A few years ago, I watched a movie entitled Marley and Me
starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston. It was a very heartwarming movie
which involves the story of a couple who got married and was starting to build
a family together with a naughty yet bubbly, loyal and adorable dog named
Marley. It was a very nice movie! And it had such a very tear-jerking part when
it came to the point of Marley’s death. I could vividly remember that I cried
while watching the latter part of the movie.
Only now that I was able to buy a copy of the book where the
movie was adapted from. It’s Marley and Me written by John Grogan.
I really got interested with the book upon seeing it at National Bookstore
because I knew then that it’s going to be a nice read. And like what others
say, more often than not, the book is always better than the movie.
The story is told by Grogan in a naturally amusing and
detailed way. You’ll really see how disastrous Marley is yet he also mentions
how different he is in a way that is special or even extraordinary among any
other dogs. You’ll go crazy with his comically mischievous manner but you’ll
definitely adore him for his love and devotion to his masters. Here, you can
see how a pet turns out to be a vital member of a family. He is a devoted
friend, too; a man’s best friend, indeed.
Let me just share some of the beautiful lines from the book,
mostly taken from the latter part. Perhaps, you could also ponder on these.
“Marley reminded me of
life’s brevity, of its fleeting joys and missed opportunities. He reminded me
that each of us gets just one shot at the gold with no replays. One day you’re
swimming halfway out into the ocean convinced this is the day you will catch
the seagull; the next you’re barely able to bend down to drink out of your
water bowl. Like Patrick Henry and everyone else, I had but one life to live.”
“In the lonely
blackness, I could almost taste the finiteness of life and thus its
preciousness. We take it for granted, but it is fragile, precarious, uncertain,
able to cease at any instant without notice. I was reminded of what should be
obvious but too often is not, that each day, each hour and minute, is worth
cherishing.”
“We loved that crazy
old dog, loved him despite everything –or perhaps because of everything.”
“Marley was a funny,
bigger-than-life pain in the ass who never quite got the hang of the whole
chain-of-command thing. Honestly, he might well have been the world’s
worst-behaved dog. Yet he intuitively grasped from the start what it meant to be
man’s best friend."
“No one ever called
him a great dog –or even a good dog. He was as wild as a banshee and as strong
as a bull. He crashed joyously through life with a gusto most often associated
with natural disasters. He’s the only dog I’ve ever known to get expelled from
obedience school. He was a chewer of couches, a slasher of screens, a slinger
of drool, a tipper of trash cans. As for brains, let me just say he chased his
tail till the day he died, apparently convinced he was on the verge of a major
canine breakthrough. There was more to him than that, however, and I described
his intuition and empathy, his gentleness with children, his pure heart."
“What I really wanted
to say was how this animal had touched our souls and taught us some of the most
important lessons of our lives. “A person can learn a lot from a dog, even a
loopy one like ours.” Marley taught me about living each day with unbridled
exuberance and joy, about seizing the moment and following your heart. He
taught me to appreciate the simple things- a walk in the woods, a fresh
snowfall, a nap in a shaft of winter sunlight. And as he grew old and achy, he
taught me about optimism in the face of adversity. Mostly, he taught me about
friendship and selfless and, above all else, unwavering loyalty.”
He was central player
in some of the happiest chapters of our lives. Chapters of young love and new
beginnings, of budding careers and tiny babies.Of heady successes and crushing
disappointments; of discovery and freedom and self-realization. He came into
our lives just as we were trying to figure out what they would become. He
joined us as we grappled with what every couple must eventually confront, the
sometimes painful process of forging from the two distinct pasts one shared
future. He became part of our melded fabric, a tightly woven and inseparable
strand in the weave that was us. Just as we had helped shape him into the
family pet he would become, he helped to shape us, as well –as a couple, as
parents, as animal lovers, as adults. Despite everything, all the
disappointments and unmet expectations, Marley had given us a gift, at once
priceless and free. He taught us the art of unqualified love. How to give it,
how to accept it. Where there is that, most of the other pieces fall into
place."
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| John Grogan with Marley (left) and Gracie (right, the Grogan's new dog that came after Marley ) |
Aren’t those wonderful and inspiring? I need not say more. I
guess you’ll be able to extract inspiring thoughts from there. While reading
these parts, I already found myself crying. I was so touched with the story!
This is the first time ever that a book made me cry! I admire John Grogan for
that and I will surely read his other novel as soon as I grab a copy. I’m
aiming for his book ,The Longest Trip Home.
Marley makes me want to have a dog sometime in the future.
I’ve never had a dog before except for the one we had when I was still little.
His name was Lucky. I could only remember a very few memories of him but I know
that he was a very passionate and loving dog, too.
Animals, specifically dogs have traits that are to be
admired and cherished. They may not be able to speak, but their actions can
show humanly love and care. I believe that they can recognize and do
reciprocity; love and care for them and they will do the same. Perhaps, they
will even care and protect you much more than what you can give to them.
