Page 3 - DCBE LIFE Magazine / September 2020

SEPTEMBER 2020 3 DeCordova Bend Estates LIFE

from the publisher

Hello September!

Woohoo! My favorite month and favorite time of year is here. I hope the beauty of the Autumn season ushering in finds you all well
and ready to take it in. September reminds me of sunflowers, sunsets, the end of the hot days of Summer and I look forward to the
magnificent visuals the Autumn season provides. Have you ever seen something so beautiful it stopped you in your tracks? Autumn can
provide that gift. A visual as simple as the last hay cutting of the season in huge round bales across the pasture against the back drop of
an Autumn sky or the close-up inspection of a fall flower or fallen leaf in it’s individual beauty and uniqueness are all are masterpieces of
nature. I think the natural beauty of the seasons actually heal the soul. At least they do mine.

Well, I guess you guys could use a good laugh about now. I’ve told most of the stories on my crazy family, at least the ones suitable for
publication. (snicker). One that I thought was a little borderline is the one I refer to as “the fountain of youth discovery”. That’s right, much
to our dismay, we discovered the way to take grown men back to the age of, let’s say... around 8 years old. Sorry ladies, it apparently
only works on men. You see, my husband is major trickster. He loves a prank and the human behavior or response that follows. He will
do almost anything to get a rise out of you, or even better, everyone in the room. My daughter thinks my reactions to his behavior is even
funnier, so she loves to fuel the fire.

One year for my husbands birthday, our daughter gave him a bag of tricks. There where fake flies in plastic ice cubes, fake lotto tickets,
fake dog poo, a giant roach that still makes me jump years later, and... wait for it... a battery powered fart machine... and it had a remote
control. Of course, every time he set it off, my husband would laugh uncontrollably, probably because of the look on my face each time I
heard it. My husband thought it was the greatest thing ever, so... he gathered up a couple of friends, they all magically became 8 years
old again, and off they went into public with there newly discovered childhood. There first stop was a convenience store, where they
strategically placed the machine on a shelf on one aisle then hung around on a separate aisle waiting for someone to pass. As they
bombarded each innocent soul with the serenade of the disgusting, each person’s reaction was different. Some pretended not to hear it
at all, some would jump and look around to see who had shot them, and of course, most of the men targeted would just laugh hysterically
when they figured out they had been pranked. After the store owner asked them to leave (surprise, surprise), they went looking for another
target. After a day of public harassment, they ended up at a small neighborhood bar. They all bellied up to the bar with the other patrons
and ordered a beer. When the bartender (a female, bless her heart) wasn’t looking, they placed their little machine behind the bar and
every time the bartender would turn her back they would set it off. The first few times, not knowing who was the culprit and completely
offended, she just turned around and shot all the men sitting at the bar a dirty look. After several rounds of that nonsense, apparently she
had had enough and hollered, “Hey, tighten up over there!” Well that sent them over the edge laughing. Once the bartender figured out
it was a machine, she said, “What are you guys, 8 year olds?”. Yes, yes, they were, so she took their little toy and told them they could
have it back at the door when they left.

After a day full of fun, the boys all returned home and the little machine was left in the console of our truck. Over the following days it was
covered up with other papers and items placed in the bucket of the console. We all completely forgot about it until much later when we
all loaded into the truck to take our dogs for a run and swim at our ranch. One of our dogs, Ginger Deen, a female around 60lbs., would
always stand on the console as we drove. We called it surfing because she loved looking through the windshield and would lean on the
curves just like a surfer. This particular day, we had all just piled into the truck ready to go when Ginger Deen stepped up and the console
and apparently stepped on the fart machine remote control and set it off. The funny thing was, as the sound reverberated through the cab
of the truck, Ginger Deen accusingly and disapprovingly looked at the other dogs in the backseat. Apparently, female dogs don’t think it’s
that funny either.

So, the moral of the story is, enjoy everything, every day, especially the simple things (and even the simple minded), because laughter,
and even a little harmless mischief, is the glue that holds this great experiment together. And always remember... it could be worse, you
could be married to my husband. (snicker)