Life is Good (standard:adventure, 1177 words)
Author: Alpha43	Added: Apr 15 2005	Views/Reads: 3848/2383	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A simple narration of two friends; their history and the day to day proof of their deep devotion. Be sure to read the last line carefully.

Life Is Good 

Life is good. Here I am with my best friend on a lovely afternoon, going
for a walk through some of the most beautiful country in all of 
northern Michigan. The sun is shining, a rarity for February, brilliant 
deep blue skies, with just a few wispy cottonball clouds. 

We both just had a fine meal, enough to drink, and our only obligations
left for today are to enjoy the scenery and wildlife with each other. 
The wildlife discovered today might be somewhat limited, because 
Jeannie has been rambling on for some time now, you can always tell 
when she is in a good mood. I have heard all of her praises of Mother 
Nature before, so I can allow my mind to wander, and still appear to be 
interested in her discourse. She’s ‘Aces’, a better friend would be 
hard to come by. 

I hope she decides to go straight at the East Lake swamp. A short trek
after dinner is fine, but if she turns left, we are in for a two hour 
tour that usually includes scratches, wet feet, frozen coats, and not 
getting back home until well after dark. With these clear skies, once 
the sun starts to set, it is going to cool off fast. Her nature is 
such, that if I make a move to take the short route, she will 
definitely go the long way, with the “can’t you take it?’ and the 
“Getting Old?” ration of crap. Maybe I should encourage the swamp 
route, I think I spotted a rip in the seam of her left boot. I always 
get soaked, so soggy socks for her might make her appreciate my side of 
these outings. Now, now, one mustn’t be bitter. 

Jeannie and I have a very special relationship, going back about six
years. We both were living in Ypsilanti, she was attending the 
University of Michigan and I was just existing, without much direction 
to my life. On a chance meeting, we got acquainted and immediately we 
both realized that some special chemistry existed between us. 

She was firm, but kind and gentle at the same time. She did not force me
into any decisions, but was always there for me, and slowly I found the 
missing pieces of my lifestyle. I found that facing responsibility was 
it’s own reward. Caring about people and respecting their thoughts led 
me to care about myself. She made me think that this complete reversal 
of my outlook on life was entirely my own doing. It just wouldn’t have 
happened without Jeannie. Life is good. 

Yes, Yes, Yes! She took the quickie tour; I can almost feel the heat
from the fireplace now. With a little luck, we can be shaking the snow 
off in about forty-five minutes. Crossing the edge of the swamp is 
still a pretty outing, and I believe we spot more birds going this way. 


Wind driven drifts have a certain beauty out on the flatlands, but marsh
protected snow lays in undisturbed piles here in the wetlands, 
displaying the tracks of the various critters. Dried purple inkberries, 
black alder catkins, and red cannon and cranberries still hang heavy, 
and the birds swarm here for easy pickens. Strange, I have not heard 
the ‘tee tee tee’ of the chickadees for a while, I wonder where they 
are off to? 

“I think when we get back home, I am going to wax the cross county
skis,” announced Jeannie, “the forecast for the next several...” 
Jeannie quit talking and she quit walking and after nearly running into 
her, I looked up and saw why. Wolf. 

A large wolf was standing in the middle of the trail. Instinct told me
that besides the obvious danger we both were in; there was something 
totally wrong with this event. This wolf appeared to be loner. It did 
not react to us in a normal way; it remained crossways in the middle of 
the trail, listless, only occasionally turning its head to look at us. 

I moved from beside Jeannie, to directly in front of her, putting myself
between her and the wolf. A couple of slow and easy steps closer to the 
beast and I was able to recognize part of the problem. The animal was 
injured or sick. A healthy wolf is more than I wanted to tangle with, 
but a diseased or injured animal is unpredictable and like most 
threatened animals, it will fight to the death. 

He should have faced us as soon as we appeared. He should have lowered


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