Chapter 5. Snoop and the Professor: Ida May, Bugs, Lizards, and Tom Turtle
The Professor and I just got back from our Sunday morning walk. We were the only ones walking today, not sure why. Yesterday was a great day because Mom got to stay home. I knew something was different when she didn’t go to work. The Professor calls it the weekend. So, I awakened them both early in the morning with my morning wake up stare and my beam of Beagle brain waves. Of course, I had to wait on the Professor’s coffee before our morning walk. I am so glad I don’t drink coffee each morning, seems like a waste of time although I do get up on the couch and sample the coffee that’s on the end table every now and then when Mom and the Professor are not looking. I have to admit I do like the Professor’s coffee. It’s better than Mom’s. Mom drinks hers black and Dad adds cream and plenty of sugar. I think that’s what makes it taste better.
Anyway, yesterday morning I met a black, brown, and white English springer spaniel on the walking path through the now familiar trees. Her name was Ida May. Now who names a dog Ida May? Please! She was colorful but way too young for me and she was bigger than I am. I don’t trust dogs that are bigger than I am. We still sniffed each other, you know the usual greeting for dogs. The Professor chatted with the lady who was walking Ida May. She said she lived just around the corner and that she and her husband had lived their entire lives in Tallahassee. Her husband, who was no longer living, had run a small trucking business. He had also at one time been a state legislator and a lobbyist. She said she was a life-long Democrat. That made the Professor smile because I know he and Mom are life-long Democrats. Of course, I have no idea what a life-long Democrat, a state legislator, or lobbyist are but they sound like politics to me and I know how the Professor is when it comes to talking politics. So, I tugged at the leash and the Professor got the hint.
Our walk continued. I have trained the Professor so very well. There were lots of bugs and lizards on the walk yesterday. I’m not sure whether I was just paying more attention to them or that they were simply everywhere yesterday. Dragon flies were flying near the creeks and lakes, sometimes right by my nose. The biggest surprise was the size of the cockroaches, although the Professor said they were also called palmetto bugs. Must be twice the size of the Indiana cockroaches. I like to play with the Indiana cockroaches with my paws, torture them until they die. But, these Florida cockroaches are way too big to torture. I quickly moved on. The lizards are everywhere, scurrying and jumping about so quickly I can’t keep up with them. So, I just decided to ignore them until one jumped on my head. The nerve of that lizard! I shook my head to make it go away. It jumped off. Thank goodness!
On the way home, we noticed that one of our neighbors had a really big turtle in his yard. Tom Turtle, that’s the name the Professor gave him. He looked like he was asleep. The Professor said it was eating well. There was corn on the cob, lettuce, and carrots in its yard. It didn’t sound like eating well to me, I mean, where’s the bacon? We finally got home and I quickly started my nap on the cool floor. Before I went to sleep, I could hear the Professor singing in the shower. The Professor doesn’t know it, but he simply can’t sing. I cover my ears with my paws. Usually he’s singing something by the Beatles, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, or Crosby, Stills and Nash. Today, he was humming some song called “On My Own” from a musical called Les Miserables. I’m not sure what a musical is. I heard Mom and the Professor say they were going to see the musical tonight. That meant I would have to stay home, not much fun by myself but I can do what a Beagle does best, sleep. I finally dozed off and dreamed of chicken flavored treats.
Today’s early morning walk was uneventful and short. We did stop by to see Tom Turtle. He hadn’t moved since yesterday. I barked at him. No movement. He looked dead to me but who knows? I mean who really cares about turtles? Beagles are the most important. It’s really humid this morning. Still, Mom and the Professor went to church but told me to be good because we might go to the beach after lunch. I had no idea what a beach was, so I took a nap and dreamed of an endless supply of hot dogs and bacon.
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