Friday, March 07, 2008

CMUS- a dog's life

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Hey gang- Liza is home and recovering. Vet instructions suggest that she not run- go up steps-etc. As if I could control that one bit. With the hopes of a speedy recovery I give you one of the favorite Mr. Sophanne dog stories.

Living in the Ohio Valley in the 70's meant hard times for a railroader in the Rust Belt and Mr. Sophanne was forced to drive a city bus on Wheeling Island He actually lived across the river in Bridgeport Ohio. There he was married to the z-wife (he opposes the use of the word ex- maybe he had a run-in with a xylophone) with 2 kids and a dog named Claudia.

There are many bizarre "it could only happen to Mr. Sophanne" stories connected to nearly every word in the description above but this one involves Claudia running away. Claudia ran away and was gone for a week. Hope was waning. He was on his daily route with a busload of Ohio Valley passengers when a dog crossed his path. You guessed it- It was Claudia. She hopped on the bus and got a ride home. Those familiar with the Ohio Valley and/or the definition of the word "Island" have figured out she had to cross the Ohio River to find him!

When I tell the story to kindergartners, I pretend that she actually knew it was his bus stop and she was hanging out waiting for him. Actually when I retell it to myself I do the same thing.

12 comments:

Yarnhog said...

What a great dog story! It reminds me of the Little House story where the family is moving West and Jack gets swept away by the river and finds his way back to Laura and her family days later out on the prairie.

Debbie D said...

Oh, I like the creative license of her hanging out at his bus stop waiting on him to pull the bus up.

Tammy said...

Wow! Smart dog!
BTW - I lived in Bellaire, OH for a while as a child.

flutter said...

what a perfect dog story!

Lydee said...

Yes, and I love the embellishment!

Mountain Mama said...

What a GREAT story! I hope Li'l Liza Jane recovers quickly!

Kim said...

What a wonderful story! You should write it up into a children's book.

Yvonne said...

What a touching story!! I hope you're not snowed in like we are. There was s'posed to be a trail ride down near Waynesburg today but they canceled it due to inclement weather. Ugh. :P

Carol said...

Sending "speedy recovery" thought s your way!

Mary Beth said...

Aww! What a great story , embellishments & all. Speedy recovery to Liza...Kitty says get well since she's also recovering from being spayed. Hugs.

PS. You must start sewing. The blog world loves a copy-catter. This is a subliminal recording. Replay often.

Sharon said...

I enjoyed that story! Also, I think Claudia is a very cool name for a dog.

Anonymous said...

And why do you think Claudia didn't know it was his bus route? Hmmm?