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 “What a great winter morning, guys,” said Doc,
seating himself at the philosophy counter and flipping his cup to
the upright and fillable position. “Makes a guy glad to be alive.”
We all nodded and sipped.
“Say Doc,” said Herb, “how’s old Chipper getting along these days?”
We all chuckled, because all the locals know Chipper was invented by
Doc a few years back to be his very own imaginary squirrel. Yeah,
Doc’s like that.
Doc laughed, too. “Hibernation, boys,” he said, “Sacked out ‘til
spring. You should all get hibernating pets. They’re really easy to
care for as long as they stay asleep.”
“And he’s all tucked in?” Steve wanted to know.
“Fluffy tail covering his face. The very picture of warm beds and
happy dreams.”
“That’s good,” said Dud.
The man in the uniform stood up from his place over in the booth and
walked over to the counter. “Excuse me, sir, but are you Doc?” [to top of second
column] |
Doc nodded.
“Doc that has the squirrel?”
“Well, yes,” he said.
“I’m the new game warden here and I’d like to see your squirrel
permit, please.”
“Squirrel permit?”
“A civilian can’t keep a wild animal without first obtaining a
permit. Otherwise, it’s a $500 fine.”
We sat in stunned silence, then Dud spoke up. “You boys haven’t met
my cousin Jimmy yet, have you? He’s here for the weekend and I put
him up to it.”
We made Dud buy the coffee. We all chipped in for Jimmy’s breakfast.
Most cafes only serve food.
[Text from file received from
Slim Randles]
Brought to you
by “Packing the Backyard Horse” by Slim Randles. Available now from
Amazon.com.
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