thief

Posted by admin | October 29, 2018

About two weeks ago was Milo’s birthday. At the insistence of my wife, I bought the birthday boy a gift. She said to get something that he could destroy, but to also get something small for Zailey so she didn’t feel left out. I found a dragon toy that looked like it would get torn apart fairly easily despite the packaging saying it was tough to break. I then headed to the treat aisle where I got a pair of pig snouts which neither dog had ever had before. I didn’t want to get a treat for Zailey without also getting one for Milo. At $2.60 each, I thought it worth the shot at trying them.

When I got home, my wife removed the packaging from the new toy commenting on what it said. She then gave the toy to Milo. Zailey was playing with one of her favorite toys, so she didn’t mind.

Later, the two were tired of playing (or maybe they had just come in from outside), so I gave them the pig snouts. They both made fairly quick work of the treats. I think they liked them. I may have to remember this the next time I’m looking for a treat that is still reasonably priced but also good enough quality.

After their treats, I didn’t pay too much attention to the dogs. They were tired, so they weren’t making a scene to draw my attention. I’m not sure why I looked at Zailey, but I did. She had the new dragon toy and was chewing it. Maybe, the crinkle noise the toy makes drew my attention. In any case, Zailey had stolen the toy and Milo was too tired to care. So much for Milo’s birthday present being just for Milo.

A few days after Milo’s birthday, I flew out on vacation and for a programmer’s conference. On the plane ride, I was thinking about some of the scenes in Gun Smuggler’s Tale involving my main character, Clark, becoming a pilot. When he’s being tested, he’s asked to do a hammerhead turn. Clark doesn’t know what that is, so he thinks he’s about to fail. The tester tells him that it is also called a stall turn, and Clark knows this and is able to perform it. I took this directly from someone telling me about this happening to them. I liked the story so included it in my novel. While I did steal this, I did get permission for it. Many of the other things that happened in that novel were like this. I stole it from somewhere; usually from my own life.

Zailey and I are good thieves. Nobody noticed the thefts. We probably won’t get away with it forever, but isn’t that part of the fun?