Rosenbush Café

Tabitha B. Guiness, the mixed breed dog that had been with Tala for eight years, until she moved away to work in another state in 1994, was entrusted to me. Tabitha became my canine soulmate, sharing high and low points in my life, until her death on a warm Saturday in September, 2003. I had prepared to leave for my penultimate journey to Bridgton, Maine that day and instead was sitting with Tabitha in the backyard, reciting a Mouner’s Kaddish for her. The death was a particularly sad event since I had never been so close to any dog in my life and after my father died in 1992 I felt a ethereal presence, as if my father remained, in the spiritual realm, inside Tabitha. My father was very fond of her, as she was of him, and as I sat crying in my backyard it was if I lost two souls simultaneously.

The next weekend, on my 25 hour, 14 state, 1,500 mile trip to the upper most state of the eastern United States, to work on my novel, I naturally listened to music from a vast discography I had prepared for the trek. One particular artist, who I had just purchased the week before specifically for this journey, was new age musician, Ryan Farrish; “Beautiful” (1994). I was overcome with his soulful and awe-inspiring music and several tracks caused me so many tears I had to pull over at a rest stop, in New York State, because I could no longer drive with my vision blurred from crying. Track 8, “Full Sail” would evoke memories of Tabitha; taking walkies, riding in the car between my office and home and curling up next to me while I wrote, listened to music or to merely have me stroke her short, black and gray hair. The next year, I purchased “From the Sky,” and Track 7, “Legacy” was another piece that brought back memories of Tabitha. This week’s ladies’ night is dedicated to the memories of Tabitha and my father, Bernard.

Simone de bon de Bont and Tabitha B. Guiness Prepare to Move to the House in 2002