Lakewood

Chapter 10

The New York Times reported that “Richard Nixon won a victory in the House today as it sustained his veto of a bill requiring Senate confirmation of the two top officials for the Office of Management and Budget.” He was the first president I was able to vote for, and so I ended up helping defeat McGovern. Although, I felt odd when I did because I’ve always considered myself a Democrat. I just did not have any confidence in McGovern, not after the 1968 debacle when it looked like the world was exploding. This time last year, I would never have imagined voting for someone like Nixon.

The New York Times

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I made a huge mistake today. Two mistakes really. I walked the dogs from the house to Allen Park, which I estimate is eight miles away. It rained considerably last night, so it was a beautifully cool morning, just right for a long walk. Of course, it was still wet for the most part. I left at nine, and two and a half hours later, we were in the park. I walked them but also jogged a little bit. It was too far for the dogs. At the baseball field, they both plopped down in the cool grass by the bleachers and would not move. Harry and Bess were already gritty from the walk but got even more dirty in the grass. They are big dogs and when they don’t want to move, they don’t. There were only two other people around, a man chipping golf balls on the field, and a man practicing with his fly rod. I watched the fly rod-guy until he finished, then asked if he could give me and the dogs a ride home in his truck, which made him laugh when the dogs did nothing but stretch in the grass.

“Those are two lazy dogs,” the man laughed.

Around the time the fly rod-guy was leaving, a bunch of boys arrived to play a little league game and they all wanted to pet Harry and Bess. Those lazy mutts rolled over to have their bellies scratched. I had to pick them up, one at a time, all 130 to 150 pounds. I had to drag Harry a few feet in the grass. Holy-hell, I about broke my back. I lifted both dogs, one after the other, into the back of Mr. Card’s pickup truck where they plopped down.

I rode with Mr. Card in the front cab.

“I’m installing linoleum in a house over on West Virginia Boulevard, but the woman changed her mind on the style, so her husband’s driving over to Erie to buy all new material. I don’t know what they’re going to do with this other stuff.”

“Is it hard to lay down a new floor?” I asked.

“It takes time and patience, and you need to concentrate on doing a good job. Same with wallpaper. But like anything, the more you practice, the better you get. That’s what I was doing in the park. I bought a handful of lures from Linwood’s, so instead of going on to the next job just to stop a few hours from now, I got some lunch and came to the park to test them out before getting back to work. I’m going fishing next week on Findley Lake.”

When we arrived at Dr. Laighles’s place, he said, “I know the folks who live here. Emily and the doctor. I knew the folks who lived here years ago, too. I built a treehouse for them, a long time ago. That’s what I do. I’m a carpenter. You know’em?”

“I know Emily and Dr. Laighles. I’m not sure about the other people before them. I go to college at Chautauqua. I’m just housesitting for the summer.”

“I used to work down the street when I was a kid, at the Green Farm. That’s where I met my wife.”

The second mistake I made was how dirty the dogs got. I gave them a bath, one at a time. No matter what, you cannot dry a Saint Bernard. Once washed, I tied them up on the back porch until they dried.

Currently, Harry and Bess are zonked out on the carpet lying between me (on the sofa) and the television. There was nothing worth watching until Kung Fu at 9:00. Before that, just Toma, The Waltons, or The Flip Wilson Show. Until Kung Fu came on, I filtered through Dr. Laighles’s books to see if there was anything I wanted to read. Two books looked promising: 1984 and A Good Man is Hard to Find. I’ve heard of one of them.

Kung FuToma,The Waltons,The Flip Wilson ShowKung Fu1984A Good Man is Hard to Find