Meeting on The Rainbow Bridge
Rainbow Bridge. A fictional bridge that serves as a meeting
place for pets who have passed on and their beloved owners.
The bridge is small and illuminated by an exquisite sunset.
As we move closer we see MAE (Owner) sitting with PUDGIE
(Dog). They are sitting side by side on the edge of the
bridge which is low to a silent pond. Mae's feet dangle as
she sits with Pudgie who joyfully watches her every movement.
Characters:
Pudgie: A selfish arrogant Pug dog, that considers herself better than others of her species-deceased in 1981
Mae: The owner of Pudgie, who owned, loved, and traveled with a dog that was known as ‘the most obnoxious in the world’ for sixteen years
Time: Present
Place: Outside of the The Rainbow Bridge, where a dog comes to meet his master or mistress and share times past before crossing the bridge.
Pudgie (Agitated)
Well, where have you been? All of these damn dogs are driving me crazy. The last thing that I want to do is to run and play with a bunch of mutts.
Mae
Pudgie, you haven’t changed a bit. Can’t even say hello without complaining
Pudgie
Get me out of here, or to next whiskey bar!
Mae (sadly)
I can’t---I’m stuck too -and this is all there is---to keep going I tried to think back of the memories stored in my heart.
Pudgie
I still have my own nightmares, being born in a dark and dirty little cage in Kansas. I still remember the sounds, the cries and being packed like a sardine next to others of my kind. I promised myself that come hell or high water if I got out of that cage it was life for me. Yeah gal, life!
Mae
I got home from work and to my surprise our apartment was decorated with a faux Christmas tree, hung with toilet paper and household items. Under the tree were boxes and one stocking with a little face sticking out. I remember saying, “ Is this a monkey? ” Nope, it was you, and from that moment on you became the center of my world. And life it was: Stevie, one of those hustler types that hung out at the Ramrod and I were living in a little apartment in the East 80’s. He was quite the character - a leather boy with a heart of gold that had once been the boyfriend of Edie Sedgwick.
Pudgie
Well, Mom----I have never forgiven you for having to be stuck with the other dogs on the top deck of the Bremen on the way to Germany. It was disgusting not sleeping under the covers next to you, or having the run of the dining room to taste all the delicious goodies--just some disgusting dog food….not even a smidgen of filet mignon or a bite of a dark chocolate truffle.
Mae
Then at last Berlin!
Pudgie and Mae (singing)
Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß
Auf Liebe eingestellt,
Denn das ist meine Welt.
Und sonst gar nichts.
Das ist, was soll ich machen,
Meine Natur,
Ich kann halt lieben nur
Und sonst gar nichts.
Mae
I saw Marlene once, when I was a waitress in the Jewish Alps. She was almost dead and barely held herself up- but how fabulous that moment was.
(Pudgie continues to snort and hum…)
Pudgie
I loved hanging out in the Berlin bars and crawling along the floor eating the most delectable sausage scraps, chocolate and then having a slurp of beer. Those were the days.
Mae
Pudge, you could not imagine what has happened in a dog’s life. No more beer, alcohol, chocolate and barely any table scraps.. You're not gonna like this, but Pugs have become commonplace, no more the keepsake of aristocrats.
Pudgie
The indignity of it all, life would be so boring without alcohol and chocolate.
Mae
You were the best little friend even though you snored like hell, humped the leg of every human being that you encountered, and begged without stopping. Do you remember when you got lost at the Olympiastadion after a party? I posted signs, called the police, and searched everywhere. Days went by and then a policeman rang my bell with you dirty and worse for wear. He told me that you were found walking underneath the tracks. My miracle pug.
Pudgie
People were always coming in and out of our house- the smell of that black stuff they smoked-remember that time when it dropped on the floor, I grabbed a piece and swallowed it whole. Next thing I remember is waking up so thirsty that I could have finished my entire water bowl.
Mae
It was easy to sneak you on the Trans-Orient Express, and Icelandic Airlines. The flight attendant actually discovered you but did not say anything. She only worried that you had enough water to drink. We even got through customs without any trouble.
Pudgie
I never knew why we left Berlin, and thankfully, that nice lady on the flight gave me some donuts and coffee otherwise I would have starved to death.
Mae
Remember that I couldn’t afford the Greyhound to California...what to do-- hitchhike in trucks. You, me and my Mick Jagger look-like LSD-freak, boyfriend.
Pudgie
This entire episode was beneath my dignity. But I loved California, the palm trees, blue sea...congenial people for the most part-except for those kids that kept visiting the apartment below us wearing t-shirts with Che Guevara and Chairman Mao on them--even the dogs had weird names Marx, Weber, and Emma Goldman.
Mae
I agree, Santa Barbara was so beautiful, we could have stayed on and on, the people were exciting and you never had to be leashed. Do you remember when we acted in a movie at Daniel Donohue’s mansion? He was the former vaudeville tap dancer, who married well and was the main contributor to the Catholic Church in Los Angeles. His bedroom was dazzling with stairs leading to a replica of the Sistine Chapel.
Pudgie
You really made it hard for me Mom, driving back to New York every summer. It was hot, darn hot and I could not wait to get back to California. Two more people were added to the group making us all pretty cramped. When we got to Oskaloosa Kansas, the driver got out of the van, and started to pick pot that grew along the highway. I was horrified when we were busted. I was taken off by myself and put in some kind of cage-- imagine the indignity of it it all.
Mae
I remember screaming as they took you away, and brought us to the jail, above where the sheriff Carl Eisenhower, and his wife, Marge, lived. All I had with me was Abbie Hoffman’s, Steal This Book . We used it as our bible,making ourselves as obnoxious as possible. We screamed commands and hung our bras out the jailhouse window. There was an officer named Oren and he was our go- to -it boy for food.. After one week of being perfectly annoying we went before the judge to get out of town as soon as possible. The person who was holding you in isolation brought you to me and we took off California bound.
Pudgie
You had way more fun than me, my time really sucked-being in a cage with cheap out of the can food and actually having to be near others of my kind. This was total humiliation-and I could not wait to leave Kansas. This was not the life that I was used to or wanted, you had all the fun.
Mae
Probably true, on the way out of town I gave my copy of Abbie Hoffman’s book to Oren and we all sang at the top of our voices California Here We Come.
Pudgie
I was getting a little tired of the rough and tumble, and a nice retirement in Santa Barbara looked good to me.
Mae
Sorry Pudge, we packed up once again and made our way northward to the Castro, right around the corner from Harvey Milk’s photography shop.
Pudgie
You really pissed me off, when you brought home that thing to live with us--what did you call it--a cat. Seeing that animal usurp my place, set my plan in order, I was determined to run away from home. My hope was to get into one of our friends backpacks that was going back to Santa Barbara. My dream came true sitting on the front stoop when some human picked me up and made off with me. Next thing that I knew, I was in a room surrounded by kids. Food was all over the floor. I found myself deliriously happy eating the spilled Frosted Flakes, M&M’s, and other Twinkies.
Mae
I was frantic when I came outside and noticed that you were not sitting on the stoop. I plastered signs with your picture all over town, authorities were called, I put spots on the radio announcing a lost dog and combed the streets. Days passed. Then came a call from a woman who said that her son had found a dog. It was you Pudgie, dognapped, in broad daylight. I went to the address that she gave me and when I saw you, all I got was a grunt because you were too busy eating.
Mae
California, was great, climate perfect, friends galore--but all good things come to an end.
Pudgie
Don’t I know it, just getting used to walking in the Tenderloin.. and up and attem
Mae
It was eastward ho, for us across the country to St. Marks Place where we lived on the ground floor, right in the middle of the East Village. Two floors above us was Klaus Nomi who was just beginning to receive some acclaim in certain circles. Do you remember that he painted his entire apartment silver?
Pudgie
It was eastward ho, for us across the country to St. Marks Place where we lived on the ground floor, right in the middle of the East Village. Two floors above us was Klaus Nomi who was just beginning to receive some acclaim in certain circles. Do you remember that he painted his entire apartment silver?
Mae
I know it was a hard time and I began to notice that you were turning gray around your face. My heart was starting to break, and I could not face the inevitable about you about me
Pudgie
I wanted to keep up with you, but felt myself lagging. I thought that things would get better when we left St. Mark's Place for Greenwich Village. Well, they didn’t. Living in a 6 floor walkup was impossible. Life had certainly taken a downward turn. Now when anyone made a comment about me it was not for my cuteness but about how old I was. The indignity of life.
Mae
I understood, and really did not know what to do, so I began taking you to the animal hospital around the corner. I remember when the vet told me that your liver was not doing what it should and that he could give me medication that would keep you going. We started, but I often forgot that you were sixteen and our times together were ending. As all times are ending
Pudgie
Yes, it was hard lying in the corner sometimes in my own pee. The voice inside of me wanted to scream-what is happening? But I could not sufficiently muster any sound. It seemed like years that I was lying on the floor. Until one day, you picked me up and took me to the the hospital. All I remember was lying down and getting one shot, and everything went blank. When I woke up ,I was at the bridge. How beautiful it was and how lonely I was for so long. Until today, when I realized that you were coming with me on our next adventure. At last it's you and me again-and I can avoid those disgusting dogs. Here now, take my hand and we can cross the Rainbow Bridge together.