When I was seven years old, we lived across the road from a large pond.
It was a good 500 yards from the house, but there was an unobstructed view from the living room window, so Mom used to let me fish there by myself during the summer.
I dug my own worms and usually caught bluegill, although one day I caught a bass that was 18 inches long. Took me a long time to land him with my Zebco.
I was as responsible as a kid could be for seven years old and Mom could look out the window and check on me any time she wanted, but the main reason she was willing to let me take those adventures was the presence of a 60-pound guardian angel named Feller.
He was probably half border collie and half German shepherd - colored like a border collie but sized and built like a German shepherd.
The nearest kids my age lived a couple of miles away, so Feller was my best friend, companion and playmate.
We spent a lot of time playing, usually tug of war with an old towel. When he dug in his front paws, I couldn’t budge him.
He genuinely enjoyed playing tug of war. Our wrestling matches, maybe not so much. Even when we weren’t playing, he was nearby, usually watching intently.
There is a Kodak photo of a seven-year-old me clowning for the camera in the back yard. Feller is sitting on his haunches, two feet away.
Along about that time, my dad seriously injured his back and passed out from the pain. When he came to, he said, Feller was licking him in the face.
Rural Pontotoc County in 1960 was about as safe a place as you could find, but there was evil afoot then, too.
I guess Mom realized that anyone – or anything – that wanted to hurt me would have to deal with Feller first. Fortunately, his loyalty and bravery were never put to the test, but if they had been – looking back after more than half a century – I’d put my trust in Feller, just like Mom did.
Now that time has flown by and I have gotten surprisingly old surprisingly quickly, I look back and marvel at such a simple time, when all it took to be safe was your mother looking out the window and a black and white dog by your side.