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Clyde
Everyone who saw him sitting against the wall was knowledgeable as to the pensive expression on his face. It was almost as if he was depressed and there was nothing one could do to pull him out of it. Even his family members had doleful looks giving observers the feeling it must be a family trait. Day after day, one would pass sometimes taking note of the senior member. Other times persons would walk by pretending he didn't exist. That's just the way it was with Clyde. One day, I decided to pull up a chair and just watch. Many things went through my mind. As Clyde looked down with a sad expression on his face, I wondered how many others shared the same posture. The first thing that entered my mind was the McVeigh execution. Many people hung their heads low that day praying for loved ones of the families who died, those killed, or even McVeigh himself. Do you suppose Clyde was giving thought to those actions? Maybe he was meditating about the many children who are killed every day by doctors who do it for profit in what is called partial birth abortion when a life of a child is terminated in the ninth month. Maybe just the act of abortion was troubling him. Just looking at Clyde filled my mind with all kinds of questions. There was definitely mystery about him. As he sat there looking with glasses resting on his head, I could not but wonder what was really making him tick. I then started thinking about the younger generation and what was on their mind. To say I was awe struck was to put it mildly. I began to sense that maybe Clyde had a disease, and his declining health was starting to get the best of him. Problems like that often tend to throw people into slumps. Could it be that this fellow had a disabilitating disease, and his family was outwardly depressed about it? Sometimes, there never exist answers. But, to this story there is an uplifting twist. Even though Clyde seems down in the dumps all the time, he is deeply loved by children and adults alike. Many times, youngsters passing by will greet him. Periodically, adults have tried to persuade others to take him home with them. It was not unusual that such attention became a daily affair. Actually, Clyde found a genuine touch of love extended his way quite often. But it mattered not. His facial features always remained the same. So, what was so special about this little guy? He draws kids to himself, is loved and hugged, has a definite appeal to most whom come in contact with him, yet never cracks a smile. Could Edison, Jefferson, Einstein or Chaplain ever have received such attention? The answer is no. For you see, Clyde is not a human being at all, but a stuffed basset hound that sits in the waiting room of Johnson Family Eyecare, 600 Ligonier St, Latrobe. The glasses that are seen on its head were placed there to advertise the product. Just seeing someone's creation tripped my mind into a line of thought I never expected. All kinds of ideas accompanied by imagination flashed in front of me. As an adult, I felt pulled down into a world of gloom and loss of hope. My sensitivity to Clyde's expression had negative value. To children, however, looks mean nothing. They see hope and love in everything despite appearance. If only we as adults could hold onto the many treasures children have, what a better world this would be.
Paul J. Volkmann * 6-12-01 |
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