Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. It has been kind of a rough week since my riding lawn mower bit the dust. I had mowed most of the yard and was anxious to the get the last part done out by the lane before the next series of storms blew into town. I fired it up in the shed, and she sounded louder than normal, almost like the muffler had a hole in it. I drove it over to the garage to fill it up with gasoline, and headed out to the lane hoping I could finish before the muffler blew up or fell off. I dropped the mower blade to start mowing, and she had no power to cut a single blade of grass. So my hopes of finishing my mowing were dead on arrival, and I limped back to the garage. Next day, I went to the local repair shop, they brought it in, and after $200 of labor and charges, they showed me the push rods that were all bent up and said it would cost more to fix than it was worth. Sigh. I had bought it used about four years ago for $700, and I saved $200 a month in mowing fees, so I got my investment back. I am now waiting on them to call me. They said they were taking over another shop and might have a few used ones that would fit my budget. They better hurry up because grass waits for no one. Then, to add to my fun week, I lost something. As you know from past articles, I have lost or misplaced my billfold more than once, but this time I lost my car keys. I have a very tight morning ritual going to work, and anything that goes out of the norm has the potential to make me late. I had finished my shower, shaved, got dressed, microwaved and ate my oatmeal, grabbed my cellphone, billfold and keys, but the keys were not on the counter by the kitchen door where I “always” leave them. Yikes! So, I was going back through the house searching every possible place they could be, even dug through the hamper to check the pants I wore the previous day to work. Nothing! I went out to check the car because sometimes I have to get into the car, and I need my key fob to unlock the car. No dice. The clock was ticking, and I was getting more frustrated. Then I found them. Guess where? They were in the kitchen door lock on the outside. I had unlocked the door and left the keys in the lock overnight. What is really sad is that I walked right by them when I went out to the check the car. Grrrrrr! Anyway, I still made it to work on time.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
“Three things you should never break: trust, promises or someone’s heart.” – Dogpound Wisdom
QUICKIES
Doctor: “You’re in good health. You’ll live to be 80.” Patient: “But doctor, I am 80 right now.” Doctor: “See, what did I tell you?”
A patient complained to his doctor: “I‘ve been through three other doctors and none of them agree with your diagnostics.” The doctor calmly replied, “I guess we will just have to wait for the autopsy and see who was correct.”
That is all I have for today. As always, be good, do good, play safe, and remember: if you break it, you may be responsible for putting it back together again.
– JR
Walter Wilson Jr. is an Ohio native who lived in Chester from 1991 to 2000, where he worked for Allied-Signal (Honeywell). He resides in Sullivan, Ind.
