What's So Funny?"

As Leisa, Trigger and I drove around looking for Lexie, we heard Kermit coming into the rescue ranch, and then the dogs started barking again—then a few minutes later, they suddenly quit barking. “Nance, this is Tony,” Tony said. “Are you there? Let me know if you can hear me.”

I started laughing, picked up my walkie talkie and said, “Hi Tone, we can hear you.” Then I started laughing, again.

“What’s so funny?” Tony asked.

“Are you aware, that when you and me use our walkie talkies, we always say who we are, before talking? It’s dumb. We’re the only ones using them, and we ought to know who is calling who!” Then I started laughing again.

Leisa cracked up laughing. As we heard Rick laughing in the background, Tony laughed and then said, “You’re right! I never thought about it before. Y’all need to get back over here—we got Lexie back into her pen and she is soaking wet. She definitely went for a swim, and when she returned to the rescue ranch, she came right up to me. I didn’t have a leash on me, so Rick took off his belt, and used it as a leash to get her back into her pen with Bob Dylan.”

“That’s great, Tony! We’re on our way, now! See you in a minute.” I said. “This is Nancy signing off— over and out.”

When we arrived back at the rescue ranch, Rick and Leisa started walking our dogs, and Tony and I returned to our trailer. Later in the day, around two-thirty, as I was writing Barack Obama my very first e-mail letter, encouraging him to please think about adopting a dog from a shelter, for his two girls—when the man on the Weather Channel, announced that there was a category four hurricane near Cuba, and her name was Paloma! Then my dogs started barking—as Leisa and Rick came into our front yard. I went outside to the front porch.“We’re talking hurricane—y’all! Her name is Paloma, and she’s already a category four! And she’s near Cuba!”

“What?” Rick said. “You’re kidding us!”

“Nope. Y’all come on in here, and I’ll prove it. We’re talking a four with a hundred and seventy-four mile an hour winds— and she’s near the Gulf!”

They came inside. As the weatherman was talking about traveling conditions—we got on the internet, and went to www.stormpulse.com to check out Paloma. Rick was studying the map, the weather conditions, etc. when I said. “Do y’all realize that everytime that y’all have come up here to visit us—there is a hurricane happening?" They laughed and then agreed with me.

Within an hour, we learned that Paloma had moved east—away from the Gulf, while I was introducing Leisa and Rick to samples of Miles of Chocolate! They are chocolate lovers, and they could not believe how great it was—they were hooked on it! After that, Rick and Tony took off in Kermit, to go sightseeing. Leisa and I visited in the kitchen, while I cooked up some okra and a corn casserole for our ‘lunch-dinner’—linner or dunch?

At five-thirty, Rick took over my kitchen, to prepare dinner for all of us—fresher than fresh—Tuna steaks! I asked him to please show me how to cook them, and he did, and we all thought his Tuna steaks were absolutely delicious! After linner or dunch, we had a fun visit in Outer Space. Because we were all pretty tired from a busy day, they went to the cabin around sevenish, and Tony and I were sleeping like babies in bed, by eightish.

The next morning, I was up by five-thirty, so after doing my morning chores, I did some more paperwork. Tone took off for the Old Timer at six-forty-five. Leisa and Rick showed up at the trailer around seven-fifteen! We visited and drank coffee, as I cooked our breakfast. Tony showed up about a quarter to eight—from the Old Timer. Perfect timing!

We decided to eat our breakfast, outside on the porch, so we could watch the many colorful birds and the deer. “Cousin Nancy,” Rick said. “Leisa and I have been here twice, now, and we want y’all to come down there and visit us. It’s your turn to go on a vacation.”

At nine-thirty, after loading up Rick and Leisa, with some of Ben’s and Miles’ delicious pear bread, along with a few baggies of their famous Miles of Chocolate, that Ben had given to me for my birthday, we shook hands and hugged Leisa and Rick, and then we said our goodbyes to one another. Then they took off for Port A. Tony and I just love Leisa and Rick! They are two great people, and T. and me count them as good friends!

Tony and I are already planning to take another one of our famous ‘twenty-four hours or less vacations.’ We plan to go down to Port Aransas pretty soon, so we can visit Leisa and Rick, and see Pete and Kelly. I can’t wait!

Early Sunday evening, around five-thirty, just before dark, before Kinky had returned to the ranch, from Washington D.C.—we had an incredibly great dog adoption! I couldn’t believe that...

To Be Continued, Again...