The Art of Rescue

‘Cause I’m lonely. And I’m blue. I need you…”

I recently saw this movie. You may have heard of it. It’s called “The Friend”, based upon a novel by Sigrid Nunez.

SPOILER ALERTS FOLLOW:

Picture this: a writer/teacher lives in a unicorn of an apartment — cute as a button, rent-stabilized, and in Manhattan. She’s in early midlife, single, nursing the remnants of a longstanding, partially Platonic relationship with her mentor, her long-ago professor. The fabric of their relationship is woven with diligent discussions of the wonder, pain, and laughter of life.

She then learns that the professor has taken his life. The woman was played by Naomi Watts and Bill Murray was cast as the older man.

But here’s the thing: The professor had found a five-year old harlequin Great Dane. He named the regal beast Apollo. The professor’s final instructions are to have Naomi’s character adopt his 150-pound pet Brontosaurus.

https://bleeckerstreetmedia.com/the-friend

Chaos ensues, as the Naomi character struggles with problems both practical and existential, for the presence of this dog both upends her monastic life and acts as a catalyst for the character’s deeper understanding of healing, love, friendship: bereavement.

It was very poignant. Yeah, I snot-cried at times. When we rescue the helpless, we rescue ourselves. My son rescued Fizz from death row (kill shelter). My wife and I rescued two dumpster diving kittens found in the loading dock of Target.

The late, lamented Fizz. He was a piece of work. My son got him off death row in a Meadville kill shelter when the cat was four months old.Felix (right) and Oscar perform their “synchronized sleeping” routine. Much more comfy than sleeping under trucks and dumpster diving for food, right guys?

We lavish our little guys with attention. The house is littered with cat toys. The pantry shelves are stuffed with canned food from Chewy that costs more than the Bumble Bee I buy at Stop and Shop. The living room is dominated by a five-foot tall cat condo covered with cheesy brown plush.

When we care for them, these little beings, we repair ourselves. We baste them with love, attention, and care. It’s a salve for our own psyches, however damaged. When Felix and Oscar get the zoomies and careen over tables and chairs like squirrels on meth, we giggle, for their happy antics warm our damaged souls.

In “The Friend” we see how Apollo’s massive presence allows Naomi to heal as she grieves and processes the loss of her longtime, one-of-a-kind, friend/lover/mentor.

Non-sequitor (or, is it?): One warm summer day, long ago, on a bench in Brooklyn, just outside Prospect Park, I sat with my aged Boxer, named Genghis. He was in his final descent, for big breeds are not known for longevity (like Apollo, in the movie). He was achy from arthritis and years of raucous play in Prospect Park.

Once upon a time, I had a dog named Genghis (or, should I say, he once had me?) and he was the mayor of Park Slope.

As we sat, a Mercedes sedan driven by a middle-aged woman pulls up to the curb. Genghis turned his massive head to see the car doors open. The woman tugs a leash and out of the back seat hops an old, purple-tongued chow-chow. She walks the dog to a tree. The dog lifts his leg and does his thing. Genghis’ ears twitch; he senses something.

Genghis was right. The lady reaches down, unbuckles the leash from the dog’s collar, gets back in her car, and starts the engine. Her dog looks back.

And the lady drives away! “Hey,” I scream. “Hey!!!!” But she’s gone, and the dog is all alone. I had friends involved in animal rescue and I called them to get the chow-chow.

What the hell, man????

There’s a guy in my building now with a super cool two-year old pit. A beauty. He found her out in the pouring rain, alone, no collar, by the lake in Van Cortlandt Park. Again: WHAT THE HELL????

So I think of the lyrics to the song, “Rescue Me”: “’cause I’m lonely, and I’m blue…I need you, and your love too. C’mon and rescue me.”

Tikkun olam, baby. Repair the world. Do it for the helpless. Do it for yourselves.

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Published on May 24, 2025 12:57
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