Monday, February 11, 2013

A Dog Named Zebedee


Dogs laugh, but they laugh with their tails.  ~Max Eastman

February 10, 1964. Jocie Brooke here still on the outlook for strange on Main Street, Hollyhill.  It's been a quiet week. That's how weeks in February are if we don't get a big snowstorm. Then if the snow falls deep enough, things can really get slow in Hollyhill. Everybody stays home and drinks hot chocolate. Sounds good to me. No school. But no snow and no strange this week.  Even old Zella has acted almost normal. In case you don't know, Zella works for my dad. Well, Zella would probably say everybody works for her. She thinks she owns the newspaper office.

That's where my Dad works. He's the editor of our weekly paper, and he's always saying that if no news happens like now in Hollyhill, the pages of the paper have to be filled anyway. He doesn't mean you should make stuff up. Now that might be more fun. But he's meaning you have to dig around until you find something to write about that won't bore the socks of your readers. So since I can't find strange this week and it's not snowing, I'm going to hope you want to hear about Zebedee. Who's that you ask? Well for one, he was James and John's father in the Bible. The sons of thunder. If you ever hear Zebedee bark you'll know why I picked that name.

  I've wanted a dog since forever. Every chance I got I prayed for the Lord to send me a dog. It was my dog prayer. Dad says it's okay to pray about everything. And he also says the Lord wants to give us the desires of our hearts. A dog just happened to be the desire of my heart. I WANTED A DOG!! I had dog hunger. I wasn't asking for a poodle or a beagle or any particular kind. As long as it had four feet, a cold nose and a wagging tail, I was going to be happy. No sense making prayers complicated. And somewhere in the Bible doesn't it say God already knows what we need before we ask him? At least I think it does. So if that's true, there wasn't any reason for me to draw a picture for the Lord. He knows what a dog looks like. He created them, you know. 

I prayed and prayed. Sometimes out loud just in case Dad was around. After all, Dad's always saying that the Lord can use his people to answer prayers. So if the Lord wanted to use Dad, I wasn't going to mind. But then I found Zebedee or maybe it would be truer to say he found me. You can read all about how that happened if you read the book, Scent of Lilacs. I've heard it's out there for sale now. On something called the internet, whatever that is. And in bookstores too. We don't have a bookstore in Hollyhill, but thank goodness and this rich man named Carnegie we have a library. 

But back to Zebedee. He likes to follow me everywhere I go, even down  Main Street. Most folks like dogs, except Zella who yells at me if Zeb follows me into the newspaper office. But Wes lets me sneak him in the back door of the press room sometimes. Zella hardly ever comes back there.

Everybody does pretty much agree that Zeb is not a pretty dog. Most folks come right out and say "That dog is the ugliest dog I've ever seen." Doesn't really matter to me or Zebedee. I guess maybe that's the strange for this week. How a dog as ugly as Zebedee can look so pretty to me. 

Did you have a dog when you were fourteen like me? What was his or her name and was your dog pretty?

Remember, if you leave a comment you can have a chance to win a copy of that book, Scent of Lilacs, and find out all about how Zebedee found me and how he taught that Jezebel cat of Aunt Love's a thing or two. I'll be announcing three winners here on March 4. 

And come back over to the Hollyhill Book of the Strange next week. Maybe something strange will happen in Hollyhill before then that I can write about. But I wouldn't count on it if I were you. In spite of what Wes says and that story about Mr. Wilson last week, Hollyhill is a pretty ordinary town with one extra-ordinary dog named Zebedee. A dog that does do a lot of laughing with his tail. 
  

9 comments:

  1. I have a pug and his name is Winston as he looks like Winston Churchill, now to some that is an ugly dog, but I say he is so ugly he is cute and so loved he is beautiful

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    1. Jocie here. I think Winston is a great name for a pug and especially one who looks like Churchill. I looked him up in the encyclopedia and imagined him holding a look-alike dog. I had to laugh. But I'm glad you love your Winston the way I love Zebedee!

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  2. We had a dog named King, when I was about fourteen. He was a springer spaniel, a beautiful black and white dog. We lived in a city though, where a dog had to always be on a leash and King was more of a hunting dog that we got from someone, who lived on a farm. After about a year, we decided that King needed more freedom and gave him to a family in the country, where he could run free and not be tied to a leash or stuck in the house all the time. I enjoyed him while we had him, but he did not like it when I practiced my saxophone and would howl, probably because it hurt his ears since their hearing is supposed to be more sensitive than ours. Still live in the city, so have never had another dog, though enjoy my friends' dogs a lot. My daughter had a Jack Russell terrier, who was a little terror, but always wanted to sit on your lap and be petted. If you would stop petting him, he would let you know about it by barking at you until you started petting him again. His name was Domino and he died a few years ago. He was one of my favorite little dogs and I miss him, when I visit my daughter. .

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    1. Jocie here. I'm having to wipe away a few tears about Domino. Sounds like he could bark like Zebedee. Thanks for telling me about him and King. I'm glad I live where I don't have to worry about having Zebedee on a leash all the time. He wouldn't like that!!

      Ann here. I used to have a cockerspaniel that also howled when my kids practiced their trumpets when they were in the high school band. We never could decide if he was singing along or complaining.

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  3. Yes, I did have a dog when I was fourteen. His name was Pixie & was supposed to be a poodle mix but was more mix than poodle. I said when I grew up & had a home of my own I would have a poodle in every room. The reality is one at a time. I just got a toy poodle puppy after my 13-year old died...there is a BIG difference between a 6 month old and a 13 year old who was sick! But I still love poodles! Glad there are "Jocie's" to love those dogs who others might think are unloveable! Watching the Westminster Kennel Club Show and not all are as pretty as others...beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Look forward to the next addition to this blog!

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    1. Jocie here. Zebedee has made a few friends in Hollyhill but he's no poodle or show dog. He sits when he wants to sit and not when I tell him to. I'm working on that, but Wes says I'll never teach Zebedee any tricks. That his best trick is that he's a dog who knows how to nose out a free meal. But he does like me. A poodle in every room - that would be fun.

      Ann here - I used to say when I grew up I was going to live in a cabin in the woods all by myself and write. And I was going to have a dozen dogs. That 6 month old will get over the puppy stages in a few more months. Enjoy!

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  4. Jocie, I like your dog. I think he's pretty. I used to have a dog sorta like that when I was a young girl and his name was Sport. We had him a long time. When I lived in OK. and KS. we had a middle sized Poodle and her name was Missie. She was scared of thunder and would get behind my legs when I was in my rocker. She died when had her for 17 years. Then we got a Chihuahua and named her Tinkerbelle. She was a sweet little dog. She sure loved my husband. She died a few years ago when she was 16 or 17. Guess was a Heart attack. She was fine when I went to bed. Then I decided not to get another dog. I'm getting old and a puppy might make me fall. And, I live in a place where she couldn't stay in the yard any. would have to be in the house all time except if she were on a leash to potty. So now it's just me. Maxie

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  5. Jocie here - I liked hearing about your dog. The dog in the picture isn't really Zebedee. I'll have to get a picture of him later. I borrowed this one from a friend and he is a lot better looking than Zeb. Zeb looks like he's been in a few dog wars with a ear that doesn't stand up exactly the way it should and spots on his coat that look like dirt that won't wash off. But he's still pretty to me. I like the name of your Chihuahua. That's hard to spell. I know you miss having a dog. I guess you can have the dog hunger at any age.

    Ann here - I did loan Jocie that picture. That dog was named Blue and he was ours when I was a kid. He too was terrified of storms and would tear through the screen door and go hide in the corner by my mother's dresser. We just left him alone until the storm went by. Thanks for your comment, Maxie. Glad you wrote it to Jocie. She likes getting mail here.

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  6. Ann, it amazes me how dogs know it is going to storm before we even get a hint. Tinkerbelle was also scared of storms, but you couldn't even get her to stay in your arms or lap except a few minutes. She just run from one place to another until it was over. Wonder she didn't have a heart attack. Poor baby. Chihuahuas are a nervous dog anyway. Take care, Maxie

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Jocie loves to know what you're thinking about your visits to Hollyhill.