Dear 123Greetings subscriber,

Hey! Buddies, how have you been?! The best of friendship doesn’t happen when we are together, but when we are apart, despite distance and the silence, friendship buds to a blossom. Here I am from the hiatus…..for you!

Hop on!

Ron’s uncle was deployed in Iraq, was wounded, and now recuperating at the Veteran’s Hospital. We went around for a visit and were taken aback by the scene. They were in pain, but brave enough to hide it. It’s not the physical pain that struck me, but the loneliness. That resulted in them being a grouch. Steve’s uncle was irritant and easily frustrated. He complained about anything and everything. I decided I shouldn’t judge him by what he says, but from where he was and why he is here.

Kong took a liking to him and would stay by him all the time making faces, placing his paws high on his chest and surprisingly he was the only one who escaped the soldier’s ire. I thought it was best to let him be with him and Kong readily agreed with a nod. Good for him! When we were making our way out, Steve’s uncle was breaking his façade of a grouch and petting the dog with all his heart and Kong was devouring the attention. They looked a happy family full of smiles. Strange are the ways of the world! Sometimes nothing compares to company!

Mr. B is stocky. Yes, he is. His attire’s fashion has passed expiry date, but he still clings on to it. He sulks too. It’s hard to extract a smile out of him. Believe me, we’ve tried. The only time he does smile is when we get the work done on time. Of course, he has a heart of gold. No second thoughts there. Kate, myself, and Ron ganged up to find out what he enjoys off work. Ah! We found his Achilles heel, that’s golf. Yup! The Big Man loves to putt and we hit upon a plan. On Boss’s Day, when he arrived, we moved in, convinced him that we are through with the work for the day and would like to take him out. Well, he nearly had a stroke. Hmm….

Our destination – golf grounds, a few lanes away. Once there, we gifted him the T-shirt, trousers, and sneakers and he wore it Tiger Woods style. Forget the paunch! Caddy cart was manned by none other than Ron. He took it to a Go-Kart and instead of fetching the ball and carrying the golf clubs, he literally mowed the grass. Mr. Big didn’t mind that, he just went for the Tee and Putt all day along. Man, he possesses some energy! He had a whale of a time and we loved to see the smile that was perpetually seated on his lips all day along.

Worth it!

When we were through we wished him, “Happy Boss’s Day!” and he said those four words, we were longing to hear from morning, “Let’s hit the bar!”

Meggy is on a Christmas shopping spree. Now, don’t fault her, she has started late this year. She usually starts Christmas shopping just a week after New Year. By her standards, she is late. And she has to makeup for last time – her words, not mine. The worst part is, she likes to tag us poor souls along. If the trail room had a kitchen and toilet, she would’ve happily settled there until Christmas, I guess. She literally lives there. She goes in with a bale of clothes and comes out in different colors and hues. All said and done, for all the tiresome leg work, her enthusiasm is infectious. She is such a sweetheart!

Our entourage happened upon a 7-Eleven on our way home and we went into a pick up a few domestic stuff. The scene was straight out of the movies. A dude barged ahead of us to the cash counter, breaking the queue, and brandished a gun at the bewildered lady behind the counter. She went for the alarm, but the guy took aim at point blank range. She didn’t have a choice, but to step off. Learning Taekwondo and Tai Chi helps, I guess. A hand on my shoulder for balance, one step on the baggage cart to propel her leap, she landed foot first between his legs and hurt the place void of bones. One-Two-Three maneuver. Two seconds. That’s it. Gun-wielding dude was spread-eagled across the floor. An attempt at 7-Eleven shopping ended up with a 911 call. It’s not the skill, but the guts and spur of the moment decision to react made Meggy in my eyes a champion. Icing on the cake is that this incident happened on the day dedicated for Kathy Sullivan, ‘You Go, Girl’ Day, the first American woman to walk in space. How apt!

Adult human brain is about 2% of the total body weight. Steve claims it’s 20% for him. He says he would never forget a face or a word once he sees or hears it. He has trained his brain in such a way. Sure, we know why! Let me give you an example. Our gang took a trip to Connecticut to visit Steve’s folks, last summer. One idle evening we strolled by the river lake and to the park beside only to find a greyhound limping and in pain. Steve, ever-the-caregiver, couldn’t resist and took a closer look. The dog was off leash and limping somewhat bizarre. I mean, both its right hind leg was bleeding as well as the left front one. Of course, since it was balancing the weight on the front foot, the front leg too was hurting, hmmm….

Steve dug through his backpack to find the necessary first aid, he carries stuff that could be used on a war-field, by that I’m not ruling out ammunitions. He spread the antiseptic and some cream, the name of it can never be pronounced, definitely Geek, I presume and then bandaged it neat. It took a few minutes for the hound to understand he has been treated. He gingerly placed all four legs on the ground and once sure Steve hasn’t performed black magic, gave him a slurp lick on the cheek and scooted!

Cut to the present! It’s been a year now since the incident and this time, we were in our neighborhood park. Yes, you guessed it right. Familiar sight, a greyhound standing just like the other day, leaned on a tree, and limping! Steve was glowing! It took a liking for Steve and was staring at him. We couldn’t exactly place the dog, but Steve was sure and to clear the air, the hound started limping visibly. Steve immediately moved forward and reached for the hind-leg with a smile.

It takes exactly one-and-a-quarter second for a dog to bite off a chunk of flesh. Well, how do I know it?! Because, my dear buddies, I saw it. Yes, Steve lost as much flesh when he went for a Vet-care session with a hound dog.

Yeah, probably, it was not the same one. He learnt it the hard way!

Smile!

Peace,

Bob
Editor, 123Greetings
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