Ode to Mr. K

The fence pictured below is more than just a fence. A fence is meant to divide. To “prevent or control escape” but it did just the opposite. This fence provided an escape for two people in particular. For this man, Dick Kapolnek, and my Chloe.

When we moved into the house behind Mr. K’s, I was about 3 years old. There was a tall brown fence between his yard and ours that could not be seen over. When the fence was changed to the one it is now, our family changed. We began chasing Mr. K’s dog, Trudie, up and down the fence over and over, year after year. Then, we finally got a dog of our own.

When we first brought Chloe home, my siblings and I were excited at the chance to play with Trudie beyond the chained wire but had to wait until Chloe was bigger. Until then, Chloe and Trudie ran back and forth along the fence just as we had.

One day, they finally got to play together without the separation and had been best friends ever since. Chloe would bark at the early hours of the morning forcing Mr. K to make an appearance. He would have to open the door to tell her that they would play later so she wouldn’t wake up the neighborhood.

Every day, as long as the weather was nice, Trudie and Chloe would play together. Running back and forth between our yards. We shared our pups. Summers were spent on Mr. K’s patio. His family would even have Chloe over for parties and 4th of July barbecues.

Eventually, Mr. K stopped coming out and so did Trudie. But that didn’t stop my Chloe from demanding to come over just to be in their yard. Mr. K would open the door just a crack to spoil Chloe with gravy dunked treats. We always said growing up that Trudie was Chloe’s best friend, but it was really Mr. Kapolnek.

When Mr. K was in the hospital his last couple of weeks, he had a picture of our Chloe on his bedside table, even though she passed almost a year prior.

We miss our annual Christmas gift and treat exchange and all of our special get-togethers. Mr. K was a great man. He was caring and hospitable. Even though we miss him here, we know Chloe and Mr. K have found each other on the other side.