It's a Tough Job by Crystal and Ziggy It was one of those special times in a normally busy profession and he decided to grab it for all it was worth. The others were elsewhere in the station or out back doing various activities, so the day room was empty. He walked over to the counter where the coffee maker was. He picked up a mug, glanced around to make sure he was alone, then tossed the mug into the air and deftly caught it behind his back with one hand. It was then he noticed Henry, the station's mascot, was watching him. "Don't you tell anyone you saw that," he warned the overly-relaxed basset. He poured coffee into the mug and picked up the day's newspaper from the table. He walked over to the black leather couch and settled himself on it. He unfolded the paper and laid it across his lap. He held the top half up so he could read and took a sip of his java. He hadn't read very much when Henry got up, walked across the couch and settled his top half on the man's lap-and newspaper. Since the dog's movement caused the paper to drop from his fingers, he stretched his left arm over the back of the couch and regarded his four-legged companion. "As one Henry to another, we need to talk, pal. Are you listening?" The firefighter gently scratched the dog's back leg near his hip. "Now, look, Henry, if you wanted to read the newspaper, why didn't you tell me? I'd be glad to get you one." He paused, but still the station's mascot showed no signs of leaving. "You know, Henry, old pal, I don't get a lot of time to myself around this nut hatchery, so when I do, I like to make the most of it. And I can't do that very well if you're laying on my newspaper." He sipped his coffee again, then scratched Henry behind a long ear. "You know, maybe we need to teach you to read, then you could just read my paper to me, hmmm? How about it?" Henry gazed up at the human with whom he shared the couch. His tail thumped twice. "You're the only one in this station who's got it made, you know that, don't you? Maybe I should teach you how to write up those computer incident cards. You couldn't do any worse than Chet. I don't know how you did it, pal, showing up out of nowhere and taking over the way you did. Very sneaky of you-" The tones sounded. Hank gently extricated himself from under his namesake as he rose to answer the summons. Henry settled himself onto the open newspaper. He nosed the newsprint before rolling over for a much-needed nap. So, the men of Station 51 thought he had it made, did they? Little did they realize that keeping secrets, accepting scratches and pats, and listening to the ramblings of grown men was enough to tire out anybody, but Henry prided himself on doing a first rate job. It wasn't easy being a firehouse mascot. 1/28/02 |