my life with pigdog ... and his 2 new friends

those who have known me since college - also know pigdog ... the nickname i gave for the furry fellow to the right.

the beginning ... i picked him up at yarmo zone (which was previously yarmo), which no longer exists - was on the corner of durant & telegraph. (slice of pizza at blondies, afterwards)

not my dog ... uh ... yeah ... pigdog is not my dog ... pigdog is someone's dog ... pigdog is a postcard i have carried around with me for more than 20 years.

back-story ... i don't know this dog's name. i do know the pic was taken with a fisheye lens ... photographer: chip simons ... series: "i am a dog"

[more on this back-story to now-story later in the post]

he lives on the fridge door ... in preparation for my move from SD to BA, pigdog has survived 7 fridge doors - he'll be leaving his 8th, fairly soon - and will settle down for a little bit on his 9th fridge door.

he has traveled once ... at one point, i mailed him up to a friend, g (in sacramento), as a get well; g had bypass surgery (quadruple, i believe). pigdog came back. my friend returned him with a very hearty 'thanks' and figured i should really keep pigdog (which was totally cool).

now with the move ... i'm packing boxes, labeling boxes, donating items, recycling items, cleaning, dusting, etc. ... and i have a small pile of "things i will drive up" ... pigdog is one of them.

things i will drive up ... these are those personal memorabilia items, items that if i broke them - i would be bummed (and if a mover broke them, i'd probably be totally ticked-off), and items, that if lost them, i'd make a point to replace them ... pigdog is one of them.

back-story revisited ... as i opened the fridge (frankly, to clean the fridge out a bit - ewww), pigdog greeted me. soooo ... for whatever reason, i did the following - i wrote the photographer of the postcard, as follows:

hi there mr simons... i just wanted to let you know how much i love your 'i am a dog' series. and even more, i enjoyed visiting your web site!

BACK STORY: when i was in college (in the mid-80s), i picked up a post-card, which has since been lovingly referred to as 'pig dog' ... and whenever i am at a store that sells postcards, i always (and i mean ALWAYS) make a point to see if i can snag any more 'pig dog' postcards (or like-kind) and send out to friends. and my friends have since forwarded me like-kind post cards.

NOW: i am in the process of moving, my friends call me a pack rat (and i say 'thank you'), and pig dog (the original post card) remains with me ... so while packing, i came across the card (attached) and just visited your web site.

i guess i just wanted to say i really enjoyed visiting your web site ... viewing your photos ... and wish you continued success!

thanks for the smiles!

[btw, chip simons website]

and much to my surprise, i received a response (completely unexpected!) from mr. simons, as follows:

cool thanks.  I am a dog was a story about me and how i felt....at
the time.  moving to nyc after living in the wide open of new
mexico.  My bunny pictures were how i was the last few years. ...sort
of melancholy and sad... The postcards were an antidote to working
for magazines...puns and jokes and"bad..is good" mentality.  My new
black period will be up soon...it is very...black....but very
sensuous and beautiful.  Thanks for writing....it's nice to know that
something i do makes someone a bit happier.
chip

... along with the attached and the following quip ...

hay...weed better bale before the cops get here....

pigdog now has 2 new friends
... whom i shall simply call 'hay' and 'bale'.