Yes, for the first time since beginning to edit and lay out the Gentry Courier-Journal and the Decatur Herald three and a half years ago, I took a week off and was gone on press day last week. Making that possible was the editorial staff of the Weekly Vista - I much appreciate their help in putting together the newspapers for me last week.
With both of us having almost a full week off, Mrs. Griz and I determined to take a trip back to northern Kansas to visit family and friends. We planned to leave Christmas Day but decided to wait due to the snow storm which passed through on Christmas Eve.
We left on Saturday morning instead, thinking the bad roads would be much improved. We were wrong. The roads through Oklahoma reminded me of a toboggan run - snow-packed and icy most of the way to Interstate 35. The ditches and highway median along U.S. 412 were littered with cars and trucks that didn’t make it.
Being an old truck driver, the road conditions didn’t bother me too much. I just pressed on “slow and steady” and had no trouble. I did worry a bit about the other drivers who were not so content as I was with “slow and steady.” I saw too many bad accidents on slippery roads during my years of truck driving.
Usually they occurred when four-wheelers passed big trucks and then lost it and spun out in front of the trucks. The results were not pleasant.
I never knew Mrs. Griz could hold her breath so long. I don’t think she took more than a few breaths between Gentry and I-35. I told her to relax and breathe and enjoy each moment in case it was her last, but she seemed to think it better to take in a big breath and hold it in case she needed to let out a loud scream before leaving this world.
Anyway, Mrs. Griz, who usually tells me to push my foot down on the gas pedal so we can make better time, told me to slow down whenever I went much over 30 mph. The already-long drive to northwestern Kansas turned out to be considerably longer on that Saturday.
We had a few days off and, in spite of the even colder weather there, enjoyed nice visits with a number of family members we hadn’t seen for a while. But the days off passed quickly and the time to head back home came all too soon. The roads were a little icy to start, with more snow falling in northern Kansas last Wednesday, but the weather was wet and foggy here by the time we made it home.
For our Christmas present this year, Mrs. Griz and I decided to adopt a puppy named Abby - better known around our house as Abbs. We missed the dog we used to have when we lived in Kansas and decided to get another. Now I’m wondering who adopted who.
It amazes me how much time I have spent outdoors lately in the freezing cold - at odd hours and sometimes in my pajamas - just standing there, waiting forour new puppy to do her business. I’m not sure about our puppy, but I think I’m well trained - I quickly slip on my sandals and take Abbs out in the snow every time I notice her sniffing at the carpet, which is apparently more often than necessary. And she loves it. She romps around in the snow while I freeze, and does everything but what I took her out there to do.
She did travel well and doesn’t mind being in her pet carrier, so she went with us on vacation. My kids and grandkids enjoyed her, too, so she got plenty of attention.
“What kind of dog is she?” we often get asked.
The truth is we don’t know - nor did the veterinarian. She’s small, and we don’t expect her to get very big - about the size of a Jack Russell Terrier. Her face resembles a red heeler. Her paws are webbed like a Labrador retriever and she loves to retrieve her toy duck. Her tail is naturally bobbed. Her fur is like a spaniel or setter, and she points like a bird dog. Her ears flop forward like an Australian shepherd. She trails rabbits like a beagle, but loves to sit at the door and watch birds at the bird feeder.
Though she is most certainly a dog, she is one of a kind - a breed all her own. Perhaps we’ll call her a miniature Australian-heeling-retrieving-settingduck-dog that like to track rabbits, too. Whatever she is, she is a fast learner and has us pretty well trained.
Since she’s adopted us and claimed her spot on my recliner, I guess Abbs is a part of the family now. I expect, once she gets a little bigger, she may train me to take her for long walks, which wouldn’t be all that bad for me either. I only hope global warming comes back soon, because our walks so far have been a bit chilly.
Opinion, Pages 5 on 01/06/2010