All Dogs Go to Heaven

If you're wondering, I started 301 today, and I had a great time, but today's blog isn't about me. If I haven't spoken to you yet, then you haven't heard the news. On Sunday morning, my dog Sable passed away. Man, that's really hard to see written. So today's blog is going to be more of a tribute to her then anything, because this dog was really special.

I got Sable about 10 years ago. We had taken Shelly back to the breeder we had gotten her from in order to knock her up so we could get another puppy (not that Shelly wasn't great, but we thought she needed a friend, and who better than a son or daughter?). I won't go into details, but it didn't work out as such, and the breeder offered me the option of trying to knock up my dog again or, giving me a puppy. I remember seeing this little gray dog that just loved being chased around the yard, especially by this huge Rotweiller (the Rot really liked this little dog, as she was very gentle when she caught her). I remember asking, "What about her? Can I take her home?" The breeder agreed, and Sable became our new dog. We have this weird thing of naming all of our pets "S" names, and I was really into wrestling at the time, so that's how she got her name. From the moment we brought her home, her and Shelly were inseperable. I swear, it was hilarious to watch them play in our front yard and watch Sable drag Shelly by her tail. Oddly enough, Shelly loved it! One of the first things people would notice about Sable is that she was grey (technical term was "blue mearle"). Even though she looked older, she was the puppy of the two. That, and she would force you to pet her head. If you started to pet her and then you stopped, she would force her head back under your hand and make you pet her. She really was something else.

I'll never forget the time I was headed out of town on a business trip (this is back when I worked for "the man," travelling the country in the closed circuit TV business), and I was driving to Alabama to have Kevin watch the dogs. Shelly sat on my lap (that one looked and played like a puppy until the day she died), whereas Sable, God bless her...let's just say she had a low center of gravity. She wasn't fat, she litteraly just weighed a lot. Not wanting to be outdone by her adopted mother, she decided to crawl up on my shoulders and sit there...the entire trip from Atlanta to Birmingham. I couldn't move her, she was so damn comfortable. A few years later, my dad drove up to Birmingham from Florida to take the dogs to their final home. My dad has an interesting bond with animals. Animals simply love my dad, no matter how tempermental they are with anyone else. To Shelly and Sable, my dad was theirs, and not to be shared with anyone, including our mom. My dad had a heart attack back in 2004, and the best medicine he could've received was the love and affection from those 2 dogs. I couldn't have picked a better doctor or nurse to look after him. After Shelly died, Sable kind of lost a step in her personality, but what she lost there, she knew she had to make up for Shelly. This dog took such good care of my dad, I really can't thank her enough. A few months ago, my mom called me and told me that Sable had had a stroke, and that she was moving slower, and my parents were just making her as comfortable as they could. I recently bought her some pain medicine (and in a beautiful twist of irony, of course it arrived at my parents house today). Anyway, I'd always ask about her when I called, and the answer was always fine. However, I knew she didn't have much time left when my parents called me on Saturday and told me that she had stopped eating and wouldn't take her medicine. When I saw the missed phone call on my caller ID Sunday morning, I didn't even need to listen to my mom's message. The Lord had called Sable home, which brings me to my next point. I don't want to get on a soapbox or espouse my religious beliefs, because I truly respect the beliefs and opinions of others, whether I agree or disagree with said beliefs/opinions. However, I'll say this: I truly believe that all dogs go to heaven, and if you're reading this blog now and you've ever lost a pet, know that he or she is truly in a better place. They don't feel any pain, and they continue to bring joy and love to all those around them. Seriously, could you imagine Heaven without our pets?

"Hi, welcome to Heaven, here's your room key (I have no idea why locks would be needed in Heaven, but just go with it). Heaven is truly the greatest place ever."

"Wow, I made it to Heaven!! This is great, I can see my dog again!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, but there's been a big misunderstanding; we don't allow pets, trash pick up is on Tuesday, and HBO costs extra. However, ESPN is free."

That's not Heaven. By the very definition of the word, pets have to be there, and they are there, and I know Shelly greeted Sable with a big kiss on her wet nose, and they immediately began to chase each other in a great big meadow that God prepared for all dogs. The only difference is, Shelly has her young pup legs, so she can keep up a whole lot better with Sable. And I know they can see and hear me know, and they both know how much they are loved and missed by their family.

Return of the King

OK, I've been lazy about my updates (I almost forgot I had this thing I've been so focused on other stuff), and the title is a bit self glossy, but it's the only thing I could come up with. So, let's hit on th recent stuWhen we last heard from our hero, he had just gotten an agent. There's a difference with exclusivity and signing talent in New York versus Atlanta. There's really no need to go into the finer points of it (if you have any questions, shoot me an email and I'll be happy to answer as best I can).

Also, now that the cat is out of the bag, yes, I did make a surprise return to Atlanta this past week. There was a bunch going on (my buddy Matt's 30th birthday, Chapman's last show at Whole World, and my friend Ashley's going away party). If you know me or anything about me, you'll know that if I'm a terrible secret keeper and an even worse hider. So Chapman, Matt, Stack, and I decided to have me make a surprise appearance at the Playing in Traffic Improv Show this past Sunday (we also made a trip to New Orleans this past weekend, but that's another blog). I flew in last Saturday (after being denied boarding on my flight which resulted in a later flight AND a FREE roundtrip ticket anywhere in the US). So I arrive in the ATL amidst many calls of "so are you coming in town?, etc." Keep in mind, I don't like lying to my friends, but the mission was at stake. Fast forward to Sunday, and here's the gameplan. I rode over to the studio in Brooke's trunk (that's what she said....oh, and she's Matt's girlfriend, who was also in on the whole thing). Chapman has the folks who are working the show in Nick's office so I can sneak in and hide under a table backstage (this is all happening about 45 minutes before the show). First shot at this whole thing, the door is locked, so back in the trunk for me. Chap gets the door open, I burst out of the trunk and high-tail it backstage and no one sees me. Now the next step in the plan (other than me having to be quiet and still for almost an hour). The game that I was going to enter was called "1, 2, 3." Essentially, it's 3 players, and the emcee manipulates how many people he (or she) wants on stage. If 3 players on stage and he calls "1," 2 need to justifiably leave. If he (or she) then calls "2," another player must justifiably enter. OK, good, so you get the set up. Now, the game was going to involve Matt, Stack, and Kelly Coker. If you know Coker, her and I are very close and she's also one of the most excitable people you will meet. I thought it'd be hilarious to surprise her for Matt's birthday (the reaction being the gift...can't put a price tag on that). Now, the other X-factor involved was the 2 other troupe members in the bull pen, Dave and Lara. Chapman was going to call "1" at some point in the scene, and Stack and Matt had to exit over by me, and after a few moments he was going to call "4," and I would enter back on and surprise Kelly. Now Dave and Lara being the good improv actors they are, if they had heard "4," they'd be on it in a heartbeat. So, to make sure they wouldn't enter, Chapman told them that he would be entering the scene on "4," and to just wait. OK, so that brings us up to the actual game. It's going on for a good 2 minutes or so (an improv enternity), and finally Chapman calls "1," and Matt and Stack tell Coker that they're both leaving, and they exit by me (oh, the set up for the scene was that it was a high school reunion, and Matt had established that they were the class president, vice president, and treasurer, respectively). After a good 30 seconds of Coker on stage, "4" is called, and Matt, Stack, and myself come back, and the audience was shocked. I was convinced Coker would've laughed her head off, but instead she started crying. Now that's an honest reaction (and in case you're wondering, I was Todd, the class parliamentarian, ready to bring back the discipline). The whole thing couldn't have gone any better, and I had a great time seeing everyone and catching up. Incidentaly, if I didn't get a chance to see you, and you feel slighted or peeved that I didn't tell you ahead of time, I'm sorry. A lot of planning went into this week, and Matt's one of my closest friends, and it was his 30th birthday. However, I only had a few days, so again, my 30th is coming up soon, and it's going to be an 80's prom in Atlanta (unless you all want to fly to New York, which might be kind of a cluster f---. So, until November...in the mean time, I had a great time, I miss and love you all....oh, and here's a few photos from the shennanigans post show. En-JOY!!!

OK, this is the kind of ridiculousness that I'm accustomed to. From left to right, that's Stack (aka Ringo), Vinnie (aka George), me (aka John), and the man of the hour Matt (aka Paul), and we just sold our 200th car...it's an inside joke.

That's me with my brother, Kevin. Yes, the resemblance is uncanny. Also, his couch is very comfortable, and he'll be visiting me at the end of August for Labor Day. Can't wait.

That's me with my Coker, Stack, Vinnie, Matt, and his girlfriend Brooke. Kelly is so great. Her favorite pastime is to tickle me and my brother, but not at the same time.

Why do I make such faces when I'm getting my picture taken? That's Jen to the left, with Chapman's girlfriend Jennifer, Jeff to her right, and Brian Chapman in teacher mode on top.

That's Nick to my left. He's the owner of the Professional Actor's Studio in Buckhead. Nick's quite a character, and I'm very proud that I studied at his studio, because Nick genuinely cares about his actors, and I made some of my best contacts and life long friends at his studio. I owe alot to that place.

Me and Matt. This one just pretty much speaks for itself.

Me, Kelly, and Wendy (aka Mrs. Dave). I can't say enough good things about these two.

Once again, a good shot of Stack, Vinnie, me, Brooke, and Matt. You should've noticed by now that I'm wearing a rockstar bandana in these shots. My hair is super long and it gets in my face and cutting it is not an option (unless my agent tells me so).