Dogs, Autumn, Moab and the Psalmist

Note from Hannah:  In general, we've been trying to post articles that fit with the time of year.  But this one tickled my funny bone so much that I thought we'd post it now anyway, despite the reference to autumn and Christmas catalogues.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 

© 2008, R.L. Whitney in the King's County Record

The ensuing conversation happened several dogs ago.

"That dog just gave me the sort of look the Psalmist might have given Moab and the Hagarenes," I remarked as the dog in question stalked off haughtily.

"What?" My wife’s head came up abruptly from the Ngaio Marsh (pronounced Nayo) murder mystery she was trying to read inconspicuously while consuming the bowl of muesli with yogurt diluted with water which she regards as a suitable breakfast. "Moab and the who?"

"Not ‘The Who,’" I replied, "the Hagarenes."

Murder mysteries are one of my wife’s only two known vices.  She’s had her nose in an omnibus

"Dog and Chair" © Alice Whitney 2003. This is a pastel painting of Barney, the dog in this column. Barney was notably glum most of the time.

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