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Chris’s Animal Stories - That weekend on Sunday afternoon I was watching racing on the TV upstairs and Chris shouted for me to “come help me,” from the sound I knew it was serious, seems she was walking out back in the meadow with the cats and was ruffing our cat Tuffy (clue) around in the fallen leaves when she dropped her diamond ring (clue). She tried to find it, but was unsuccessful, so she set her coke can down to mark the spot and called for me. We spent the next 30 minutes on our hands and knees sifting leaves, thorny cedar needles and the occasional deer residue, all to no avail. But, I wasn’t worried, no one goes out there and so I figured I’d rent a metal detector the next day. Chris was rather upset and concerned, it took her years to get me to buy that ring and she wasn’t about to part with it, so she headed back up front to bar-b-que, I headed for the shower. After showering I picked up an old ring from a drawer and went back out to drop it a few times and see “how it looked” in the leaves. The third time, it slipped under a pile and as I pulled back the leaves, it was laying within a quarter inch of hers, and of course, exactly where we had searched. So, I was excited and started toward the house to surprise her – then it struck me – what a chance for some fun! As I got to the house, Tuffy was out on the deck where Chris couldn’t see us, so I put the ring on his collar (the breakaway type) and put him inside knowing dinner was about ready and she was ready to feed him, I headed back to the TV to wait for the fun. Again she called “where’s Tuff?” – now I panicked because he’d gone back out onto the deck (with ring attached), so I directed her to the back deck and again ducked into the TV room. Suddenly she shouted “I found it, I found my ring!!!” – “where” I queried – “Tuff had it, it must have been stuck between his fur and collar.” Wow I exclaimed, a “miracle” and we aren’t even Catholic! Actually, when she picked him up with one hand, she pulled his collar loose with the other and the ring fell free – she hadn’t noticed it “on” the collar, so she thought it was stuck in his fur. I figured after she’s thought about it for awhile it would become apparent that a ring couldn’t “stick” in his fur for two hours, but she was so excited and relieved to find it that it didn’t occur to her. Well, knowing her reputation for loving to tell “animal” stories I decided to let her go to work and tell this “whopper” – which, she did, right on queue – the fun was just beginning as fate took another turn on the wheel. Chris went to our friends Tee and Dan who originally gave us Tuffy and was telling how Tuff “found” her ring, so Tee started calling him “Diamond” Tuffy – that’s right, but don’t get ahead of me yet. When I heard this I started writing emails to everyone we know telling the real story of how Tuffy “found” her ring. And, at the family reunion I continued to tell the story, each time cautioning them not to let Chris know until now, because you see, until this very minute, as she is proof reading this newsletter, has she known “the rest of the story” – Tee has been laughing for months, waiting for Chris to kill me for this trick – if this newsletter has arrived at your mailbox, apparently I survived. |
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