I live in a beautiful Florida town that was settled by John Ringling, the founder of the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus. The presence of the circus is reflected all around this town of mine. As residents, we pay homage to the circus, so as to continue to glorify this wonderful childhood rite of passage. It is no wonder that by living in a town full of clown memorabilia and the like, that eventually my rebel-rousing dog, Miss Pearl Bailey would join in the merriment. Tis true that she has delivered me a lot of fodder over the years, but there is one story that begs to be told over and over again. That story is an adventure with Pearl Bailey that I shall never forget!
“As the afternoon was giving way to evening, Pearl Bailey and Ella were down in their Shangri-La. I joined them in the yard sitting on a bench under the palms enjoying the peace and quiet. The dogs were most interested in the squirrel du soleil going on up in the live oaks. There were three young squirrels racing up and down the limbs squawking at each other. Pearl Bailey was sprinting intently from tree-to-tree and deep in contemplation, even Ella got into a sentry position. After about ten minutes of this circus performance of dancing dogs and flying mammals, I was just about set to go indoors when suddenly one of the squirrels fell off a limb, dropped onto my lap and bounced off in a tizzy all the while Pearl Bailey came barreling after it, hit the back of the bench flipping it over, me landing ass over tea kettle.
Flabbergasted, I quickly collected myself not wanting to participate any further in the games and as I got up and shook the dirt off myself, here comes Ella who pounced on the back of my knees and knocks me back down onto the ground face first. “You crazy dogs!”, I bellowed, a cry that could be heard all the way down the island.
Now, if having your face covered in mud is not mortifying enough, folks, having this kind of mishap occur when you are wearing white pants is!”
P.S. No animals were harmed in the telling of this story.