Christmas 1997...

Well, its a week before Christmas and Michelle and Eric still haven’t gotten off their duffs to send out cards so it looks like its up to me, Shiko the Renaissance Dog, to save the day once again.  Let’s see, where do I begin….

 Ahh yes, it was a cold January afternoon when she first walked into my life… petite, red headed, with a long curly tail that made my heart quiver.  And she smelled good too… kind of earthy with a hint of dead fish.  Her name was Saki and she was the latest addition to the Miller-Noonan household.  Mi amore!

 Well, that honeymoon didn’t last.  Next thing I know all I hear is Saki this and Saki that.  Isn’t Saki cute?  What about me?  Don’t I have needs too?  One weekend we packed up and went to visit the other Millers in New Jersey and Susan fell in love with Saki.  To make a long story short… we came back to Virginia with one less dog.  I got tired of sharing the back seat anyway.  So I’m top dog again.  Sure, I get to visit Saki every now and then, but that’s enough for me.  Women!

 And then the cats came… As if my current feline annoyance, Oliver, wasn’t enough, Michelle’s mom, Danielle, moved in for a short period and brought Ace and Patches with her.  Three…count ‘em three CATS.  What’s a dog to do?  Let’s just say every time the dog food was running low, I started dreaming of Kibbles and Kitties.  Danielle moved out in August but somehow the cats didn’t make it into the car.  I keep calling Fed Ex and they won’t ship live animals.  Now there’s a thought…..

 Spring time for me was uneventful.  I ran around the yard, chased squirrels, and joined the neighborhood Dog Choir.  I tried to escape that back yard a few times, but to no avail.  Michelle and Eric, on the other hand, were quite busy.  Both went to Charleston SC for the annual 10k Bridge Run in April.  After losing a bet the night before, Eric actually ran the thing and managed to finish between Abe, a 70 yr old man who chose to run barefoot, and some guy dressed in a raccoon costume.  He was encouraged by his valiant finish and went on to run other races during the year.  Later in April the two celebrated their 1 year wedding anniversary in Charlottesville.  Dr. Richard VanMeter, a Charlottesville resident and Best Man the year before, graciously offered to host and cater the event himself.  After the first volley of farts from his dog Skeeter, however, the couple quickly opted for a quiet bed and breakfast at a vineyard in the nearby hills.

 Eric and Michelle vacationed at Nags Head in June.  I stayed home and its just as well.. I found out the previous year that those beach crabs don’t play fair.  Michelle’s mom took care of me, feeding me table scraps, letting me sleep on her bed, letting me sit on the people furniture…now THAT’S a vacation.

 In July, Eric left Nextwave, his employer of the last year and a half.  Not sure exactly why, but he mentioned something about impending bankruptcy.  So he spent the rest of his summer waking at 9 AM, making Michelle coffee, consulting part of the day, playing with me, making dinner for Michelle, and lounging on Mike Bonin’s boat in Georgetown harbor.  Pretty much a dog’s life.  Michelle, on the other hand, spent most of her waking hours this summer at her job with UUNET/Worldcom.  Her hard work paid off and come the first of the year she’ll be Manager of UUNET’s account management team.

 As for me, I finally made my escape from the back yard one July afternoon when someone inadvertently left the gate open.  I ran the neighborhood, making friends and marking my turf.  During a pick up game of Chase-the-Squirrel down at the end of the block, I was in scoring position when Brutus from over on Guinea clipped me from behind.  I went down hard and tore up my back right Anterior Cruciate Ligament.  Eric and Michelle took me to the best dog knee surgeon in DC and he fixed me up real good.  I can play Chase-the-Squirrel with the best of them once again.  Jerry Rice and I have been talking about doing a book together on knee surgery recovery.

 Even though the consulting gig was pretty good, Eric took a permanent job with another start-up, Teligent, in September (company went public last month).  As it turns out, his new office is across the street from Michelle’s (and right above Tiffany’s as she likes to point out).  I don’t know why they don’t car pool in the morning… something to do with Michelle not wanting to listen to Ozzy Osbourne on her way in to work.

 Eric and Michelle spent a good bit of time this Fall working on our house.  A new dining room set arrived, but before I could even check it out they had blocked off the dining room with new French doors to keep me and them darned cats out.  Then Eric started ripping the kitchen apart in preparation for a NEW kitchen.  I don’t understand the fuss… I kind of like the early 70’s yellow and avocado country kitchen look.  Its been two months and the contractors STILL haven’t shown up with the cabinets yet!

 Then two weeks ago, Eric and Michelle brought me home the best present in the world… my own tree right in the house completely covered with toys.  The only problem I had was that some of the toys were a little tough to get at.  So I worked out a deal with the cats.  They knock the toys down from the tree and then I get to play with them.  In return, I promised to open the pantry door for them when ever they got hungry.

 Well, that’s 1997 pretty much in a nutshell.  I know Eric and Michelle are looking forward to 1998 and getting their kitchen finished and doing some other major renovations around their house.  Forget the big house, what about that skylight that Eric promised to put on my dog house last summer!!!  Sometimes I just get no respect around here.  Hope to see you in ’98!

 Lots of love,

 Shiko