Creatures Great and Small Department

We received these pictures in an e-mail recently. You may have, too. Apparently they were taken in Oregon, but it doesn't matter where. They're pictures of God's idea of harmony. I'm all in favor of it.







Question: Have you hugged a kid today? You'd better. One day one of them will be your heart doctor.

Department of Turds

Let me tell you something wonderful. “Grandkids.”

A tip of the hat to my granddaughter’s first grade teacher who has introduced journal writing to her class.

Now here’s something wonderful to read, written by my Texas Granddaughter. First Grade; almost age 7.

"When my dad went out of town we had to stay home with my mom and then one night my dog polly came in and wined to my mom and my mom said go away and polly went away but she had to go to the bath-room so she went poup in the living-room and then she pouped in the game-room and then my mom woke up in the morning and saw bofe of the turds and she yelled gha and she had to pike um up with a dish towl.

Written by Darby …”

Illustrated by Darby, too.


"Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow. "—Real Simple Magazine

Pet Department

Last month, My First Wife and I bought a handsome stuffed animal for one of our Granddaughter’s Christmas gifts. Well, rather than wrap it, we just left it under the table. Our plan was to put a bow on its neck and deliver it unwrapped on Christmas.

“You know, hunny,” My First Wife hummed one evening. “I like that Tiger.”

Well, My First Wife insisted we agreed that perhaps another gift would be more in order for the child. The tiger is to stay here and Granddaughter can play with it when she visits. Besides, their new puppy might chew it up.

“Well, okay,” I reluctantly and gleefully agreed.

We've discovered that it’s the perfect pet. Really. It brings charm and interest to our living room. But we don’t have to feed it. We don’t have to let it out real early in the morning and real late at night. We don’t have to get it a license. We don’t have to let it take us for walks at all kinds of inconvenient times. We don't have to worry about it when we leave the house. There’s no food to buy and no shots to get. It doesn’t shed hair all over the house. It doesn’t jump up on our bed. It doesn’t scatter kitty litter all over the laundry room floor. It doesn’t scratch up the furniture and drapes and it doesn’t pee behind the couch.

We love our granddaughter's perfect new pet. And it was on sale for only $9.99!

Be sure to visit my Hats Blog for a brilliant photo---almost the "eye of the tiger."