Angus and Hal

Just in case he wandered away from me and got lost, Angus always wore a dog tag with his name and my cell phone number. That tag came in particularly handy one day back in the days when I still worked for a living and took him to work every day. Angus had the run of the office, the shop, and the yard, and he rarely ventured outside the fenced yard area. But adjacent to the office was a Jack in the Box. One day, like many others, Angus wasn't in my office, and I didn't know where he was, but I wasn't concerned. He'd be hanging out, getting his ears scratched by the UPS girl, or anyone else who'd pay a bit of attention to him. Imagine my surprise when I got a call from a woman I didn't know, asking me if I owned a dog named Angus. "Yes," I said, getting a bit concerned, "Where is he?" "He's in my car," she replied, "Sniffing my hamburger." Apparently, he was in the parking lot hanging out, and followed this unsuspecting woman to her car. When she opened the door, he jumped in and sat there, wondering when he was going to get his burger. Fortunately, this kind lady called me and Angus and I were soon reunited!

The reason I tell this story is that when Angus died in 2006, I gave his dog tag to Hal who said he'd make some sort of memento out of it. Hal and Angus were good friends, dating back to the first days of me in Fremont, when we walked down the alley and stopped to chat with Hal who always seemed to be doing something on the Garage M'Hal. Angus soon developed the habit of "barking" Hal out if he wasn't there.

To satisfy his artistic urges, Hal sometimes likes to cast various things (bacon, tea bags, running shoes, etc.) in clear resin. He said that the next time he did some castings, he'd figure out something for Angus's dog tag. It was well worth the wait. When you look it from some angles, all you see is the dog tag. As you look closer, Angus' image comes almost eerily into view.

Great job, Hal! Thanks a lot.

Ps. For a larger view of the photos, click on them.