Let's see if I can type all this without crying.
Concerning his forum antics. He was probably the most entertaining presence. His comebacks, product descriptions, for sale ads, general conversations, they all had flare. He could have posted under another name and you would know, without a doubt it was Aaron dba MuShu Gordon. The words he chose to use, the way he wanted to spell them. All MuShu.
I've had the pleasure of spending time with him, but definitely under the crappiest of situations.
Does anyone remember his dog, Cody? I was Cody's previous owner. My Dad and I found him abandoned on a back road near our hunting property. We brought him home and he was a part of our family for close to two years. He was an awesome dog. We used his tag to get his background story and found out he was "won" in a divorce, but the woman didn't want him. She brought the dog from Georgia to NC and gave him to another family. They decided they didn't want him, but instead of finding him a home, they tossed him out. But, I digress.
On Sept. 27th, 2014, my 16 year old son took his life. It was unreal how it changed everything in my house. One of those things was not wanting to stay home. We wanted to leave this town every chance we had. We had two dogs. Cody, all 100lbs of him, and Cassie, a Pom. When we would leave, it was easy enough to drop off Cassie at the in-laws, but Cody was a different story. We would leave him in the house and we had to ask someone to stop by and let him out to do his business. We hated burdening others, but didn't have many other options.
On an older forum, someone posted an ad, giving away a dog. MuShu went to look at the dog, but decided it was much too hyper to be his companion. He was really looking for an older, larger, lazier dog. I knew Cody would be perfect. A conversation was started.
MuShu and Panda drove three hours to my house to "interview." I really didn't "know" Aaron and my wife certainly had no idea who he was, except a dude from the internet. Oh, does anyone here know why Panda was called Panda? When Aaron told me, I could not help but to laugh. He said, "Because she sleeps anywhere, anytime." And darn if she didn't actually doze off sitting straight up on my couch. Lol. We went to the local country buffet place and came back for more Cody and MuShu time. Knowing Aaron's physical issues, I offered to let him walk Cody on his leash to get an idea of what he might be getting into. He walked him around the neighborhood. Aaron was a little winded, but was otherwise, fine. They traveled back home so my wife and I could discuss it. We stayed in constant communication with them and actually were bonding. After discussing, it was decided MuShu needed Cody and Cody needed MuShu. Cody would be his flea market buddy.
I had started painting as an outlet. Knowing Aaron was just moving into a house near his Mom (if I have that correct), I wanted to paint something for him to hang on the wall and I was going to deliver it when we took Cody to him. It was definitely bittersweet. We loved Cody, but knew he would have a better home with Aaron. I was tickled that Aaron hung my painting in a manner that it was the first thing you saw when you opened the front door.
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Aaron and my wife became fairly close over the following years. He would text her pictures of Cody riding in the ambulance, sleeping on their bed, dragging dead possums around, you name it. I know it was hard for him to text my wife when Cody finally passed away, but he did. It was thoughtful and showed how big his heart was.
It's been a good while since we had chatted and hearing this news hit us hard. I didn't tell my wife how Aaron died. She told my daughter I didn't have to. She knew in her heart how he did.
Rest in peace, MuShu.
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