Picture This

First, this story is entirely true. 'Mary' is a friend of one of my nieces. Second, read this a little slowly and picture the whole thing in your mind--it just makes it that much better.


Mary was asked by some friends in Chicago to apartment sit and dog-watch while they were in Europe. Not having any other pressing issues, she agreed.

Not long after Mary moved in--and long before the friends were to return home--the dog died. Mary was quite beside herself and really dreaded having to make the call to her friends, telling of the death. When hearing the news, the friends were grieved, but not overly so--they had been expecting it, as the dog was quite old. They were so sure 'Fido's' days were numbered, that they had discussed the possibility with their vet and made arrangements for him to 'take care' of things after Fido's death. Relieved over the acceptance of the news, Mary hung up without realizing she didn't know how to get the dog to the vet's--she had no car.

Mary is a college graduate, so she put her superior mind to work and decided she would take Fido on the 'El' to the vet's office. She then realized that you can't just bring a dead dog on the 'El,' so she was faced with another problem. Again, she put her superior mind to work and decided Fido would ride the 'El' in a suitcase. Problems solved.

So, Mary found herself riding the 'El' in Chicago, carrying a suitcase with a dead dog inside of it. During the ride, she had a conversation with another passenger. He asked if she was going on a trip. Mary answered in the negative. The passenger asked what was in the suitcase. Without thinking, Mary answered, "Computer parts." The ride continued. As they pulled into the next station, the guy suddenly grabbed the suitcase, left the 'El,' and was long gone before Mary could react. Mary was left sitting on the 'El' without a dead dog or a suitcase. She also was left with the task of letting her friends know that she not only lost their beloved, dead pet, but one of their suitcases, as well.

The only consolation: The thoughts of the look on the guy's face when he opened the suitcase to see the 'computer parts' he had stolen. Even better, if he opened it for the first time in front of the pawn shop guy or 'fence.' Really, HOW do you explain a dead dog in a suitcase?