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My Friend Cookie














Take a moment and think about your best friend. That special someone from your childhood, high school, or college. Dad, who grew up in Bayside, New York, says his best friend back then, David, was taller than everyone and the smartest kid in class. They played little league baseball on the same team, David the pitcher and Dad the catcher. When they weren't playing in an actual game, they practiced on the street, David pretending to be Tom Seaver and Dad Jerry Grote, the stars of their favorite baseball team.


When I think about my best friend, I think of Cookie, the handsome Yorkie with the gorgeous golden locks you see in the photos. I was about three years old when we met. Cookie's younger than me, and he lived at the opposite end of our circular street. His mom and dad are originally from Korea, and one day while on a walk, Mom and I bumped into Cookie and his mom. We saw each other almost every day after that until we both moved away. Let me tell you about some highlights of our friendship.


Cookie's mom worked for his father's business, and often Mom and I would pass by his house and hear him barking at us from inside. When Cookie's mom was home, we'd race around his backyard, take a rest, then race some more. Cookie's house had an invisible fence, and with the collar on, he wouldn't leave the grass or touch the sidewalk. I'd run wild, though, so Dad always stood watch for incoming cars. One day, we conducted an experiment. With Cookie's mom's help, we bought a collar for me to use while at Cookie's house. Unfortunately, the collar gave me the heebie-jeebies, so Dad had to continue acting as my safety sentinel🛟🦺. Another time, a famous and beautiful Korean movie star wearing dark sunglasses visited Cookie's house. As the photos document, she took us into her arms and posed for the paparazzi. Just kidding. That's Mom! 🤣


Early in our friendship, excitement visited our quiet neighborhood in the form of Sunny 94.7, a Columbus, Ohio, FM radio station. Mom took me to our neighborhood park, and we met Cookie and his family, listened to feel-good music and returned home with tons of radio station swag. 💎


Sometimes, Mom and Dad left me at Cookie's house while they took care of business without me. Once, for example, Dad needed outpatient surgery to remove a cyst. Another time, he needed to get a lobotomy. Sorry. I misheard that. A colonoscopy. 😆 Cookie's mom's voice is an octave higher than Mom's and really sweet-sounding. She let us have fun playing together and served delicious treats, just like Mom.


Cookie spent time at our house too. Unlike the fierce image he projected from behind his front door, he's very friendly. A genuine friend. Someone I could share secrets with, too. But it wasn't just fun and games, you know. Sometimes he joined me on my command post and helped me track the inbound monsters. Cookie had one peculiar habit. Often he behaved like a 'stalker', following Mom everywhere, or standing directly behind her while she cleaned dishes at the sink. We laugh about it now. Dad tells me he and Mom joked they might need to have Cookie wear my old cat bell to avoid injury! 😁


On almost the same day in June 2018, both Cookie and I moved away from our neighborhood. Cookie moved to a beautiful house in the eastern part of Dublin. And, to get ready for moving to Korea, we sold our house and moved to a condo thirty minutes to the north in Delaware, Ohio. After that, it was difficult to connect with Cookie more than a few times. I spent most of the day at Cookie's new house a few days before we left for Korea, and we wished each other good luck when we said goodbye. I haven't seen Cookie since we left the United States and want to shout out to him now: Cookie! Thanks for being my best friend.


I hope you enjoyed this tale. Next week I'll be back with another one.


Until then, thanks for reading my blog.


Tango 🐾










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