Where Were You When ...

We all talk about remembering the 89 quake, when the Twin Towers fell or Christa's shuttle exploded. It's strange how hyper aware those moments become, as if time locks itself away and we can recall even the smallest details: what we wore, where we were, what we were doing and who we were with.

There a few other memories like that. I remember one summer day playing Barbies on the front lawn under the tree, the Dream House spread in an arc leaving plenty of room for action and the Dream Car. I remember what the warm sidewalk felt like after a good run through the sprinklers with Kimmy Pohlman and how it would prickle like popping bubbles and tug at our skin as we lay sunny side up. I remember curling into the crook of my father's arm as he read the paper, wiggly and anxious for attention. I remember kneeling in front of a planter planting carnations because they were my mother's favorite flower. She wore an apron with pockets to hold the seeds and gloves. And I remember the day our family dog was hit by a car.

It was my fault, really, anxious as I was for my brother to make it all the way home. I could see him across the street just passing the Kurtz' house and came to the idea that it would be fun for Laddie to do the big reunion scene halfway down the block. And so I opened the screen door.

We were on a busy corner and Laddie never went out front except on a leash. He saw Don, too, and shot out of the house like a rocket and tore across the lawn. I didn't see the car and it didn't see the dog until they intersected along his left flank and he skidded on his side to the curb. My brother looked stricken and dropped his books and bolted to the corner, as I did from the house, yelling for mom, inconsolable and wracked with guilt and fear. My mother got a blanket and we gently put him in the car and headed to the vet. No one blamed me for it, which made it even worse.

This story ended happily. Laddie recovered and I did eventually get the lecture which made me feel oh so much better. He went on to many more adventures which included biting the milkman, being backed up on his own porch by a cat, having a parakeet chase him down the hall and land on his back, and years of being used as a delivery dog for secret messages sent between our rooms after it was lights out. But I can tell you what I was wearing and where I was on the day he was hit.