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 “Well,” Herb said, “it’s about that time again.”
Three heads swiveled to look at him.
“New Year’s resolutions … you know.”
Three nods.
“So Herb, what are your new resolves for the next year?”
“Glad you asked, Dud. I thought I might lose 15 pounds, take sailing
lessons and come up with a good recipe for beef kidneys. How about
you, Dud?”
Dud took a sip of coffee. “Going to finish the rewrite of my book, I
guess.”
“The Duchess and the Truck Driver?” asked Doc.
“Well, Doc, it’s actual title is ‘Murder in the Soggy Bottoms.’”
Dud’s struggle with the plot of this novel is well known to most of
us in town.
Steve said, “For me, I think I’ll lose some weight, too, and paint
the inside walls of the turret up at the cabin.”
“What color, Steve?”
“Burnt orange. You know, something like sunset in winter when the
leaves are gone and the trees stand like lacy filigree against the
sky.”
“Boys, I think we have a poet amongst us,” said Doc. [to top of second
column] |
“Aw Doc, come on,” Steve said.
“What about your resolutions for the coming year?”
Doc thought a minute.
“Fair enough. I have some. In the coming year, I resolve to grow
grapes and make some wine for my friends. Then I believe I’ll put in
a big effort to catch Ol’ Lunker on a fly down in Lewis Creek. If I
have the time, I’ll try to keep my patients healthy, and I’ll top it
off with making a concerted effort to locate Chipper.”
“Your imaginary squirrel?”
“Yep.”
“But Doc,” Herb said, “you already do those things now. Did you
realize that?”
“Sure,” Doc grinned. “Really makes it easy to keep a resolution that
way.”
[Text from file received from
Slim Randles]
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