating for the purebred dog as a family companion, advancing canine health and well-being, working to protect the rights of all dog owners and promoting responsible dog ownership, the American Kennel Club:
Sponsors more than 22,000 sanctioned events annually including conformation, agility, obedience, rally, tracking, lure coursing, earthdog, herding, field trial, hunt test, and coonhound events
Features a 10-step Canine Good Citizen® program that rewards dogs who have good manners at home and in the community
Has reunited more than 370,000 lost pets with their owners through the AKC Companion Animal Recovery-visit www.akccar.org
Created and supports the AKC Canine Health Foundation, which funds research projects using the more than $22 million the AKC has donated since 1995-visit www.caninehealthfoundation.org
Joins animal lovers through education, outreach and grant-making via the AKC Humane Fund-visit www.akchumanefund.org
We’re more than champion dogs. We’re the dog’s champion.
www.akc.org
* Henry Holt & Company, 1999.
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