daddy's girl, part 10.

(for previous entries to this series, please refer to daddy's girl, parts 1-9)

10. dead things

for those of us who have pets, the death of one is devastating. i recall as a child certain pets "going away" because they "passed on" and are "no longer suffering/running in circles/eating their flesh" now...

although i also had close relatives die when i was younger, father never shielded the fact of death from me. he grieved publicly when necessary and allowed me to freely ask questions...he may not have been able to answer them fully, but he let me ask...

EXCEPT WHEN THERE WERE DEAD GUTS IN THE ROAD. or in the house. or anywhere in view. and thank god for this. my "ewwww, what is that?!" was responded with a screeching of the tires or a hand over the eyes...

my dad has these quick, panicky moves he uses only in the utmost important circumstances (i.e. the run/walk he did on water when i was four and fell in between the boat and the dock...the heimlich maneuver (or in his case grabbing of the ankles and shaking upside down) he performed on my cousin when she swallowed a quarter...the rush through the halls of the er when i stuck all those peas up my nose when my uncle had a heart attack...but i digress) when dead things are upon me my dad reacts in the way he had for the past emergencies. thank you, dear father.

each dog and cat we said goodbye to...dad covered it. never saw anything but the neatly packed grave top...he even took care of my hamster (who i actually set free because he ate the other hamster and had blood all over his face...ahh! cannibal hamster!...then he found his way into the car garage and into the recycle bin..three weeks later. i know! wtf?!)...

but my father is retired and started spending summers in ny. my bunny rabbit died a few summers ago and i had to move him on my own. I HAD TO MOVE MY DEAD BUNNY RABBIT AND BURY HIM MYSELF. i am still traumatized by this event and i was 25 when it occurred. the horrid incident involved lots of lawn-n-leaf bags, tongs and a sheet pan...and i barfed. and almost peed my pants. i buried all of these items with poor bunny. shutter.

earlier that year my old landlord hit my dog in front of me and that was pretty damn bad but evil landlord at least picked the poor thing up and took me to a vet who handled the rest so, even though those memories are not pleasant...it did not involve moving an actual carcass.

winner: father. dead things...omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg