AUTHOR PUPPY, WRITER’S MUSE By Carrie T. Gruman-Trinkner He was purchased for my youngest son, Aiden, as a companion pet pending a major bone graft surgery for his cleft palate. Aiden named him Bob. I was not impressed as the farmer held out a squiggling pup that looked more like a steel wool pad than an animal. His looks worsened with age. Half pug/half poodle, Bob is one of the ugliest creatures I’ve ever seen. He has the basic shape of a pug with a poodle head. His curled tail is covered with long, wiry hair. The rest of him is covered in soft gray and black curls. He has large pug eyes and a pug nose on a poodle snout. He was so ugly as a pup, we almost changed our minds about taking him. But he turned out to be the sweetest animal of the many who have shared our lives over the years. From the first day he joined our family, Bob became inseparable from Aiden. He followed his boy everywhere, resting at Aiden’s feet when Aiden did homework, and cuddling up with him as he recovered from surgery. But as Aiden grew up, he became busy with school activities, social outings and girls. Bob remained faithfully at home, a friend to everyone in the house, but a little lost as to his changing “lifestyle.” I felt sorry for the pooch and began spending more time with him, allowing him to tag along as I did the household chores or spent time in my gardens. But it was only after I began allowing him into my writing space that I noticed he found true role in life: Bob is an Author Puppy. He has tried his…paw…at several other employments: companion, plate licker, sock hider, paper shredder, and even thespian, playing Toto three times: twice at local community theaters, and again at the local high school production of “The Wizard of Oz.” He may be ugly, but his poodle half is exceptionally smart. He proved this by learning the choreography better than the boy playing the Scarecrow! His pug half makes him a comic favorite of the munchkins. But it is as Author Puppy that he excels. Whenever I sit at my desk or lounge with my laptop, Bob is there. He curls at my feet, lulled to sleep by the tapping of the keys. He trots happily to the mailbox to help me check for rejections, acceptances, paychecks, and, on the most joyous occasions, copies of magazines or cartons of books containing my work. He leaps for joy, making half-growl sounds of excitement, whenever we head upstairs to write. He even whines and nibbles my chin if I spend too much time watching television and not enough time at my desk! Bob puts his head in my lap as I research on the couch, pads patiently around me as I place an interview phone call, and touches me gently with his paw as I pull out yet another notebook to jot an idea. Bob sits with me when I am stuck. We gaze together from my balcony over-looking two acres of fledgling gardens. We watch birds, rabbits, squirrels and deer. We dream and plan. I speak aloud to him of plot points and “what ifs.“ He listens and gazes at me as though he understands every word. I scratch his ears; he nuzzles my hand. And, finally, we return to the desk and continue writing. I begin tapping at the keys. He sighs, spins, and curls up below me, his little snout resting on my foot. Writing can be a lonely occupation. I’ve known it since I first published as a fifth grade student in the local newspaper. After the heady rush of seeing my name and my work in print, I knew my professional life would be spent alone in a room gazing at my own words, seeing pictures inside my mind. No one else is there in my head. It’s just me and the page…or screen. There are weeks when the words flow and there is a real connection with the words. I spend hours at my desk lost in the story. However, there are days when I feel that “alone-ness” acutely. But Bob is always there with his gentle brown eyes and sweet nature, encouraging me to continue. His presence assures me that I am not alone. For decades I had sought a muse, a mascot, a creature that would encourage and inhabit my work. At last I have found him. My muse is not an ethereal being. There is no goddess of mythology spurring my creative thoughts. I do have a muse, however, that is faithful, encouraging and inspirational. My muse is an Author Puppy: a scruffy gray and black pug-a-poo named Bob.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Jul 2013 08:43:11 +0000
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