Last night was so cold I gasped for breath when I went outside. The relentless wind made it feel even colder. My car couldn’t warm up fast enough. My fingers were so cold I held them against the heater vent.

On the ride to my friend’s for dinner, I saw even more houses lit up against the darkness. In one front yard a huge fir tree was ablaze with colored Christmas bulbs. It was the brightest spot on the road. I decided I’d light my colored bulbs tonight.

Every morning my newspaper is either on the walkway or on the front step. I didn’t know who to thank for tossing my paper into the yard until this morning. I was up early and went to get my paper. I jumped when I looked up and saw an unexpected person by my car with my paper in hand. She was dressed in the brightest lime jacket with black lines. I went to chat and to thank her. In the course of our conversation she told me her age, 91. She wears a Fitbit and counts her steps. She figures she walks about two miles every day. The woman is extraordinary.

My house got TP’ed yesterday afternoon, inside. I was at my computer and was totally oblivious as to what was happening. When I got up, I saw my hall floor was covered in shredded toilet paper. My living room too had shredded toilet paper but mostly on the rug. I went upstairs to check, and my bedroom had TP on the bed and floor. As for the culprit, I knew right away Miss Nala had been enjoying herself. She had stolen a roll of paper from the bathroom counter, far back on the counter, or at least I thought so. Miss Nala made hay, so to speak, while I was otherwise occupied.

Our dog Duke was a roamer in the days before leash laws. He was the dog who followed kids to the East School and then followed us to St. Pat’s. My father would call for him, and Duke would ignore him. My father, in his fury at being ignored, would jump into his car and chase Duke. Sometimes he caught him.

Duke and his son Sam wandered all over town. Sam was a silly boxer who smiled. The two of them were marauders known around the neighborhood. One time my father had to get the two of them after a neighbor called and claimed she was being held hostage by the two dogs outside her house. They would not leave when she yelled. In her house was a dog in heat, and both Sam and Duke were hopeful for a future relationship. My father got Sam easily, but Duke was evasive. My father got apoplectic. Once Sam was captured, Duke decided to listen and got into the car. Sam was delivered to his home first. My father dropped Duke off then left immediately for work. He was running late. Duke was a wily opponent who usually won every stand-off. I have boxers with all their peculiarities because of Duke. He was the best dog.

Explore posts in the same categories: Musings

This entry was posted on February 20, 2022 at 11:16 am and is filed under Musings. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. Both comments and pings are currently closed.