Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks
Posted: Monday, July 20, 2009
by Sandra E. Graham
My Books and Articles
Now that the Fourth of July Holidays have come and gone; and all the visiting relatives have gone back to their respective domains, I thought I should share this little tale of humor that happened at our house during our Fourth of July cook-out. I've been really busy lately cleaning, packing, and getting ready for our move to the city. I finally decided to take a break from all that, enjoy a little "ME" time, and do some writing.
The kids were splashing, laughing, screaming, diving, cannon-balling, and every other thing a kid does around a swimming pool. The women were laying out the food on the picnic table while the men were either working at the grill or playing horseshoes. Some of the older kids were playing volleyball. At any rate, it was a typical play-day on the Graham's homestead.
Finally it was time to eat and everyone lined up at the long picnic table and went down both sides filling their plates to overflowing. My husband corralled our large dog and put her in the pet room in the house so she wouldn't bother the guests. She stood mournfully looking through the glass door and drooled over all the food being passed around. She didn't understand being left out of this particular family function, since she normally had full rein over most of our yard. Just a few months earlier, we had put in one of those underground electric wire fences that keep a dog in when it is wearing a special collar.
Everyone filled their plates and looked around for a comfy spot to sit down and enjoy the feast. While I was eating, I noticed my husband and one of my brother-in-laws acting strangely. They had their plates full but instead of eating, they sat their plates down and were in a very animated conversation. I wasn't concerned because they were grinning while they were talking, so it wasn't an argument. There was just something curious about their attitudes that I couldn't quite put my finger on; something that made me watch them more closely than I would ordinarily have.
As my brother-in-law walked away from my husband and went down the driveway toward all the cars parked in a line across the road from the yard, my husband picked up what appeared to be a small belt from a chair near the table. He placed the object behind his back and walked over to my brother (Jerry) who was standing nearby eating from an enormous plate of food and talking to several of the other men while they ate.
My husband slapped my brother on the back, pretended to grab for his plate of food, while deftly stuffing the belt-like object into my brother's back pocket. Suddenly a call came out from near the parked cars.
"Hey, Jerry. Did you know someone has put a big long scratch down the side of your new truck!?"
"Huh??" My brother's mouth would have dropped open had it not been full of food that he didn't want to lose. Still juggling his plate, he raced off down the hill toward his truck where my brother-in-law was bent down obviously looking closely at something of great interest.
Suddenly, just short of the driveway and the edge of our yard, it dawned on me what my husband had stuffed into my brother's back pocket-but not soon enough for me to stop my brother from leaving the yard. As he crossed the invisible line, the dog's collar sent an electrical shock through his backside that sent my brother into a wild jig while his plate of food flew up into the air.
My husband and brother-in-law rolled on the ground in laughter while my brother screamed like a little girl at the top of his lungs before he finally got the collar out of his back pocket and threw it at the two men laughing on the ground. By now the whole crowd had joined in the laughter as they finally realized what was going on. My brother even joined in since he was usually the one who played the pranks on everyone else and finally someone had gotten one over on him. It was a fun ending to a fun week-end. From that day on my brother always made sure the dog had her collar on when he was around. He was one old dog that didn't take long to learn a new trick!
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Top-level comments on this article: (6 total)Great article. Well done.It often appears that humor is that extra bit funny when it is at the expense of someone else.You've got that right, Connor. But when we can laugh at ourselves, life can be so much easier. Thanks for reading and commenting.Sandra
Sandra, this must have been a sight to see, I laughed just imagining it.Thanks,Rev Michael BrescianiThanks so much, Rev. Michael. I'm glad you enjoyed it, we certainly did.Sandra
Sandra-I laughed so hard! Your poor brother! I am sure he is already plotting revenge! Thanks so much for sharing!You can bet he is! Thanks for reading and commenting.Sandra
Sandra, what can I say? ...S M I L E... Thanks for refreshing my morning.Thanks, Dr. Clarence. Have a good day.I love to make people smile.Sandra
Sandra, I laughed out loud! Thanks for an entertaining look into your Independence Day celebration!Thanks, Lorrie. Glad you enjoyed it.Sandra
Hi Sandra.That was really clever! Diabolically clever. I wish I could have seen it. Thanks for sharing it.My best to you,DianneThanks, Dianne, for reading and commenting. Glad you enjoyed the read--and the laugh.Sandra
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