Sticky Situation

May 6 /08

I really had Mama laughing the other night ... and she needed a good laugh after Saturday's disasterous loss by the Habs. Come to think of it, I needed a chuckle myself.

Anyway, after the game, we decided to walk off our disappointment. So out we went into the drizzle. Usually, on a Saturday night, the streets around here are filled with cars and lots of people are walking and biking around. But Mama and I were just about the only ones outside, except for another sad guy and his sad little dog and they were doing the same slow shuffle that we were. The streets were practically deserted. You could tell something bad had happened. Instead of "Habs Go," it was "Habs Went." But I knew something good was about to happen ...

Anyway, Mama and I passed a pile of garbage that was stacked up in someone's yard, and in the pile was an abandoned white garden table with its legs lying on the grass. They looked like long white sticks. Well, that's all I needed to see, considering I have this thing about sticks. These were the biggest sticks I'd ever seen. And I've never seen white sticks before. I was so excited when Mama let me snoop around the garbage. Nothing like a big white stick to lift a Boxer's spirits.

Actually, I'd noticed those sticks earlier in the day. But Mama had pulled me away because she doesn't think it's very classy for me to be a garbage picker. But on this night, Mama didn't care. I'm not even sure she noticed me snatch that big stick at first because she was still kind of lost in space over the hockey game. Plus, I think the rain fogged up her glasses.

So I gathered up all my strength and yanked one of the sticks right off the lawn and started dragging it home.

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It took me 20 minutes to get that darned thing to our house which is just down the street. The stick was made out of plastic and I couldn't really get a good grip on it and it kept falling out of my mouth and rolling away, and the more I tried to bite down on it, the slippier it got. I'd finally get my teeth in it and trot with it a couple of feet and then I'd step on it or trip over it, and I'd lose it again! It rolled onto the road a couple of times, so Mama had to go and fetch it. (I thought that was kind of funny - Mama fetching my stick.) In the meantime, I was getting all tangled up in my leash and tripping over that too. It was a real comedy! Well anyway, I was getting very mad at the stick and I started to bark at it and lunge on it and even when Mama put it in my mouth for me, it slipped right out again.

n

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Come here, stupid stick!

m

I was totally exhausted but I was determined to get that thing home and show Papa what I'd found. So on I went - dragging the stick and making a real loud noise because it was scraping against the sidewalk - until I finally got it to our front door.

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I guess it was a good thing no one was outside because I can't imagine what people would think of this scene. Anyway, Mama was laughing her head off right out there in the street.

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So I'm glad I finally got that stick home and was able to make my Mama laugh when she was feeling sad. She was hugging me and kissing me and calling me a "silly clown," and thanking me for always being able to make her smile.