I’ve been meaning to post something in this blog for a long time, and believe me, I’ve had some excellent subjects from which to choose. For example, there was the annual Thanksgiving-extravaganza of 2007, the Washington D.C. trip, and of course, Ben’s Epic Battle with the Bathroom Exhaust Fan. I’ll try to post these stories at some point.

 

But on to the main topic: This last weekend, Ben and I hosted a little gathering that we called “Ben and Megan Hunt for Spring with a Wii After-party.” The basic idea was that we would go with a group of friends out to Griffy Lake and see if we could find anything in bloom yet, or, failing that, go for a nice walk on the one day in the last three weeks when it was not raining. Then afterwards, we were going to go back to our house and grill some food and play some video games. 

 

So on Saturday, we went to the lake with our friends Brandi and Melissa and their respective dogs, Maximus and Kayla. Kayla, a petite Maltese, was sporting an Indiana U t-shirt (straaaange things with dogs), while Maximus, a perky Cockapoo, went au natural. Pix E came along, too – no clothes needed – though she did wear her new pink collar, which was acquired in an attempt to impress upon the minds of our assorted grandparents the fact that Pix E is a GIRL. (Ben’s grandparents frequently call her “little fellow.”) She was kept under strict control to keep her from savaging the other dogs. (As my niece says, Pix E has a bad attitude, but she sure is cute!) 

 

The walk went well, despite some concerns about the mud. (The other dogs are both white, curly haired little dogs, and I imagine that keeping them white can be a real chore in the great outdoors.) We hiked for about an hour up and down the only major hill in Indiana. (Seriously. The only one.) On our way back, we passed a long, thick log stretching from the path out into the lake. Earlier, we’d passed this same log and witnessed some fellow hikers risking life and limb to climb out to the end, so when we reached it, Ben issued a challenge for one of us to do the same. I answered this by scrambling out to the end and back with, I like to think, a modicum of skill. Then, of course, Pix E had to hop up on the log and make her way up and down. (She’s an old hat at doing this – she and Ben like to surmount the wilderness at every opportunity.)  

 

So after Pix E showed off her mad tree skillz, Brandi decided that her dog, Maximus, should do the same. Maximus, who clearly had more sense than any of us, looked at the rotting log and the slimy lake water and balked. This frustrating show of common sense led Brandi to “encourage” him up on to the log via forcibly lifting him up while threatening him with no dinner if he didn’t cooperate. Meanwhile, I stood farther down the log and called encouragements. (I think that during this time, Melissa was busy posing Kayla for one of the several hundred photos that she (Melissa) took that day.) 

 

Just as Maximus was “helped” up onto the log, I looked up and saw that farther down the path, someone was standing, witnessing our craziness. Then, as I did a double-take, I realized that this person was one of our professors.

 

Of all the things that I would like my professors to spontaneously witness me doing, I have to say that compelling a recalcitrant dog to balance itself upon a log in the wilderness is not high on the list. In sotto voce, I tried to inform my colleagues that we were not alone. At this moment, Brandi shouted something to the effect of: “Dammit Maximus, if you want to eat tonight, get up on this log!”

 

Well, at that point, I figured that it was too late to pretend like we were doing something erudite, so I cleared my throat and said, “HI, Professor Ochoa!” (Maximus meanwhile was very swiftly released.) Fortunately, our professor was very cool and didn’t seem overly troubled by our odd behavior. (At least, we don’t think she will contact the Morals & Ethics board at the ABA.)

 

Anyway, other than briefly trying to compel the dogs to walk down the boat ramp and swim in the lake, we were basically done tormenting canines, so it was time to head home. 

 

That evening, we were joined by our friends Nate and Sarah.  Nate and Ben did battle with the grill to excellent effect, and we girls chatted in the kitchen.  We played much Wario Ware, Wii Sports and Rock Band.  Good times were had by all. 

 


Here you can see Ben in the far back, Sarah on the drums, Nate on guitar, Brandi (on vocals?) and Melissa (who was playing bass).



A better shot of Melissa and Brandi.  Note Melissa's bespangled pink butterfly guitar.



Here's Brandi on the drums -- her speciality.

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And here you can see Sarah's eyes glow red with rage as Nate rocks out in her left ear.

THE END.