"Why was I not notified? How can this be?"
"Oh really, Buddy, have you no grasp of reality whatsoever?" Lina sighed, "You haven't even opened your mail in weeks, turned on your computer or even gone into town. Your isolation has gone from a refreshing disconnect to loony tunes central. If I didn't haul in some essentials a couple times a week you would likely starve...and it's not out of undying love for you, but I fret about Henry James."
Upon hearing his name spoken, the aging yellow lab thumped his tail and leaned up against her thigh in agreement.
"Letting the external world recede is good for me now. The garden has been providing adequate vegetables and I go fishing. I'd never let Henry starve." Buddy bristled.
"Bullshit. Dogs need SOME animal protein. Veggies are good for us and dogs too, but they are not as versatile as we homo sapiens. So, what the hell are you going to do about this? Just let the bastards go through with it?" Lina scratched Henry behind his ears absently, her fierce eyes fixed on Buddy's focusing pupils.
He read the notice again, registering a faintly visible alarm, then slumped into the sagging sofa on the sagging porch.
"The county has just claimed half my spread...how can they DO that?"
"Public Domain. They got an easement. If you had read your mail, you could have protested the decision but it's about to happen. They will pay you a bit for it but certainly not what they would have, had you had negotiated and worked with them. Buddy Boy, it's time for you to wake from your dream time or you are lost. At least you still bathe and brush your teeth."
"I've always been clean."
"That may be your greatest virtue about now. Go put your groceries away and think about this. I'll be back tomorrow morning."
Go put your groceries away. Y
"Oh really, Buddy, have you no grasp of reality whatsoever?" Lina sighed, "You haven't even opened your mail in weeks, turned on your computer or even gone into town. Your isolation has gone from a refreshing disconnect to loony tunes central. If I didn't haul in some essentials a couple times a week you would likely starve...and it's not out of undying love for you, but I fret about Henry James."
Upon hearing his name spoken, the aging yellow lab thumped his tail and leaned up against her thigh in agreement.
"Letting the external world recede is good for me now. The garden has been providing adequate vegetables and I go fishing. I'd never let Henry starve." Buddy bristled.
"Bullshit. Dogs need SOME animal protein. Veggies are good for us and dogs too, but they are not as versatile as we homo sapiens. So, what the hell are you going to do about this? Just let the bastards go through with it?" Lina scratched Henry behind his ears absently, her fierce eyes fixed on Buddy's focusing pupils.
He read the notice again, registering a faintly visible alarm, then slumped into the sagging sofa on the sagging porch.
"The county has just claimed half my spread...how can they DO that?"
"Public Domain. They got an easement. If you had read your mail, you could have protested the decision but it's about to happen. They will pay you a bit for it but certainly not what they would have, had you had negotiated and worked with them. Buddy Boy, it's time for you to wake from your dream time or you are lost. At least you still bathe and brush your teeth."
"I've always been clean."
"That may be your greatest virtue about now. Go put your groceries away and think about this. I'll be back tomorrow morning."
Go put your groceries away. Y
