|
I don’t mind Boots. He just curls
up quietly against my belly and stays put. But sleeping with
Desdemona can be a bit unnerving. She snores. Sometimes she gets
little bad dreams and scratches me, too. But hey, I get to come in
out of the cold and sleep with Aunt Ada’s cats on her sofa, and a
guy can tolerate a certain amount of cat snoring for that.
I was glad when I heard Aunt Ada puttering in the kitchen because I
knew it was time to get up. After she let me out, she fed me, and
let me tell you … that kibble was just as good this morning as it
was yesterday. And then she petted me, called me her dear Billy, and
let me out to do my rounds.
Don’t let anyone tell you being the official town dog is easy.
Nossirree. First, there are the kids. Me and Martin, the crossing
guard, have to see them safely across the street and to school each
morning. Must be band day, because I see a lot of instrument cases.
Martin gets smiles from the children. I get smiles AND ear rumples,
so what do you think of that!
Once those kids are safely across, the time is pretty much my own
until the final bell rings in the afternoon. That would be after I
get snacks at the back door of the Mule Barn and after my nap curled
up against the brick wall of the drugstore downtown. You ever notice
how those bricks hold the sunshine in them? Better than that white
wall on the newspaper office. [to top of second
column] |
This is a good
day to stop by the Rest of Your Life retirement home and check on
Pop Walker and Mabel Adams. Oh, I make the rounds and check on
everybody, of course, but I have to admit those two are my
favorites.
If today is band day at school, tomorrow will be sale day at the
sale barn at the edge of town. That’s when the men bring their dogs
in from the ranches to look at cows. They yell and talk funny. Not
the dogs, of course. Getting your sniffing up to date is always a
good thing.
Love, Billy
[Text from file received from
Slim Randles]
Brought to you
courtesy of True Tales of Alaska, by Slim Randles. Now available on
the internet.
|
