Larry is a good guy. Really he is. Larry is the guy who sharpens the chain on my chainsaw; the guy who
changes the oil on my lawnmower, and oh yeah, the guy who built the fence in my front yard. I couldn't
stomach the expense of hiring a professional so Larry volunteered to help me out at the discounted cost of
$1 per foot (plus materials, of course). And a great job Larry did. Larry, I owe you one, buddy!
A few weeks back I had been at Larry's shop waiting for my chain saw and just generally "killing time," as we
Southerners are known to do. There is always a group of loafers that hang around, complaining about the
government, complaining about the illegal aliens, complaining about their wives, and just generally
complaining. I hang out there myself sometimes, but only because I need my lawnmower oil changed or the
bearings greased or my chain saw sharpened. I never gripe or complain. I don't do that.
"Too much drama for me," Larry had said when I explained to him how I had all these animals, and I really
needed a fence to help contain the dogs. “I know I couldn’t put it with it. I don’t know how you do.”
A week or two later Larry came to my house, and together we mapped out where the fence would go. "How
you put up with all them animals, is what I don’t understand." Larry asked. "I'm just glad it ain't me."
Well, I really didn't expect Larry to understand, but I attempted to explain anyway. "Why don't you just take
all them animals down to the shelter. They'll take 'em off your hands for you." I tried to explain that might
have been a good idea in the beginning, but now that the animals had been with me for so long I just
couldn't do that. Larry just shook his head and said, "Too much drama for me. I don’t know how you do it"
Larry and I agreed on a price, the day came to begin construction, and promptly at the appointed time Larry
showed up with his materials. On cue, the dogs cut loose, yelping and howling and generally trying their
very best to serve notice to Larry he was trespassing in their territory, and he would be advised to watch
out.
Work began in earnest. Larry is very respected in his chosen field; other people besides me hire Larry to
do odd jobs. If Larry says he can do the job he can be trusted to do a fairly good job, and he won't drag his
feet about it. Each day that Larry arrived, the dogs would cut loose with a howling and a wailing, but as
each day passed the racket would be less and less. Eventually the dogs would get accustomed to seeing
Larry, and his arrival would only induce a small amount of noise. Still, Larry could be counted on to say,
"Way too much drama for me. I don't see how you can stand them dogs! I shore am glad it ain't me!"
Due to weather and the fact that Larry had to work after hours during the week because of his regular job,
the fence took about two weeks to complete. Each day as Larry would show up to work the dogs would
start their racket; and as always, after Larry had been on premises for a little while the dogs would get
quiet. But he would always manage to remind me each time he came out that the situation in which I found
myself was just "too much drama" for him. Larry could be annoying in this way, but I bit my tongue. I
needed that fence.
By necessity Larry would be forced to be around the dogs. He would see them running and playing and
barking. One day Larry's wife came over and brought his lunch. She also brought along Larry's two little
children with her. The kids ran around and played with the dogs. Fred and Sam are especially gentle with
little ones, and who could resist the touching site of the little two-year-old boy, no bigger than a "corn
nubbin'" pulling on Sam's tail and Sam turning and barking playfully with a big grin on his face? And there
was Fred getting jealous and chasing Sam away so he could monopolize the children’s affections. “Look at
that!” Larry said. “Them two dogs are jealous of one another. Ha!”
During this and subsequent visits from his wife and children I would watch Larry as he watched his kids. I
would catch him laughing and smiling. Oh, yes. He couldn't hide it from me. He couldn’t help laughing and
smiling, watching the kids run around chasing and being chased by these big dogs that easily dwarfed the
children in size.
One day when Larry showed up to work on the fence he had a present for the dogs. He had bought some
dog-chews and other toys for the dogs at a farm auction. "I saw them auctioning them things off, and I
thought you might want ‘em for your dogs.”
Every evening after work Larry worked at constructing the fence, and within the estimated two-week time
frame Larry had the fence completed, and to this day it has been about the best investment I ever made for
my animals. It keeps them safe and sound and allows for plenty of room for running and playing. Larry did a
good job, even though he thoroughly got under my skin while doing it.
A few weeks went by and I visited Larry's shop to have my chainsaw sharpened. While there Larry
mentioned to me that his wife had been reading my blog. ”My wife reads yore blog ever’ day. She’s gotta
know how them dogs are gettin’ along." He told me that he had found a stray dog and had decided to keep
it and wanted advice on shots and such.
Since I mostly heat my house with my fireplace and have to cut wood often, my chainsaw needs constant
sharpening, so I make regular visits to Larry's shop. It was on another visit that Larry told me that he had
acquired another dog, “and somebody gave my wife a couple kittens she had found.”
Recently I saw Larry working on a lawnmower motor. "How are the animals doing?" I asked. "Well, my
father-in law gave me a beagle he done found, and my wife's done got herself another cat.”
I pulled up a bar stool and made myself comfortable. Looking around I could see the implements of Larry's
trade: lawnmower belts and blades hanging on one wall; weed-eaters hanging from the ceiling, tools and
parts lying around on the floor, and Larry, with his head down, working away.
"Well, how many does that make now?" I asked.
"Oh, we got us, lessee ..., we got us three dogs and five cats."
At that, I leaned back in the barstool on which I had been resting myself, and in my most matter-of-fact way
slapped my knee and exclaimed, "Too much drama for me! I don’t know how you do it! I shore am glad it ain’
t me!"
| Larry did a great job on the fence, which turned out to be a great investment. |
| Too Much Drama for Me Daniel Taylor |