Sitting around a tasty brunch served up hot by the excellent staff at Cajun Kitchen, a buddy of mine told a story that got us laughing so hard folks at a nearby table asked him to share the story. That started something of a chain reaction around the fabled restaurant.
The story… Bill’s dad was a highly decorated, battle-hardened marine sergeant. They lived in the South. Sarge came home on leave the day after a major storm had flooded the region. Getting home was difficult, but he managed it on foot through flood waters. Family members were all accounted for and only had minor wounds to treat, which were immediately tended to.
Sadly, the small family dog was missing and was assumed to have been swept away by water. Younger kids were kept at home with Mom, while Dad and the older kids went searching. For the next two days, this battle-hardened sergeant hiked for many miles all around the neighborhood and then the broader area, screaming “Daisy” at the top of his lungs.
Finally, the dog was assumed lost (and was never seen again), which deeply saddened the family. The dad, however, was more upset about spending days wandering around screaming “Daisy!” His final comment was, “Next time, I name the damned dog.”
A few months later, the family was still missing Daisy, but the kids wanted a new family dog. They went to the animal shelter, the pound, read Craigslist and other resources, and finally decided on a young dog that had been weaned but hadn’t yet found a home.
The dog was brought home and the bonding process was begun, soon followed by the training process. Early in the processes, the sarge announced the dog’s name would be SOB. It was pronounced like the car Saab, but of course was short for Son Of a (you know what). For a male dog, it could be argued it was an appropriate name.
It tuned out SOB came with an excellent bio compass and never got lost. He also grew big and strong enough to withstand floods that occurred during its lifetime.
When SOB died at the old age of 17 years, Sarge told his now grown kids that his only sadness about the dog was that he never got lost because he always wanted to spend two days wandering around screaming the dog’s full name.
— Capt. David Bacon operates WaveWalker Charters and is president of SOFTIN Inc., a nonprofit organization providing seafaring opportunities for those in need. Visit softininc.blogspot.com to learn more about the organization and how you can help. Click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.
