It’s an oft-told Herman family tale this time of year. December 25, 2003 — Ricky the Beagle’s first Christmas. Matt is 22. Robby is 10. (Greg is 19, but he’s not part of this story. Sorry, Greg.) Matt and Robby are locked in one of their weird competitions: Whose gift will Ricky like better? Robby
Gained a co-pilot in Asheville: Carol. Then lost one in Greensboro: Matt, who stayed down in North Carolina to celebrate Thanksgiving with his in-laws. Matt put in two strong stints: one back at the beginning, on the Bourbon Trail and then up to Indianapolis; plus here on the southeastern swing, from Little Rock to Nashville
Beagle Man (on Friday’s afternoon’s drive along I-40 East with Matt, closing in on Asheville, NC): Hey, since our dinner reservation isn’t till 8:30 tonight, I think I’ll use the downtime to do some catching up and to write a blog post. Matt: Sounds good. The next moment, a text arrives for both Matt and
I’d fully intended to kick off this post with with my latest enchantment at the Grand Canyon, but in between my day there and today’s arrival in Santa Monica, I spent last night in Sin City. And it left me speechless! So I have to get it out of my system right away. Yes, I
Little did I know that Carol’s 69+ birthday present to me was to send me driving to St. Louis in a midwestern snowstorm! I felt like I was on one of those legendary plains cattle drives! (Not that I’ve been on one, but I’ve seen the movie and read the book.) It’s crazy! Sunday in
All good so far. Got to LGA nice and early, just the way I like it. My whole family made lots of fun of me for leaving WePo at 6:30PM for a 9:53 flight, but I don’t care. Who needs an ulcer? Early highlight: I succeeded in ordering my dinner using the iPad at the
***COUNTDOWN: 5 DAYS TO LA/XC-6*** Yay! Finally! After 16 years of dog ownership — 11 with Ricky the Beagle and 5 with Kemba — I’ve won my first battle of wills!!! (Obviously, if this was ever going to happen, you knew if would have to be with my eager-to-please, up-for-anything red duck dog . .
Comments Off on The Fly Swatter and the Praying Mantis (a Fable)
Okay, yes, yes — the real Aesop’s fable is” The Ant and the Grasshopper.” I know that. And my fable, I have to confess, turns on a rather major misconception: I actually thought it was illegal to kill a praying mantis. Just a little background for my story. Many of you know how my wife feels about insects: She hates them. She also
* * *COUNTDOWN: 77 DAYS TO LA/XC-6 * * * You thought my days of cross-country-road-tripping-with-dog were finished, right? Me too. The fifth and final journey — or so I assumed at the time — was LA/XC-5, back in the fall of 2016. I figured it was a wrap after that one, for a bunch
Big dogs and little dogs. Black and white dogs. Don’t get too wet, black-and-white dog! Four dogs down in the water. One dog up on a paddle board. Dogs at work. Work, dogs, work! Dogs at play. Play, dogs, play! There they go. Look at those dogs go! What are they going to do?
