By Ronnie for Cammie
Ronnies Best Friend
Greetings, Cammie is busy with Christmas and grandchildren, and I thought I would help her this month.
For those of you who are a child of the 50’s or before it is probably not one that doesn’t remember the TV show Lassie. A big, beautiful female tricolored Rough Collie with flowing hair. The show aired from September 12th, 1954, to March 25th, 1973. To be able to own a dog like Lassie became the dream of every child, and I was fortunate enough to have gotten one for Christmas. My best guess would be Christmas of 1964, but only a guess. She became my BEST FRIEND, and where I was, she usually was. If you have never owned a dog or even any other special pet, there is no way I can describe how attached you can become to them. Now to continue my story, there was never a day that I didn’t love that dog, but it was some days I didn’t like her so much. It was on such a day that when my daddy came home for supper, I wanted to go back with him to the store till he closed. I would get to see all the other children, and play, something I looked forward to, but I didn’t have my homework done. But I had a plan. I went out to his car and crawled in the back seat and got down on the floorboards to hide. I covered up with a blanket that they kept in the car and I was set. My plan was that my daddy would come out, get into the car, go to the store, and I would be there too. The time came, and I heard voices calling my name, “Ronnie, Ronnie where are you?” I was quiet as a mouse, then my waterloo, the next voice I heard said, “Lassie, go find Ronnie.” Seconds later I heard a noise outside the car and as I slowly rose up and peeked out the window, there sat Lassie staring up at my window on full alert. Within seconds, the door opened and that voice said, “Ronnie, get out of the car, you’re not going.” As I got out, the Benedict Arnold sat staring up at me. So much for man’s best friend.
Another memory I have was when I went fishing. We lived within 1/10 of a mile of the river and in the fall, I would go down to fish. My mother knew where I was, but when it was starting to get late, my mother would tie my sweater around Lassie’s neck and tell her to take this to Ronnie. I would be down along the river and look up and here comes Lassie across the bridge with my sweater tied around her neck. Down to me she would come, so happy to see me, and so proud of what she had just done. Now some may not believe my story is true, if you don’t you probably never owned a dog. I lost Lassie in the mid 70’s, and I’m not ashamed to tell you I cried like a baby, because broken hearts will cause that to happen.
I want to end with this, to this point I have never been without a dog in my life. It is my prayer that I never will. None of us know what we may go through or what we can and cannot do before we leave this earth. But my prayer is that when I pass on, I’ll have my good old dog by my side.
Believe it or not
Until next time
Ronnie for Cammie
