Skip to content

Thanks, Lemon

2016-02-19 · letter vlog · Hank · 3:51 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Personal life (also: Books & writing) · mode: Personal essay · tags: heavy topic

Hank tells John his greyhound Lemon has died of osteosarcoma and, while insisting she was just another dog, argues that she mattered to him and taught him that feeling valued depends more on how you think of others than on how others think of you.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Hank's plain writing style and the things it cannot say

  • ★ Hank thinks he is a pretty good writer, but says he writes his best stuff when not doing what people consider writing. (hedged) — 00:00:01
  • ★★ Hank cares little for metaphor or beautiful language for their own sake; he strives to say the most with the fewest words and explain complicated things simply. — 00:00:12
  • ★★ But some things cannot be said that way, which leaves Hank unable to communicate what he feels is most important. — 00:00:30

00:00:41 — Lemon's death from osteosarcoma and Hank's grief

  • ★★★ Hank's dog died of osteosarcoma; like many owners, they chose to manage her pain rather than amputate. — 00:00:41
  • ★★ Hank says osteosarcoma is very common in greyhounds and nobody knows why. — 00:00:44
  • ★★ Hank says osteosarcoma almost always metastasizes immediately to the lungs and the only treatment, amputation, is painful. — 00:00:49
  • ★★★ Hank is very sad in a weird way: he forgets why and then remembers with guilt, and sometimes cries with no thought at all. — 00:01:00

00:01:26 — Just another dog, but his treasure: mattering, not rescuing, and what valuing Lemon taught him; sign-off

  • ★★ Hank cannot know his dog's mind; all he can know is her effect on him, which, somewhat selfishly, is maybe the important thing. (hedged) — 00:01:27

  • ★★★ Lemon was special, valuable and amazing, but also just another dog: not a treasure, but his treasure. — 00:01:45

    “She wasn't a treasure, but she was my treasure.”

  • ★★★ Hank says we get caught up in a big world of oversized people making their mark, and maybe think that to be valuable we must make one too, however ugly. (hedged) — 00:02:01

  • ★★★ Lemon was just another dog, yet Hank thought her important and she left a hole in his heart: nothing matters but to each other, and Lemon mattered to him. — 00:02:19 · meaning of life

    “Nothing matters but to each other.”

  • ★★ Hank was uncomfortable calling Lemon a rescue: they adopted her because they wanted a dog and greyhounds are good dogs, not as charity. — 00:02:39

  • ★ Hank calls greyhounds relaxed, loving and adorable: a cuddle companion, a reason to get up on Sunday mornings and someone to blame your farts on. (playful) — 00:02:55
  • ★★ Lemon's life improved after adoption, having lived not abused but more as livestock than a pet, yet Hank's life must have improved more than hers. — 00:03:13
  • ★★★ Valuing Lemon taught Hank that feeling valued and knowing you matter is much more about how you think of others than about how others think of you. — 00:03:22
  • ★★ Hank calls this one of a thousand things that dumb dog taught him and is still teaching him, and thanks Lemon. (hedged) — 00:03:38

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: grief · Lemon

Also: Charity (practice) · greyhound · greyhound adoption · meaning of life · metaphor · osteosarcoma · self-esteem

Also centred on grief: Rest In Awesome, Esther · John and Rainn Wilson Talk Romance · You Are Here · Hard Week · About THAT Scene in Looking for Alaska · Esther Day 2026: Some Thoughts on Loss

Also centred on Lemon: Peeing, Pooping, Prescription Drugs, and Ramen Noodle Fires · World's Stupidest Dog · Kindness

← Previous: Kindness · Next → How Energy and Time Change Everything