Doc was just getting up to leave the philosophy
counter as Herb walked in. Herb was grinning and flexing muscles and
had the look of eagles in his eyes. We stared.
“Herb,” said Doc. “You know, you can overdo a good thing.”
“Why Doc … whatever do you mean?”
“I realize that getting more exercise is your resolution for the new
year, but a man your age … you need to pace yourself a little,
that’s all. Don’t try to get in shape all at once.”
“Why Doc, I’ve never felt better in my life. Hey, you were so right
to get me on this exercise kick. I’ve been meaning to thank you.
It’s just what I’ve been needing. What would you think about my
playing some football in the spring? I mean, it’s just touch
football, but I miss the ol’ razz-matazz, you know?”
Doc shook his head sadly and walked out. Herb started laughing and
sat down with us and flipped his cup over for his morning eye
opener.
“What was that all about, Herb?” Dud asked. [to top of second
column] |
“A little joke I’m playing on
Doc, that’s all,” Herb said. “You remember how Doc has been on my
case to get more exercise and slim down some? Well, there was only
one way to shut him up, so I started running. I bought a sweat suit
and started running. I run past his house each morning. Then, about
an hour later, I run past his house the other direction, huffing and
puffing and looking at my watch.”
“An hour? You run for an hour each morning?”
“Of course not,” Herb said, laughing. “I run past Doc’s house then
walk the block to the library. An hour later, I run past Doc’s house
and then walk two blocks home.”
We stared at him.
“What?” he said. “You know Doc’s going to worry about me one way or
the other. I just thought I’d change it up a bit.”
[Text from file received from
Slim Randles]Brought
to you by Saddle Up: A Cowboy Guide to Writing by Slim Randles. Now
available as a Kindle book on Amazon.com.
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