Cubby and I went to the library in the village yesterday afternoon to pick up a book I had ordered from another library*. I never fail to see people I know when I go to the library. Yesterday the assistant librarian was working, and I stayed to talk with her for a few minutes. As we were leaving, I saw a cat outside the library door, so I asked the assistant librarian if she knew whose cat it was, because there used to be a stray that sort of lived in the library when I was volunteering there.
Not only did she know whose cat it was--because that's just how small this village is--she knew the cat's name. His name is Divot. And then, I got to hear a story about Divot the cat and a dog named Jethro.
Am I wrong, or are those the best names ever for a couple of characters in a children's book about a dog and a cat who go on fun adventures? Come on now.
This adventure involving the real Jethro and Divot was not exactly suitable for the amusement of small children, however, as we shall see.
Jethro is a very large dog owned by a local family. Jethro's owner was walking him on a leash in the village when Jethro caught sight of Divot. Instead of striking up a friendship and gallivanting off on amusing adventures, Jethro did what dogs tend to do when confronted by cats: He lunged for Divot, no doubt intending to rip off Divot's head.
We can already see that Jethro, at least, is not going to be in any children's book anytime soon.
Jethro's owner, in a bold act of heroism, kept hold of the leash, thereby saving Divot's life. Unfortunately, Jethro was large enough to drag her down onto the asphalt, where she broke her kneecap.
No, Jethro is definitely not going to be starring in a children's book. Divot might still have possibilities, though.
* To be specific, Gene Logsdon's Practical Skills: a revival of forgotten crafts, techniques, and traditions. In what I've read so far--the first few chapters-- he's covered setting up a workshop, painting, how to choose a woodstove, hog butchery, spinning and weaving, and many, many other things in impressive detail. This is a seriously kick-ass book.
Yah,great book. We have it on our bookshelves. If you haven't looked at Carla Emery's AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF COUNTRY LIVING - OLD FASHIONED RECIPE BOOK, which is not a recipe book per se....it is more a recipe for country living, everything you can think of is covered. It is a very large paperback book(11x13 maybe), 529 pages.Lot on keeping, butchering ,cooking animals to veggie growing,cooking,canning. Soap making, tanning hides. If it is country living , it is in there.
ReplyDeleteAnother book we have is 483 pages
THE ALMANAC OF RURAL LIVING /the illustrated do-it-yourself library of rural living...
.by Harvey C. Neese
I have a question? Several years ago I got a book from another library through my hometown library and I had to pay the postage..maybe that isn't the case now...but , did you have to do that?
No. The book came from one of the other libraries in the network of libraries in our area that have book-sharing agreements. Because there are so many tiny libraries (like ours) around still, they all formed one big system of libraries that do inter-library loans. So I can order books from any of the libraries in the system for free.
ReplyDeleteI bet your book came from a library in a different municipality or something, and that's why you had to pay postage. Big municipal libraries will do that.
The book sounds amazingly awesome. jethro? Not so much.
ReplyDeleteWOW - sounds like a great story. And what great pet names, I've always hated names like "fluffy" "socks" etc.
ReplyDeleteWe have the same system with all of our tiny libraries, most of the books I read are from other libraries. I must add this one to my "to read" list, thanks.