I’m telling you this story, even though it has almost nothing to do with me, as a public service. Because
if I don’t, you-know-who most definitely will — and then it’ll be 1,000 words long, and The Greatest Story Ever Told. Okay, so last Friday morning, Beagle Man and Kemba are down at Burying Hill Beach, as they’ve been pretty much every morning since the little red duck dog came to live in Westport. And it’s freezing, as usual, so the B-Man is bundled up in a heavy quilted jacket, neck gaiter, wool cap, with his hoodie pulled up over his head. This woman walks up to him and, looking at Kemba, asks, “What kind of dog is that?” B-Man answers it’s a Duck Toller. “A Duck Tolling Retriever?” she says, and he nods. And then she starts gushing, “I’m getting one of those! No, really! I met this guy here back in the fall. He used to have a Beagle, but
now he’s got this adorable Duck Toller puppy, and he’s a columnist for the Westport News, and he writes a blog . . .” Finally the B-Man says, “That’s me! This is Kemba! This is the dog you saw when he was a tiny puppy!” And of course, she’s like “OhMyGod, I didn’t recognize you, you were wearing shorts and a baseball cap, and Kemba was so small,” and yada-yada-yada. And that she and her husband had gone right to the internet and gotten on a breeder waiting list, and now they were about to learn any day when the litter would be due! And all because of running into little Kemba and Beagle Man! So for days, the B-Man’s running around telling the story of this “amazing coincidence” to anyone who’ll listen — as if he’s the one who introduced the Duck Toller to the New World, or something. Okay, it’s a nice little story. But definitely not worth 1,000 words.
The Roof Rack Report (#roofrackreport on Twitter, for those who follow me already on @BeagleManHank) appears on Mondays, usually. Actually, whenever Beagle Man decides to give me some space . . .
He is a beauty