I arrived home to a pitiful scene. A panic stricken Scooter had taken refuge on the roof of his doghouse.
Below him, a furry tempest raged.
It attacked his dog dish, shredding it into twisted metal shavings. It peeled chunks of plywood off his house and reduced them to sawdust. Finally, as I watched in amazement, it tore the shingles from under Scooter’s paws as he danced madly about in despair.
I called my buddy Stan.
“What did you toss into Scooter’s kennel?” I shouted into the phone.
“Are we talking about Chester?” (Chester is Stan’t psychotic dog).
“Yes… why is he here?”
“Daphne and I are on vacation and you have DirectTV.”
It made perfect Stan-sense.
Chester is profoundly disturbed but there is one thing that keeps him emotionally stable – subscription television. Specifically, the dog loves the Home Shopping Network (HSN).
So to rescue Scooter, I rushed into the house and cranked up the volume on the Home Shopping Network.
It was all it took. Chester ripped a hole in the kennel fence and scurried into the house, his little paws ticking across the living room floor until he reached the rug in front of the television, where he curled up to watch HSN.
The peace did not last long. It was the evening of the Republican Presidential Debate and I wanted to watch it. Chester had other things in mind.
At the first sight of Jeb Bush, he shredded my rug.
A single camera shot of Carly Fiorina cost my coffee table its legs
The price of Ben Carson was three throw pillows and Ted Cruz set me back the patio door curtain.
I was beginning to think that Chester did not like Republicans – until Donald Trump appeared. The little guy almost swooned. He snuggled into what remained of the rug and vigorously wagged his tail – just like he does when the nice jewelry lady comes on HSN.
As the camera panned off The Donald, Chester freaked out again. He spun in circles, foaming at the mouth and tearing wads of hair off his tail until The Donald came back on – then he sighed a deep sigh, rolled over on his belly and cocked his little paws in delight.
This happened repeatedly.
He threw a fit during the Democratic debate too. Every time Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders appeared on the screen, he flung himself against the glass in a psychotic rage. But just when Chester had me convinced he was a Trump Republican, the little guy proved me wrong. Suddenly he became very quiet.
It was during a break and I had gone into the kitchen. The pause in his rage startled me, so I peeked around the corner to find Chester sighing deeply with his muzzle resting gently on his paws as the face of Hillary’s husband filled the screen.
Chester LOVED Bill Clinton.
So if Chester hated all Republicans but Donald Trump and loathed all Democrats but Bill Clinton – clearly he was not driven by the issues. I had to get to the bottom of it or risk losing my house, so I called Stan.
“You dog is driving me nuts,” I told him.
“I could expect no less,” Stan replied.
“I can’t figure out his political position and it is getting unsafe to watch election coverage without knowing what is going on. Is he a Republican or a Democrat?”
Stan thought about it for a minute then asked, “Other than politicians, who does Chester love the most?”
“You?”
“He hates me with a passion,” Stan said.
“Then who?”
“Vince Offer.”
“Who in the blazes is Vince Offer?” I asked.
“He’s the ShamWow Guy, his infomercials are legendary.”
Oddly, that made sense.
Stan went on to explain. “All Chester loves is a good sales pitch. It makes him feel secure. It is why he is addicted to the Home Shopping Network. He loves Bill and The Donald because they can sell sand to the Saudis — but could you imagine Jeb or Hillary trying to sell jewelry on the Home Shopping Network?”
“No way…” I said.
“That’s why he hates them,” Stan said, “Chester is a political and marketing savant. He understands that with politics and cheap merchandise – outcomes do not matter; it is all about the pitch.”
“That explains so much…” I said.
“Everyone loves a pitch.” Stan said, “and they hate it when politicians argue and explain: all they want is to be sold on something that makes them feel secure.”
“Gosh Stan, Chester is a genius… You need to take him down to Iowa for the caucuses, you could make a fortune…”
“You’re trying to sell me on taking him back aren’t you?”
“Uh-huh…”
“You’re pitch isn’t working.”
Brilliant Greg! Yes – I see it repeated here, but there is no better word! 🙂 Not sure how I missed this one, but glad I found it. Happy New Year! You and Stan should moderate the debates (with Chester right in the middle!)
Selecting Chester as a moderator would ensure a very short debate. It would also be quite instructive to see how the candidate handle terror. I know I don’t handle it well.
Ahhh, you just say you don’t handle it well. But reading your stories, it’s obvious that you’re a terror expert. Why, if you were in my neighborhood, I’d always take my dog over to your house when I was about to take a trip. And I don’t even have a dog….
Reblogged this on Uncle Bardie's Stories & Such and commented:
This one is a big Wow. Uncle Bardie was on the floor, absolutely in histerics.
Hey thanks, that’s quite the honor!
Now you’re pushing things. We don’t want to go that far. 🙂
But you are welcome. This was one of your best. I think Chester should be one of those political specialists they have on Fox.
Uncle Baridie, and I of course, think this is abbysolutely brilliant. That’s why he is re-posting it. That will teach you. 🙂
Gosh, my humiliation at the paws of Chester is becoming a legend….
You were already a legend.
Brilliant. I love it
I owe it all to Stan and Chester.
Clearly, Chester understands what politics are all about much better than most people do. Who said dogs aren’t smart?
Dogs are incredibly smart. Scooter just figured out the answer to one of life’s great existential questions: “Who’s the good boy, Who’s the GOOD BOY!!”
I like the idea of supporting Vince Offer. Maybe we all can get a Sham-Wow if we vote for him.
Our current president promised to stop the seas from rising, so far he has not done that but considering the absorbent capacity of the ShamWow, Vince might be able to pull it off.
The first campaign promise
Fun post. Reminds me of the old wooly berger joke. You know the one where the wooly berger would tear apart anything on command. The sequence of command was “wooly berger that chair” (or any item) and the wooly berger would tear whatever it was to pieces. One day a guy asked the wooly berger owner what the animal did. The owner explained what it did and the guy seemed not to believe. His last words were “wooly berger my ass.”
OUCH!! Oh, that’s good!
Oddly this makes sense! Thanks Greg.
It does, doesn’t it. 🙂
If Chester ran the debates I might actually watch them – I much prefer seeing a dog shred a rug to listening to people shred… well… nearly everything.
They shred, they slice, they dice… just like the magic veggie peeler.
Let’s declare a moratorium on the campaign and let Chester decide who’s the next Prez. No more awful campaign commercials to suffer through.
We would probably wind up with Lassie as our Commander And Chief, not that it would be all that bad…
We could do worse . . .
Brilliant, Greg, simply brilliant!
I concur.
It was a fun story to write. Stan and Chester stories write themselves.
Is Chester a Pomeranian? Not sure if Trumpo would be so keen on his heritage!
Donald Trump has many GREAT friends who are Pomeranian. He LOVES the Pomeranian people and would like to see them become GREAT AGAIN!!! 🙂 🙂
Have you introduced Chester to Ron Popeil? Put one of his infomercials on the TV. Make Chester comfy. Then, set it and forget it. He’ll be happy a basted turkey. https://youtu.be/tLq27iOW0R0
Chester was a huge fan of Ron Popeil for years but had a falling out a while ago. It occurred during a late night infomercial when Ron cried, “But wait, there’s more!” Chester hates to wait.
I couldn’t put up with a dog that had no patience at all. He needs to go to dog school.
Some years ago, a fellow varnisher gave me a drying cloth she said was the best. It was good, and I used it for months, not knowing what it was. Then, one evening at my mother’s place, she was browsing the shopping channels, and up popped Vince Offer. I couldn’t believe it. I never would have bought the thing if I’d seen his pitch.
That’s what makes the whole thing so danged complicated. Any of them — Bill, Hillary, the Donald, Jeb! — may have a product or two that’s worth while, but their pitches often get in the way.
One of my favorite things to do at the Minnesota State Fair is to tour the booths under the grandstand. There, beneath the seats of the nightly show is an array of minor shows, most of which are better than the main attraction. There is the miracle mop, the magic veggie peeler and of course, the ShamWow.
I have always been fascinated by the confidence, the fire-hose verbiage, the promise of (minor) happiness as a reward for purchase? Why do people buy this stuff? What makes it so fun to watch?
All the hype and cheap merchandise aside, it is about belief. People love to believe. It makes them feel secure.
“politics and cheap merchandise” – are these different things?
They can only be differentiated by price. Politics costs a bit more.
Chester should be president. He represents the people very well because we as a nation seem to swoon at a sales pitch too! Funny stuff.
Personally, I support Vince Offer. I mean anyone who can sell ShamWow can certainly rule a Whitehouse press conference.