Saturday, August 31, 2013

Little Sisters



I don't know about you but many of us grew up with a siblings who for some reason or another got a great deal of pleasure out of tormenting us in our younger years and mine just happened to be my little sister Cindy.  She was a tough fiery red head that was without a doubt no girly girl. We were the only children in the family and hung out together all the time.  She played football with my dad and I, all the time and was a natural athlete.  She could punt a football further than any of my buddies and was twice as tough.  She was always my first pick when we had pickup games in the front yard because she wasn't scared to put a hit on anyone.  My dad told me a story later in life about how one day, while playing football in the house,one of my buddies went to ask him to make Cindy stop tackling so hard.  This request put a big ole proud poppa grin on His face and still does today when we talk about it.  In 5th grade one of her male classmates would regularly pick on her during recess.  One day she finally got enough of him and tackled the boy to the ground like NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus.  She then began beating him about the face and chest until the play ground teacher came and pulled her off of him.  That same boy years later thanked her in the senior yearbook for beating the poo out of him when he was being such a brat, lol.  She even wanted to try out for the Jr. High football team in seventh grade but was told no by the school.  Later that same year she told my dad that she wanted a football and a bra for Christmas which was the first time in her life that any of us saw a sign of her turning into a young lady.  My mother was thrilled with this news and my buddies were hoping that the gift request was a sign she was retiring from the game of football soon.  To say that my red headed sister is tough was an under statement.  Not only was my sister tough but for some reason unknown to me she got great pleasure out of tormenting me on a regular bases.  She would do things like lock me out of the house after school and taunt me through the windows just to watch me have a nuclear melt down on the front porch.  She always knew how to push my hot button and would even sometimes invite her girl friends over to watch me explode like a cheap Fourth of July fireworks display, just for the grins and giggles of it.  It was apparently pretty entertaining and she spent a lot of time dreaming up new ways to get under my skin.....And she did!  I would give more details about many of her devious plans but I don't have the time to go back to therapy these days, lol. 

Since I am on the subject of little sister let me tell you a little story about Red Dogs little sister Rosie.  When Rosie moved in with us I fully expected Red Dog would teach her the ways of the Howard household like where to eat, where to poop, where to sleep and where to play.  Red Dog would be the Master and Rosie would be the Pupil.  Well after two months of training that turned out "NOT" to be the case. Rosie is a Rhodesian Ridge Back and comes from the same brave line of lion hunters as Red Dog.  She is a fiery red headed female who is as tough as nails and full of spit and vinegar just like another red head I know.  She is stuborn and does things her own way (again like someone else I know).  Over these past few months I was under the impression that Red Dog was doing a good job of keeping her in line which I should have know was impossible.  Who ever heard of some guy being able to keep any female from doing what ever she wanted, Ridge Back or otherwise.  Day after day I would hear a yelp or two coming from the next room and thought Red Dog was on top of his game as Sergeant Major of the Howard Home Defense System by teaching Rosie all of the do's and don'ts of her new home but come to find out he was just another innocent victim of the "Evil Sisters Society".  Those subtle "yelps" I had been hearing from the other room were coming from Red Dog.  "WHAT" yelps from the Mighty Red Dog.  Has the king of the lion hunters been brought to his knees by the likes of his little red headed vixen sister.  Say it ain't so, Joe say it ain't so but in the immortal words of Paul Harvey "It's True"!!!  That cute little fur ball is in reality a wolf in sheep's clothing.  

The other day after hearing multiple yelps from the bed room I decided to go see what all the racket was about and when I walk into the room all I saw was Rosie chewing on Red Dogs legs, tail, nose, mouth and ears like a rawhide chew bone.   He just laying there and painfully allowed her climbing all over him digging those sharp little milk teeth in every square inch of his body.  Wow that looked so painful. No wonder I was hearing little yelps coming from the other room.  Red Dog even got up to walk across the room and there's Rosie with her jaws locked down his right ear like a bear trap while Red Dog drags her over the floor.  I even saw Rosie bite down on the side of his neck and watched her stretch his skin out like she was in a world champion taffy pulling contest...Ouch!!!!  That looked like it hurt somuch I started having sympathy pains for him but Red Dog stood there and took it like a champ.  He's a really patient big brother and Tough!!!  After seeing all ofthis it made me think about how many time my little sister pestered me when we were younger and I wished I would have had half the of the tolerance he had. lol.  Good job Red Dog.  You are one tough hombre. 

I guess the take home message today is that when life starts to wear you down and people start chewing on your tail, nose, ears, legs etc.  Be calm, stay collected, and don't lose your cool.  Some people are just waiting to watch some fireworks for their own personal entertainment.  And by the way I love my little sister with all my heart and I would not have wanted her be any other way because there might have been an occasion when I might have crawled into her bedroom on my hands and knees under the cover of darkness and I might have slid quietly up against the side of her bed and I might have thrown my left arm over her forehead to pin her head against her pillow as she fell asleep just to hear her scream.  But I'm getting old and my memory isn't as good as it once was...He He He...Until the next adventure God bless you.