Day is filled with ghosts, dog kisses and roseola (09/25/06)

I saw something unusual on the paper route last week. At first I thought someone was getting a head start on Christmas then when I drew nearer I realized that the tinsel enveloping the two evergreens flanking the walk was orange and black. The owners had decorated for Halloween.

In addition to the aforementioned tree trimming, the yard also features a trio of huge ghosts and quite a bit of other Halloween-themed decorations. I hope they got a discount for buying such a great quantity of stuff as the yard looked quite festive and maybe a little bit crowded. I hope the ghosts don't blow away before the witching hour.

The other unusual thing I experienced on the paper route that day was a little dog. As little dogs go, this one was fairly typical. It was cute and extremely yappy. I petted it and it wiggled in delight then continued barking. I petted it some more. It gave me doggy kisses then it growled at me when I quit stroking its back. I told it that it was bad form to growl at someone after giving them doggy kisses. I interpreted the ensuing barking as telling me that it didn't care what I thought, that it would growl if it felt like it and it would really appreciate it if I kept on petting it.

I probably should invest in dog bones for the days I do the paper route. Maybe a little bribery would keep the noise down. There are dogs that bark at me and dogs that don't. There are dogs that are so skinny that I can see their ribs and dogs that are so pudgy that their tummies barely clear the ground. One house has a pair of little short dogs on long ropes. One dog turns its back to me while the other one barks. It should be noted that these two dogs never bark at my husband. Apparently they like him better than they like me.

Speaking of liking him better, I committed a mortal sin while delivering papers. At one house a mother was out with her two children. I handed the paper to the little toddler boy and the little girl said that she was the one who wanted to get the paper. Oops. I think she is one of my husband's miniature friends. I told her she might get to carry the paper tomorrow. Meanwhile the little boy was grinning and wanted to follow me.

After all the papers were delivered and I collapsed at home the phone rang. It was my daughter. It seems the baby had a bit of a rash. The child was playing and chattering in the background so I assumed everything was fine. The next day the rash spread rapidly and the baby went to the doctor. We found out that Emma has roseola. It is caused by a virus so there is no treatment. That is good because other than not wanting to wear shirts or bibs Emma is as happy and as energetic as ever. Every conversation with my daughter is punctuated by, "No, Emma, don't climb that!" Maybe she is practicing to be a mountaineer?

Supposedly the rash will clear up in a couple of days and there will be no harm done. I had never heard of roseola before but my coworkers said some of their children had it and suffered no ill effects. When my daughter first described it I thought it was chicken pox. Then I realized that everybody doesn't get chicken pox any more.

That made me think of all the diseases that we took for granted when I was little. Most people contracted mumps, three different kinds of measles, chicken pox and whooping cough. One of my grandmother's best friends had polio as did my stepfather. Now they have vaccines for those things. Apparently roseola isn't harmful enough to rate developing a vaccine. As much babbling as Emma was doing in the background I have no doubt that she is perfectly fine.

Nevertheless, I would much prefer to live much closer to her in spite of the fact that I could never drive in Houston traffic and would miss the occasional dog kisses from ankle biters. I would rather she move up here. As this isn't going to happen in the foreseeable future I will keep on enjoying the local ghosts and decorated Halloween trees. Maybe I'll even invest in dog biscuits.[[In-content Ad]]