Thursday, March 31, 2011

Strummer


When I was in college I had a basset hound named Joe Strummer.  He liked to do the same two things I did: sit on the couch watching tv, and list to the left while walking.  One time when he was a puppy, he took a dump so vicious it woke me up from a dead sleep.

Another time I got a phone call from a friend excitedly telling me "turn on the radio!"  and found myself listening to the receptionist from the hospital, who was talking about a basset hound who had walked into the hospital lobby, become transfixed by the elevator, and spent the next 15 minutes riding up and down, to the delight of all who watched.  even at a young, dumb age I thought "is a hospital really the place for a dog to be walking around?"  sure enough it was Strummer, who had gotten loose.

Then one weekend I was dumb enough to leave him under the care of my dipshit roommate while I was away, and he ran away.  I never saw him again;  almost 18 years later, whenever I see a basset hound I throw it a Jedi-mind trick, and mutter "Strummer, it's me!" under my breath, wondering if it's him and I've found him again.

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