This story doesn’t begin by a river. It begins after the purchase of an aloe plant that was later run over and is now being rehabilitated in the corner of a backyard near a school.

I met Diesel, who is smitten with Chris, as we walked up to Diesel’s backyard. Those two are a pair, it’s ridiculously cute to see. Diesel fawned over Chris, crying and howling. Chris hatched a plan that was a win-win for every party. We would borrow Diesel, pick up Chris’s friend, and head to the river.

We cleaned out the car for Diesel and picked him up after getting suits and towels. Diesel crowded up the seat. We picked up Seth, who is quietly but obviously brilliant. You can feel those people- they have this intelligence wavering around them, razor sharp and perceptive.  He was making a smoothie, which was utterly delicious. We drank smoothie and dove to the river. We put chairs out. Seth read, Chris threw a stick for Diesel, I dug my toes into the mud. Diesel swam well, and shook out water all over our things at the worst moments. Chris and I walked to a spot in the river while Diesel ran. I managed to not fall once, over slippery rocks and mud pits. We considered fishing a bit, but time was against us.

We walked back and had to leave after a few lovely short hours. We packed into the car and departed back for town. A lovely afternoon with a wet dog and some cool cats.