Slim Randles' Home Country
Better than the best doghouse
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[January
19, 2013]
The problem was Billy, you see. Billy's our town dog,
ever since Sally passed away quietly on Doc's porch, and Billy's
owner, Stewart Simpson, died two weeks later. The people who
inherited Stew's house didn't particularly enjoy having Billy
around, and Billy appeared to feel the same way about them, so he
became our dog. By which I mean everyone's dog. |
People in town fed him whenever he came around, so there wasn't a
problem that way. Matter of fact, he'd gained a few extra pounds by
riding the grub line.
His job, as official town dog, was to be colorful, which he was,
to greet tourists, which he did, and to escort the children to
school, which he accomplished every weekday. On Saturdays he'd show
up at the school, look around, then go back downtown and see if
there were any tourists who needed guidance.
The problem was, it was now winter and cold, and Billy is a
short-haired coonhound and shivers a lot. But he's our dog, and our
responsibility, and that's why the high school boys in woodshop took
over.
First they had a design contest, to see who could lay out the
best house possible for Billy. Two of the guys even measured him
first, because you'd want the thing to be cozy, but not crowded.
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When the winning design was chosen, they set to work. In a week's
time, Billy had the best-insulated, classiest doghouse in town. It
could withstand zoning changes, hurricanes and atomic attack. They
took it down to the crossing where the school kids were each weekday
and leveled out a place for it under a shade tree. Then they threw
some kibble in it to get Billy to go in.
Billy ate the kibble and curled up and lay down in there and
there were smiles all over town. The boys from woodshop received
congratulations from the multitudes, and the project was declared a
success.
And when darkness fell and the wind began out of the east, Billy
walked over to Mrs. Sandiford's house and scratched on the door. She
let him in, and he jumped up on the couch with her two cats, Boots
and Desdemona, and sighed.
Love comes in all forms.
[Text from file received from Slim Randles]
Read free samples of Slim's books at
www.slimrandles.com. |