We Got Lucky
My elderly dog, Melky, is becoming a real pain in the ass.
There are a few distinct moments for her after, say 4:00 in the afternoon.
She eats at 4:30. We eat between 5:30 and 6:00, and then there’s ‘Bony Time!’
She’ll lay on the couch until about 7:30 and then she goes outside. We know she’s ready because she gets off the couch and sits in the same spot.
Around 9:00 it starts.
She cries to go up to bed. It’s a low cry at first and then it evolves into a siren. On weeknights it’s no big deal because that’s when I go up to read and go to sleep.
On weekends, it’s very annoying.
I was able to coax her to relax until 10:00 on Saturday night, but it eventually got to be too much and I had to go to bed.
Put to sleep by the wailing pit bull. And before you say it, she won’t go up without me.
Anywhoha...
...I was in bed, reading, when I heard Jake arrive from work, talk things over with Sam, and my beautiful wife, and then watched the car head back down the road.
I felt the Dad thought of, “Where’s he going this late? Why doesn’t he stay home?”
And then I thought of my former life.
At 21-years old (years before the dog was in charge) I’d head out at 10:15.
Absolutely!
It was still early!!
Yet, back then, living in a small town, sometimes all we did was get a case of beer and drive around listening to tunes.
You read that right!
That’s what counted as a night out!!!!
As a Dad, I’m glad that behavior has been dumped from society. My boys make arrangements before going out. They aren’t ashamed to ask for a ride, or take a Uber, or stay over wherever they’re going.
But that’s not how it went back in the day!
In the 70’s and 80’s if a cop saw you swerving he’d stop you, and offer to follow you home, or tell you to ‘Get straight home!’
I was once in a car with about 6 guys and 2 cases of beer. Our driver was a little tipsy and the blue lights were flashing.
We were scared!
The flashlight shined through the back window where I was seated with one of those aforementioned cases on my lap.
“Where are you going?” The cop asked our driver.
“The park,” he said.
The park was less than a mile away, but we’d had no intention of heading there.
“Okay, I’d like for any open beers to be dumped. Then I’m going to follow you there. Have your party and then straight home.”
The cop walked back to his car. We dumped the beers that were open, and then we went to the park where we drank the unopened ones.
The cop actually waved to us as he pulled away after following us there!
I thought of that night as I laid in bed on Saturday night, Melky snoring beside me.
We got lucky that we didn’t get killed in a wreck.
We got even luckier that society changed those rules.
What were they thinking back then????
There are a few distinct moments for her after, say 4:00 in the afternoon.
She eats at 4:30. We eat between 5:30 and 6:00, and then there’s ‘Bony Time!’
She’ll lay on the couch until about 7:30 and then she goes outside. We know she’s ready because she gets off the couch and sits in the same spot.
Around 9:00 it starts.
She cries to go up to bed. It’s a low cry at first and then it evolves into a siren. On weeknights it’s no big deal because that’s when I go up to read and go to sleep.
On weekends, it’s very annoying.
I was able to coax her to relax until 10:00 on Saturday night, but it eventually got to be too much and I had to go to bed.
Put to sleep by the wailing pit bull. And before you say it, she won’t go up without me.
Anywhoha...
...I was in bed, reading, when I heard Jake arrive from work, talk things over with Sam, and my beautiful wife, and then watched the car head back down the road.
I felt the Dad thought of, “Where’s he going this late? Why doesn’t he stay home?”
And then I thought of my former life.
At 21-years old (years before the dog was in charge) I’d head out at 10:15.
Absolutely!
It was still early!!
Yet, back then, living in a small town, sometimes all we did was get a case of beer and drive around listening to tunes.
You read that right!
That’s what counted as a night out!!!!
As a Dad, I’m glad that behavior has been dumped from society. My boys make arrangements before going out. They aren’t ashamed to ask for a ride, or take a Uber, or stay over wherever they’re going.
But that’s not how it went back in the day!
In the 70’s and 80’s if a cop saw you swerving he’d stop you, and offer to follow you home, or tell you to ‘Get straight home!’
I was once in a car with about 6 guys and 2 cases of beer. Our driver was a little tipsy and the blue lights were flashing.
We were scared!
The flashlight shined through the back window where I was seated with one of those aforementioned cases on my lap.
“Where are you going?” The cop asked our driver.
“The park,” he said.
The park was less than a mile away, but we’d had no intention of heading there.
“Okay, I’d like for any open beers to be dumped. Then I’m going to follow you there. Have your party and then straight home.”
The cop walked back to his car. We dumped the beers that were open, and then we went to the park where we drank the unopened ones.
The cop actually waved to us as he pulled away after following us there!
I thought of that night as I laid in bed on Saturday night, Melky snoring beside me.
We got lucky that we didn’t get killed in a wreck.
We got even luckier that society changed those rules.
What were they thinking back then????
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