The Odd Couple

            Maybe there is a movie or television show, or something called the Odd Couple, but this morning that was the only term I could think of to describe a delightful scene here at home in Springhill.

            Papa (Bobby) said he was going to put a letter in the mailbox.  He left the house, put on his sunglasses and his straw hat and got in the golf cart.  Seated next to him was our dog Dixie, a lab mix.  She is so pretty – a beautiful golden brown with big brown eyes and such a gentle spirit that I often call her a teddy bear.  She just loves to sit next to you – in fact on your feet and snuggle up.

            She likes the golf cart and maybe thinks it belongs to her.  She rides in the front seat when she can and sits up so straight and tall, you would think she is a perfect rider – looking straight ahead and letting the wind blow her soft cuddly ears back against her head.

            So here goes Papa and Dixie and they ride out of the driveway and down the road – sitting straight and tall and looking straight ahead.  After I think they have been gone long enough to make the trip to the main road, I began to watch down the hill.  Soon I see the top of the golf cart. Here they come, just like they left – sitting straight and tall and looking straight ahead.

            Then they make a circle in the driveway and started out again.  This time they go through the gate and into the pasture, down the lane they have made on the many trips before, across the big pasture to Kerry’s shooting house.  There they make a circle and come back again – sitting straight and tall and looking straight ahead.

            Now they park and Papa leaves the golf cart, but Dixie decides to stay.  The breeze outside is too nice and the leather seat too soft for her to leave just yet.

            She doesn’t always get to ride in the front seat. Sometimes she has to sit in the rubble seat Kerry made on the back. but wherever she is, she is snuggling with you.   Then she decides to get a little extra exercise, so she jumps off and races with the golf cart.  She runs so close to it that a little change one way or the other might cause a collision.  When she finishes her run, she jumps back on and makes her way back with everyone else.

            What a joy a pet can be and especially a dog.  They give you all the attention and love and make you feel so special. 

Bonnie Gates Windle, November, 2013