Mood:
lazyTopic: "Honey Dew List"(9)
Ever since his return to the Shire after the assault on Mount Doom, Frodo has met each challenging day with a plan for success. Until today, that is. It is unseasonably cold and rainy in almost all of Middle Earth, with the kleinstadt Seattle noted as the warmest spot in all the land. Frodo has been left with minor assignments that have been on the "to do" list for countless months, simply because their relative unimportance is exceeded only by the boredom they generate. Frodo has been saved the humility of a "lost day" only by the similar level of boredom achieved by the largest of his Shire residential assistants.
Dandy is a mountain dog. He is happiest when he establishes himself in a pastoral mode atop the highest hilltop, boulder, or pinic table. From such a position of paramount presence he is able to observe the slightest movement by enemy combatants, wolves, squirrels, or Mr. Beau Neau McKitty. He will retreat to a lower level when in pursuit or whenever Tess forays too close to his perch. Should none of these responsibilities occur within a reasonable amount of time, he will seek out friend Frodo and nip him in the groin, thereby enlisting Frodo's participation in canine olympic trials.
While Dandy and Tess nap prior to the commencement of their favorite television show (cuddled up on the couch with Sam and "General Hospital"), Frodo is downloading his digital camera to his computer. Today, the task is photographs, forcing Frodo to make quality judgments about moments in time going back several months. Suddenly, Frodo remembered why he had relegated the tasks involved to such a low priority. There stood Mick, the Wonder Dog, in all his statuesque nobility, nose to the wind, one last time. Frodo's eyes grew misty, and he lingered long and breathless over the countenance of his old friend in what now seems a time so long past.
Just then Dandy entered the room in possession of "chewies" earlier distributed to both Dandy and Tess. Dandy made it clear that he wished to take all the valuables to the backyard of the Shire, and to surreptitously make mental notes of where he would relocate the entirety of treasure. Haste was indicated, especially since Tess was still napping.
"Yoicks, the fox," thought Frodo, as the two conspirators quietly tippy-toed through the basement and into the soggy landscape. Once their task was accomplished, Dandy looked up at his hero and he laughed, in the way that only a brigand can laugh, while making mischief. Every day it seems has its blessings, it's just that sometimes it takes a black heart in order to create a wry grin. Dandy and Frodo are well on the way to terrorizing the innocent whenever duty calls.
