Dennis a turtle and Hannah

 Today marks 6 yeas since Denny passed. I could tell you that I miss his smile.  I could say I loved having him hold my hand. I miss a snuggle at night. Kisses.  Instead, I will tell you about why I loved him so much.

When we lived in Rhode Island, Denny made our backyard into a wonderful oasis of "rooms".  He loved his garden. It was beautiful with many flowers and ornaments hiding among the plants. He decided to make a corner pond. It was a lovely pond. (Sorry, I do not have pictures on this laptop....one day I shall dig them out.) Anyway, there were issues to solve...the neighbors outdoor cat...the raccoons and squirrels. With each problem he found a solution. We went to specialty Pond Gardens to purchase water lilies, water lettuce and tadpoles....and yes, Koi fish. While out one day, he said the pond need a turtle. Up until now I had convinced him it was not a good idea. We bought a pond turtle....a bit pricey I might add. The man at the pond garden told Dennis how to assure that the turtle would survive and not escape. The man assured us that from the picture of our pond that I showed him it would be safe. It was pretty...about 6 inches with nice markings...do not remember the name. All was ready and into the mix of Koi, tadpoles (which always matured into frogs) the turtle went.  Denny was so pleased with himself. In less than a week...you guessed it...the turtle went missing. Panic in the garden. We search everywhere. Gone. 

A couple of houses away from ours was a lovely elderly lady, Hannah. Hannah and her husband (she met at a relocation center) were victims of the Holocaust camps. Everyday she took her walk passing my house. Sometimes I would walk her back to her house...she had a cane that she just carried instead of using it! Anyway, this day..a few days after the incident at the pond, I met her and as we walked she began to tell me what happened "the other day".  

She began..." I saw a turtle walking down the street pass my house (her house). I didn't want anything to happen to it so I followed along to protect it with my cane. (Did I mention that a the long end of our road was a City park pond) It was pretty. Wonder were it came from."

Although I did not tell her, I did relay this story to Dennis that evening. I will never forget the look on his face! Needless to say we did not get another turtle except for a ceramic one that sat at the pond edge. Those tadpoles I mention...they would always leave our pond ( except on that remained for a long time) and I would like to think they made it to the city pond.

Denny and I had 48 years of love...of course there were those imperfect times but always a minor interruption. On May 24, 2017 through our tears as he lay in his hospital bed holding my hand Denny told me he wanted me to live a happy life. I could not imagine being happy without him. To be honest I m not really happy...but memories like this story do make me happy and I sit with a silly smile on my face and tears in my eyes.

Dennis Errol Horton   December 16, 1945 *****June 21, 2017