A THANKSGIVING STORY IN ARGENTINA
(Written by Karla Wagener on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 2020.)
It is often said, ¨The richest is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs least¨.
Even in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, Ruby was happy. She had everything she needed, everything she wanted. She had a home! When her owners had taken her back to Buenos Aires to the City she dug her claws in the pavement and resisted wholeheartedly to being taken back into that small one bedroom apartment far from their country getaway in Colon, Province of Entre Rios.
Ten days passed by and she was so excited when suitcases were placed neatly at the door. She knew she was again going to the tourist town getaway where there was open, fresh air, trees and vegetation, horses grazing on empty lots, birds to chase and many dog friends to play with. Ruby sat right down next to the bags and packages and did not more a hair! She was not to be left behind. She would make sure of that.
After a three hour trip in car she was back in the countryside. She was happier than ever. She spent her days relaxed; eating luscious food, cookouts, BONES, fresh chicken, fish from the river. She especially loved fish! Entre Rios had a great abundance of delicious meats, but no turkey was to be found. Ruby´s owners nicknamed her ¨Fly biter¨, because she snapped at all the flies as they whizzed by. She did not think it was funny. She hated the buzzing creatures. She couldn´t tolerate their noise or brisk movements.
They all stayed in the country getaway for a month or so and just the day before they were to return to Buenos Aires it was announced there would be a lockdown because of a terrible virus that was threatening the whole world. Ruby was probably the only one who was relieved she would be stuck in the countryside, away from pollution, car jams, noise, strikes and contagion. People could keep their desire for all that. She wanted nothing to do with it. Here she was free to bark at the many birds in the yard, and snap at those bothersome flies, eating some of them to spite them.
Ruby remembered back to that one bedroom apartment. Her owner used to yell and complain, ¨We´ve got to get rid of that dirty little dog. There are hairs all over. I am allergic. It is bad for me. She has got to go¨. Ruby lived in terror. What would her future be? Would they really undo her life? Was she to blame for the hairs and mess? She did her necessities out on the hot street. She tried to be good. She obeyed every order, ¨sit¨, ¨jump¨, ¨go in¨, ¨lie down¨. She had been adopted by a part American family so she was bilingual. The mother and two children had come from the United States and they celebrated Thanksgiving every year as a very beloved tradition. This year was quite distinct and unusual.
Here she was in Colon on Thanksgiving Day, 2020, still in lockdown. Diego Maradona died the day before at 60 years old on the 25th, the same day as Fidel Castro who he cherished so much. Fidel died in 2016. Thanksgiving happened to fall on Ruby´s owner´s birthday this year, and also on the birthday of Lucas´ father and Ro. Ruby was very unaware of all that.
It seems there were more than 30 blocks of bereaved people waiting in front of the Presidential Palace in Buenos Aires to give their last respects to Diego. Despite everything, Ro made a nice nuclear family celebration for his birthday because of the Pandemic. Usually, he invited tons of relatives. He was the husband of Fiorella, the niece of Ruby´s master´s ex-student. Lucas was another ex-student and these relationships were nurtured in spite of many years passing. Students often admire their teachers and look up to them. This was a year to celebrate because Thanksgiving doesn´t always fall on the 26th of November, with so many birthdays to celebrate at the same time. The best they could do would have to do!
Ruby´s masters were now retired and they all lived a new life. Stresses had been minimized. Still, the husband complained, ¨That dog sheds so many hairs. She is so dirty. She smells.¨ He complained but at the same time he took Ruby with him everywhere he went, to buy tools, for food, or articles to fix the cabin. It was almost impossible not to take her. Ruby knew immediately when it was time to go. She sensed it.
Ruby was aware of every move the husband made, if he got up, put on his shoes, grabbed for the keys. She would begin to whimper and pounce about. She didn´t bark because she understood that when she barked she had to stay home. She did everything she could to please her owners. There was nothing she could do about her fur and all the hairs that collected under the furniture, and it worried her so much!
When the husband took her to do chores he always stopped at the park to let her run around, sniff the plants, do her necessities and play in the fountain. He usually threw sticks, especially when they stopped by the riverside. Ruby chased them. Everybody who saw it laughed at her as she hesitated to get the stick out of deep water. She would turn away and hesitate and then attempt again until she could reach the stick and fulfill her objective. She was very determined and she did everything she could to please her owner’s so that they would not give her away.
Meanwhile, in Buenos Aires, the multitudes made huge disturbances, the police shot off rubber bullets and made blockades. There were fireworks, dancing, singing and all kinds of noise, celebration, etc. concerning Diego's wake. Ruby was not concerned but the husband remembered Diego, how he had been in the neighborhood near their house, how he had gone to meet his cousin's father and the father cried when he tried to tell Diego what a great, the best, soccer player he was. Norberto (Pappo's) father cried every time he tried to talk because he was so emotional. But that had happened many years ago when Diego was still a boy, playing in Argentino Juniors and Pappo was a well-known Rock guitarist. Ruby hadn’t been around yet. She never met Diego or Pappo.
Ruby's other owner, the wife, had met Diego's sisters in the neighborhood. The wife wrote poems and lyrics to songs. She asked the sisters to give a few of them to Diego, especially one called ¨Deepfelt Song" (Canto Profundo), which she wrote on Diego's birthday in 2005 in Spanish. She let them all know she thought about them and prayed for them. The wife admired all the passion caused by a soccer player, but secretly felt the World could be made better when such great passion was concentrated on fixing problems.
What did all that matter now? Ruby was worried she would be given away. The wife read that it was possible to control the fur from shedding and scattering about by giving the dog regular baths with vigorous brushings. Ruby was afraid of water so she tried to escape when she sensed she was about to be given a bath. The wife caught her and dragged her to the hose, watered her down, scrubbed her well and brushed her thoroughly. Ruby got quite accustomed to the brushing and eventually lost her fear of water.
Needless to say, Diego would never want there to be social disturbance and decontrol on his last good-bye, particularly not in a Pandemic, and Ruby would never be so thankful as this Thanksgiving when she heard in the prayers at the delicious meal…
¨Of course, I was just joking around. Ruby is the best thing that has happened to us in all these difficult years that have passed. Now we can enjoy and savor life and Ruby is an important part of it all. I must declare, this cookout is really delicious even if it is not turkey and we must be thankful we will be able to celebrate appropriately when the kids can come and it is safe to gather again.¨ The kids (really adult ones) were to bring a turkey from Buenos Aires when they were allowed to travel. Entre Rios had the best meat, chicken, fish, and especially pork, but no turkey was to be found!
¨Of course¨, Ruby thought as she chewed a delicious, juicy bone, ¨He can say that because he is the Argentine of the family. The others know how necessary a good turkey is on Thanksgiving¨!
