THE CAB RIDE

The packing began in earnest today with me as team captain at the studio and Rick back at the apartment. Without insurance, his Zoloft prescription is running out and he has decided it's time to wean himself off of the medication. The side effects for him have been very debilitating and he feels as if he has reached a plateau where he doesn't feel he is getting any better from the drugs. The weaning has had its own problems but our hope is the weaning side effects will subside as the medication leaves his body. In the meantime, there has been a great deal of sleeplessness, dizziness and upset stomachs. The upside has been a new outlook on life. This puts everything on the plus side of the balance sheet for me.
About halfway through the day Rick came into the office to deal with some plans for a cleint he was going to have our assistant, Amy work on in his absence. At one, the door to the office flew open and in bounded our cock-a-poo, Buddy, off his leash and madly making the circuit of everyone in the office. Rick was right at his heels, sweat dripping from his forehead but a big grin careening from ear to ear across his face. Outside it had turned into one of those ninety-degree days you butt into in the dead of August. Inside the blue of Rick's eyes danced with a cool joy I haven't seen for years.
After his meeting with Amy we discussed what we needed to do next. There were some packing items we wanted to get at Home Depot. We decided to take Buddy, get the plastic wrap and the construction bags we needed and then put him, the purchases and Buddy in a cab and send them home while I went back to the studio to finish packing up. Living in the city we have to travel with a carrier for Buddy whenever we have to take a cab or the subway with the dog in hand. He knows when the carrier comes out it means it's his time to travel and he hops right in.
I'm not sure if it was the heat of the day or the reduction in medication or a combination of all of this and the stress of our situation but by the time we finished at Home Depot, Rick had reached his limit. The shine in his eyes when he arrived at the studio had been replaced with a dullness that told me he needed to get back...fast. We hailed a cab and Rick, our cock-a-poo and the purchases all piled into the backseat of a cab and off they went.
An hour, maybe more, had gone by. I had told Rick to call when he got home. When the phone rang I was hoping it was Rick.
"Studio"
"Well, I guess when it's time for me to leave New York I have to do it with a bang," The pixie had returned.
"So, what happened?"
"Well, the minute we stepped outside at Home Depot I knew I wasn't feeling well. My stomach was starting to get queasy and the energy was draining out of me." Fortunately, the cabbie was very understanding. This was the cabbie's first mistake. If he had taken the time to look in Rick's eyes he would have seen trouble a brewin'.
"The cabbie and I talked about the pros and cons of leaving the city and getting around with a dog in tow." Rick felt compelled to let the cabbie know he wasn't traveling alone as soon as he got in the taxi. Many cabbies might have told him to get out. Most cabbies don't like to let dogs into their cabs. This one seemed fine, so in a spurt of compassion Rick decided to unzip the top of the carrier to allow little Buddy to stick his head out...mistake number two.
"About halfway down Seventh Avenue I knew I wasn't going to make it. I had to tell the cab driver he had better pull over to the side of the road because I didn't want to throw up all over the inside of his cab. He pulled over just in time for me to open the door and lose my lunch without getting a drop on his black leather interior, but I had forgotten about Buddy. Sure enough, the screeching halt of the taxi, the door flying open, and my concentration on vomiting into the curb gave him the idea he was home and with the unzipped carrier he was out of the cab before I could even wipe my nose. All I could think about was how was I going to explain to Emmy I had killed her dog the day before we were to leave New York. Before I could utter that first cry of despair, the cab driver was out of the cab chasing poor Buddy down the street and catching him by his leash before any car had a chance to turn him into road kill. "
Rick and Buddy are safe at home along with our Home Depot purchases and the cabbies safely on his way with a vomit free taxi and a twenty dollar tip, one we could hardly afford but one that karma wouldn't have looked kindly on if we hadn't handed it out. Rick definitely does know how to leave the city with a bang.

LESSON THREE:

Never give up your sense of humor.