A Daddy Day

         It was one of those portrait Spring days..Late afternoon, birds singing freely now, Sun on the slow setting, flowers blooming so strong their fragrance wafting up to the second floor bedroom window.

Yes, Spring was in the air and The Daddy was laying in his bedroom listening to his music, smoking his favorite pipe. Things couldn’t be much better, he was thinking. The mortgage payment was made, shopping had been completed and the lawn and grounds were manicured.. Relaxing was the moment when he heard the shrill shriek of his….daughter, Sonde’….the baby girl.

She was the youngest, not a baby any more but Daddy’s girl forever , you know?

At best she was ten or eleven, but her shriek was a bit ungodly..Not the usual in any way…Dad jumped to the floor , pipe still in hand and an extra heartbeat or two for the jitters and  met the Sonde at the door.

“Dad,Dad” she was saying ..  ” A dog, a monster dog” was terrorizing the neighborhood “and had chased her and her friends with the threat of chewing each one up on the spot..”He is on our lawn “, she said…

Dad breathed a sigh of relief…A dog?..all that noise and calamity about a dog?  That was a bit much he asked her..She said, “No, Daddy this dog was different “

As she started to explain her fears about this …dog, Dad decided it would be more expedient to go downstairs and take care of this “emergency”.

He walked outside on the step plateau of entry , into the bright yet setting sun and looked down….as he heard a  most unearthly growl..The sunlight was blinding so he walked down the steps to see where this rumble was coming from..He saw…a over size malamute/husky/wolf-like animal, very big, the more he looked, turning on his lawn to face him.. Dad’s first thought was to get back into his house, his safe house… but the dog deliberately blocked the way..Now Dad’s heart was beating very fast and as he backed away the dog was meeting his eyes with that fixed stare..Dad stared back but now his thoughts had changed..

This was not going good was one thought..this could very well be a life changing moment …not the thoughts he felt good having . He watched the animal eye to eye..The dog’s growl seemed to get deeper and louder…. Then eye to eye..this dog took a long  piss on Dad’s newly manicured lawn!..

No, he didn’t do that…deliberately was one thought but …yes , he did..deliberate or not .  Dad had retreated to the sidewalk now.. All the neighbors were viewing, from a safe distance..the dog was on the sidewalk now too..Dad  asked his baby son to go get his hickory Stick ..A 6ft.long 3in. circumference stick that he kept for situations that got out of hand.. This clearly was one of those…..Man-man, that was the baby boy’s pet name ,went to get it . He brought back an old moping handle ..Not Dad’s keepsake in any way and tossed it to his father..Dad was shocked but this was not a time of many options ..He’d  rather hit this ,”foaming now at the mouth animal” across the back than have his ass chewed up in front of the world and be embarrased and wounded for eternity . “Damn “how did I get into this fix..was his thinking.

Dad’s lawn was on a raised plateau  with a very nice brick wall around it..the wall was high but the dog was walking in front , still eye to eye with Dad. Dad decided to strike first  and he did. He swung the mop handle to cut the dog in half..A loud snap followed and Dad was now holding a 2ft broken mop handle stick.It broke on the wall which was a fraction higher than devil dog’s back.

Ooooh, the chills went through Dad now . The dog seemed to sense that something had changed and Dad could see he didn’t like that stick that broke on the wall at all..Now , my turn he seemed to be grinning..Dad was in too deep to run now for sure ..so he kept eye to eye contact with his predator. Dad cocked his broken stick like a miniature baseball bat and waited..

He could feel the animal’s muscles tensing , he watched the dog’s eyes…..the dog leaped… at Dad’s head or neck or face…but he was met in mid flight by Dad’s mighty stick …right in his open mouth. The blow spun the animal around in flight and when he landed he was bleeding, profusely, moaning and howling instead of growling  ..he limped off…leaving Dad in one of his most triumphant moments..

He saved his daughter..hmm, the neighborhood,maybe  but he surely saved  himself………..What a day ….

A real Daddy’s day…..

A true story…………..