As Seen on TV

My boss has some amazing stories to share.  My favorite story that I love begins when he first started working for the company.  He was staying in a hotel and was watching a program on the Discovery Channel about snakes.  The snake guru was demonstrating that you could pick up most snakes by the tail and the snake could not climb back on itself to bite you.  My boss was dazzled by the idea and soon an opportunity arose at home where he could proudly show off his newly discovered skill.

One evening, his daughters and wife discovered a snake in the garage and began screaming.  My boss rushed to the rescue.  One daughter was concerned for the snake’s well being and didn’t want it to be harmed.  My boss confidently informed his family that you could pick a snake up by the tail and it couldn't bite you.  He crouched down and picked the snake up by the tail.  It promptly bit him.  He threw the snake and with blood dripping down his hand, his wife drove him to the emergency room.  I suppose he missed the "don't try this at home" message in the programming.

Group Names

My pets have individual names and then they have group names.  They are smart enough to know the difference.  With a multiple pet family, it’s a lot to yell out each of their names when you require the presence of all of them.  The dogs, respond to each of their names however, if they are outside and I need them to return to the house, I simply call out, “DOGS!”    The chickens have a group name, too.  “CHICKENS!” brings about frenzy near the gate as they cluck and pace to see what sort of treat I have for them.  I’m not sure if they know their individual names of Raven, Buffy, Angel and Nancy Drew but they do respond to the group name.  The ducks have diminished down to one lonely drake named Richard and I still call him by the group name.  Calling out “DUCKS!” from my deck at any hour will bring a series of quacks in response.