The Silver Lining

She was his girl before we ever met. When I met him, I met her as well.  She was a beautiful girl, jet black hair and big brown eyes that could see into your very soul.  Full of energy and good humor, her antics kept us laughing throughout our very first visit together.  She wore a jaunty red bandana tied around her neck.  I suspect her approval of me was in my favor when we continued to see each other. Her name was Scarlett, and she was David’s black Labrador Retriever.  She was a little over a year old the first day the three of us met back in 2005.  She was his sidekick, and was our “best pal” when we became a couple. I heard the story of how he found her many times.  Walking through a flea market in Columbia, he spied a box full of squirming black puppies.  Reaching down into the box among all the black noses, pink tongues and wagging tails, he discovered one puppy beneath all of the other ones.  He scooped her up – she had a white cross-shaped blaze on h

Hopefully, you have already read my Nov. 14, 2016 post, “If You REALLY Know Me” – about my decision to participate in the Women’s March on Washington.  If not, you might want to scroll a couple of posts back and refresh your memory. I was excited about participating in such an event!  I’ve never been very politically active (aside from voting in every election since I was registered to vote).   This was new territory for me and I felt it was important to take a stand for my belief in equality. During the weeks prior to the March, I received a lot of information about what I needed to carry with me, the route of the March, and safety precautions.  I began collecting a few items, though I knew I wanted to travel light.  I packed  a clear plastic backpack with some necessities:  a couple of bottles of water, some protein bars, hand sanitizer, my notebook & pens, an extra battery pack to charge my phone, and a rain poncho just in case, and a black sharpie marker.  I