S A D D I

When we first moved downtown, in October 1997, we would take nightly walks at 10pm to the local college. It was a mild autumn, rarely rainy but usually windy. The leaves danced down from the tall trees that lined First avenue. i always let SADDI decide on the direction we took, so she could explore and be happy. The more we walked to the college, the more confident SADDI became in getting us to our destination. Except for the wind blowing and some weekend traffic, it was fairly quiet and peaceful. If SADDI heard something in the ivy,on the sides of our path, it always got her attention. When she couldn't find anything, our walk continued. Arriving at the Portland state campus, located in downtown Portland, it almost felt as though it all belonged to just us. Everyone must have been in their dorms studying. In the morning, we would often come to the campus. That made SADDI happy, the campus would come alive with students rushing to classes, squirrels chasing one another in the over grown trees and sometimes other dogs. But it was those late night walks, where it was just SADDI and i that have so much meaning within me. That i think about so often. When we returned home, SADDI was ready for bed and kept reminding me i should be in bed too.