Richard Ford watched the sunrise over the far side of the lake. He sat with his best friend Gizmo as it rose, watching its golden glow overtake the horizon and climb into the sky. As it appeared to creep out of the lake, it sent a rush of oranges, yellows, pinks, and blues pouring over the stars and gave life to the clouds. Sunrises in this region of the Blue Ridge mountains were all unique and would never get old.
Gizmo was a six-year-old Chocolate Lab. He was on the verge of getting old but still held onto his puppy charm. His favorite pastimes were digging up mole holes, swimming in the lake, or listening to Richard strum the guitar and sing. Gizmo also enjoyed running with him, which they did frequently around the lake. Some days, they would run both in the morning and at night, which Gizmo loved because he knew that was when Richard was the happiest.
Both of them had come to the forest three years ago to study the rejuvenating effects of living in nature. Richard had already begun to see results; his body seemed to be rewinding the grandfather clock of time and returning to his more youthful days. His joints had loosened, his testosterone was obviously spiking, and it seemed as if his hair was getting thicker. He believed it had something to do with the mental rest of being in nature and forgetting the stresses of living in a modern world. It seemed to make things a bit easier. Also, he noted, being forced into a work-or-starve environment really helps to trim the waistline.
Richard told everyone that he left for the woods to study nature's physical effects, but his decision to leave came rather abruptly after losing his wife to cancer. Most assumed he had cracked after being married for twenty-eight years to the lovely Mrs. Jane Thompson Ford, and without any other family he had lost purpose, he ventured into the woodlands to die alone. These assumptions couldn't have been farther from the truth. Richard wanted to live, so he looked to nature, hoping to find truth in the rumors of its holistic powers. He wanted to avoid the same fate of his wife and all the others on the planet by stretching out his natural life with Gizmo for as long as he could.
Upon leaving, Richard was a fit but aging man. He was fifty-two years old at the time of Jane's passing and came to the final conclusion that his "glory days" were long behind him and that he was more than likely beyond the halfway mark of his life. Richard recognized that if he was to have a good standard of living in his later years and enjoy himself, he had to change something. He also knew that the stress of being a botany professor at the University of North Carolina was beginning to put more grey hairs in his hair and beard than his age and he needed a change of pace. Some suggested retirement but he knew he couldn't play golf four days a week and spend the rest on the couch watching "The Price Is Right." He didn't know what to do until he saw what he needed late one night in a dream. He was swinging in his hammock by a lake, listening to a baseball game over the radio when Gizmo brought him a slimy tennis ball he'd fetched. Richard threw it and Gizmo nearly matched its speed as it flew over the dirt. It hit the ground with bounces and skips while Gizmo tailed close behind. He eventually caught it once it had nearly rolled to a stop and raced back to Richard, ready for another round. Richard was finally at peace until he realized he was dreaming and shot out of his sleep, scaring Gizmo, who was curled up at the foot of the bed.
"What do you think, Giz?" Richard inquired. "Think we could make it out there?" Gizmo stared up at him with big, soulful eyes that almost seemed to answer.
"Me too, bud. I really think we could do it."
And they managed to for quite some time.
