you don't have to be crazy...

...BUT IT HELPS!

That's what is often said at my paying job about what it takes to work there. And indeed, I do find myself surrounded by some very interesting peers. The most colourful of them manage to make us laugh every day. And in a job -- or a world -- where there is so much sadness, misery and suffering, so much that it downright frightening, laughter is often a blessed relief.

This story was told by one of those characters with whom I have the privilige to work. It is making the rounds locally and may be on its way to becoming an urban/rural legend. Recounting the story last night at the end of our shift had a group of us crying with laughter. I may have even told this story here before. If I have, forgive me.

It all started with Michelle's neighbour who had a rabbit. Now Michelle describes her neighbours as being the kind of neighbours whose lawn is always mowed and neatly edged, precise flower beds, perfectly weeded and mulched, fallen leaves promptly raked up and bagged. And their rabbit lived in a cage at the edge of the property, adjoining Michelle's yard.

Unfortunately, Michelle always feared her large and rambunctious dog had too great an interest in that rabbit belonging to the neighbours. One rainy day, her fears were realized.

The dog had come home, proudly bearing a dirty, wet rabbit in his jaws. Oh yes, the rabbit was also very dead.

Poor Michele was fit to be tied. She didn't relish the prospects of confessing to her sort of uppity neighbour that her dog had killed their rabbit. What to do?

Finally she hit upon a plan. She washed the dead rabbit carefully, removing any evidence of mud and dog saliva. She blow-dried it and she fluffed up the fur. It looked pretty good again, other than the fact that it remained quite dead.

Then, when she thought the neighbours were out, she slipped the dead rabbit into its cage. Her hope was that the neighbours might find the dead rabbit, all clean and fluffy in the cage, and come to the conclusion that the rabbit had died of natural causes. Leaving Michelle's dog in the clear. Anyway, that was the plan.

A few days later, the neighbours were chatting with her over the back fence the way people do on a nice day when people are drawn out into their yards to work in the gardens.

"The strangest things happen," the neighbour remarked. Michelle thought: oh-oh!

"Yes," the neighbour continued. "Our rabbit died a couple of days ago."

Michelle thought, here it comes, here it comes.

"But what was so strange," the neighbour said,"Was that we buried it. Only the very next day, there it was, back in it's cage!"

Huh? Michelle was stunned. Her dog had not killed the rabbit after all! He had dug up a dead rabbit...


any pretty blooms at this dark time of year keep this gardener happy