My Best Friend Jack(T.R. Hart) It should have been the happiest time in my life, yet I felt as if all the weight of the world was set squarely upon my shoulders. The better part of my youth had been spent in the pursuing my career. Due to my strict regimen of study each night after performing my daily labors, my goals were fulfilled and I became the lead engineer and designer of the Edward P. Owens Steamship Company.

The year was 1854; I was 27 years old and in the prime of my life. Although there were contracts to be had in the race for supremacy of the rivers, meeting the deadlines for fulfilling those orders had become impossible! The steamships I designed were the most sought after as they were larger, swifter, and most importantly, reliable. There were, of course, kinks to be worked out in the river trials, but nevertheless, those previously built had been commercially successful.

As the company grew there was less bidding down on my part (I must say that no other ships could compare to the elegance of my design.) but, rather, as there were orders to be filled and with the waiting growing longer, patience on the part of my customers grew shorter. They were not at all shy in their insistence that I should be more swift in my delivery!

A flotilla had been ordered! There was neither adequate time nor enough skilled laborers! I was filled with anxiety. What could I do? Did I mention that I was not only the chief designer and engineer of the Steamship Company, but was also the builder, foreman and its president rolled into one? Please forgive my forgetfulness. I am Edward P. Owens.

It was the week before Christmas. I had sought and gained the affections of the sweetest and most wonderful girl that I had ever set eyes on. Clara, my betrothed, was from one of the wealthiest families in New York State. My thoughts of her, and my situation, raced between euphoria and despair. What was I to do?

I settled my weary bones in front of the hearth with a cup of hot coffee in one hand and the other was moving back and forth petting my little dog, Jack. He had been my sole companion for the last two years since finding him wandering about the dock in search of a meal. He was only a puppy and without a family. There was something…something in his eyes that melted my heart immediately! So I scooped him up into my arms, tucked him under my coat and said: “Don’t worry little fellow. Neither one of us has a family, but I’m going to take care of you. From now on, we shall be the best of friends!"

So, we just sat there as I stared into the fire. I was sipping my coffee and Jack was snoozing so peacefully. I envied him at the moment as he had not a care in the world. The flames danced to and fro illuminating all but the corners of my darkened room. My nerves were soothed by their movement as they did in my childhood and began to reflect back to happier times. Everything that clicked, gurgled or moved in some mechanical fashion fascinated me. These were the “idle days of my youth” my father would say. Though an uneducated man, he recognized my inquisitive nature and thought that would serve me well in the new world built by engineers, “the men of genius”.

Father had worked the ferries in his youth bringing goods back and forth across the waters. There was a line from one bank to another which held two pulleys connected to his flat boat that he filled with produce from the farms. He would then return with dry goods from the town. It was hard and monotonous work.

In 1807, Robert Fulton’s steamship, the North River Steamboat, mistakenly called "Clermont", revolutionized trade along the rivers of our young nation. By the 1830's the rivers were now choked with steamboats of every size and shape, some well maintained, but most, were dangerous.

Oh how I missed those idle days! I hadn’t a care in the world. My dreams were untethered by the reigns of the physical world, and, there was someone else who shared my fascination for things that might be…my boyhood friend, Jack.

Jack was my best friend from my early memory. We were more like brothers than mates, scurrying up and down the hills of our little town like rabbits, making mischief, and making plans to do “big things” when we grew to be men (mostly talk of course).

He had the spirit of adventure in him, always talking about visiting foreign lands where he would defeat the evil oppressors and bring civilization to peoples who yearned for geniuses like he and I who would then build them great cities for the other nations to marvel at.

We expected to be rewarded of course. Jack informed me that he would marry the pretty princess and I would marry her younger sister, then, we really would be brothers after all.
And so we dreamed, played, and grew up together but never lost our desire to do great things. He was the dreamer, and I was the one who would make our dreams into reality.

“Oh how I miss my dear friend Jack” I moaned as I petted his namesake. Our dreams died the day that he was lost at sea. His last words to me were: "I'm off to see the world and what better way to do it than to become a sailor! When I am the master of my own ship, we shall sail together my friend!" The watery expanses were being traversed at ever increasing speeds and soon the sail would give way to steam, but alas, Jack would never return. He perished in a storm and found his future in a watery grave.

My little dog sensed my sorrow and pushed my hand with his little black nose. He seemed to make an effort to speak to me, and suddenly the queerest thing happened…he called me by my name!

'Surely it is my imagination' I thought. Then, he raised his little head as if to bark, and I heard him say distinctly: “Eddie, my boy, what troubles you so?”

Still doubtful of my senses and fearing madness I pinched myself hard and let out a yelp!

I have never heard a dog laugh, but I remembered Jack’s unmistakable hee-hawing. It was Jack’s laugh alright, and I turned to him in disbelief.

“B-b-b-but Jack, you’re a dog?”

“Well, Eddie, my boy, it appears that I am” he replied. “And if not for my best friend, I would have a dog of a time, I’ll tell you.”

“But how could it be?”

“Damned if I know. The last thing that I remembered of my former life was being thrown over the gunwales during a squall in the South Pacific. I swam furiously in the blackness and desperately trying to reach the surface. You see, there was light above me, so I swam as hard as I could toward it. The next thing I know, I was pulling myself out of the water and shaking myself dry…like a dog!”

“Don’t know how long I wandered around looking for something to eat and drink, but I was so thirsty that I drank from a puddle of muddy water. In that little pool of water I saw my reflection for the first time. It was shocking to tell the truth! I had lived, or so I had thought, but I had changed form! I was cold, hungry, and afraid of the other dogs that were bigger than myself… and they were not at all generous with their food. The most odious thing of all was when other dogs would sniff my backside. It was humiliating and I dare say that I was not inclined to do the same.”

“My poor friend!” oh how I have missed you and am so glad to have you back with me again. When I found you wandering on the docks, something in my heart was overjoyed to find you. It is a miracle!”

Jack and I talked into the night. He recounted the all the places he had visited and the sights he had seen. He told me that he was lonely for my company and wished that I could have been with him. Like most sailors his life was wretched, and he suffered under a tyrannical captain M- whose moods could swing like a pendulum depending on the time of day and his consumption of drink. Still, he persevered and decided that he would make his career on the seas until that fateful moment that claimed his young life.

Jack was curious about the life that I had led since we departed from each other so long ago. He lay on the end of my sofa intent on learning about every new technology and advance in science. He was also happy to hear of my impending nuptials. “Is she your princess?” he asked in earnest. I replied to the affirmative. “Then why Eddie, are you so unhappy?”

I had explained to Jack that although my career was successful I had neither the time nor the workers to complete the work needed to fulfill the contracts. The more I spoke the more I wrung my hands and dragged by fingers through my hair. He looked at me incredulously and gave a pitiful sigh.

“For the life of me Eddie, I cannot understand you. Here you are at the top of your game, with a beautiful woman and a bright future. It is Christmas time, the most wonderful time of the year and you are home alone with your dog. Don’t waste the best time of your life fretting over things that you cannot control. Like the tides there will be ebbs and flows in your life. You can’t control life but you can ride on its waves or sink below it. My time on earth was short but eventful and I never gave up hope…even till my last breath! Yours may be long or short so make it the best it can be. Never cheat yourself of happiness!

It was then that the church bell rang six times and the first light of dawn peeked through the twilight. I turned to Jack and said: “My friend, this is a miracle. Have you been sent from Heaven to save me?”

---