Can't you just picture this?
I�m certain you know �Maxine� � she is the old feisty lady depicted on greeting cards � she wears kind of sack-type dresses and black orthopedic shoes and calf-high socks.
A few years ago Barbara Davis (Kulow) sent me a long, red sack-like dress with white stenciled cats walking toward you across the upper front - the back version shows the cats walking away from you across the upper back � the back cats are holding their tails high and each cat has a little star just where you wouldn�t expect a star to be. This dress has now lost all its shape and is faded, but I still love wearing it. Just as Maxine has black shoes, I, too, have black oxford-type shoes that are all the rage in Tucson � and I also have the black calf-high socks. Are you able to see the scene I�m attempting to paint for you?
One day last week, my six-year-old Dachshund, Chloe, repeatedly came to get me and was barking because she wanted me to open the front patio door. I tried to assure her that there was no one there � but she wouldn�t take no for an answer. This is where I made my mistake � I underestimated an animal! The instant I opened the door, she immediately picked up a full-grown dead mourning dove, turned and ran into the house - - I have almost-white carpeting. I began running through the living room, dining room and kitchen in circles hollering for her to take the bird outside � she was eating on the run. She managed to drop two big, juicy pieces of liver � one in the living room and one in the dining room � still eating and running. I grabbed the broom � still hollering at the top of my voice � in my most lady-like manner - for her to �take that bird outside� and as I sprinted from the kitchen into the living room, careening toward the fireplace, I just barely missed stepping on the small, round severed bird head that was also rolling toward the fireplace. Chloe ate the entire bird, and never did take it outside. She did a two-hour stretch in the cage while I worked at getting the stains off the carpet, picked up feathers and reflected on the graceful Maxine-like episode.
Ah, yes, glamour at it�s sensual best.
My boss had tears in his eyes � I hope those tears were from hearing another of my entertaining little vignettes.
Kay Young Posell
