It was the eleventh of August and close to midnight,
I awoke to a horn blowing which gave me a fright.
I peek out the window and there stood Ethel May,
A party hat on her head and in her hand was a tray.
She called the entire clan to meet at my place,
The first to arrive was Uncle Bill and Aunt Grace.
In the matter of minutes all the others showed up.
Ethel May handed each one a plate and a cup.
On the plates and cups were pictures of hounds,
As she passed them out she made barking sounds.
She gave out cookies shaped like a little dog bone,
It was then we were certain her mind was gone.
Aunt Lou asked, what’s going on anyway,
It was a secret was all Ethel May would say.
Ross said Ethel May was crazy without a doubt,
Grandma was just curious to what it was about.
Grandpa was grumpy; he’d rather be in bed,
No one was happy except Ethel May and Ted.
Grandpa threatened to go back to his room,
Jake paced the floor, his face covered with gloom.
Little Loni Kay was sleepy and begin to pout,
She asked Aunt Lucy to throw Ethel May out.
Aunt Pearl and Aunt Dot just wanted to go,
So did Aunt Dee, Aunt Beth, and Aunt Flo.
Little Wade was tired and he begin to cry,
Mom couldn’t comfort him, but she did try.
Dad sat quietly and hadn’t uttered a word,
Nick said Ethel May was a second class nerd.
Uncle Seth was complaining to Uncle Ned,
Ben was hashing it all over with Uncle Fred.
Sister Ludie just knew the quiet wouldn’t last,
She still remembered well the New Year’s blast.
Minutes before midnight Ethel May would announce,
Her surprise would create a big jolt and a bounce.
She insisted we all go outside and go real soon,
At the stroke of midnight, we were to howl at the moon.
She filled the cups with water up to the brim,
She handed the first one to our Cousin Jim.
She said sip on the water until it’s gone,
Then take a bite from your little dog bone.
A jolt and a bounce just didn’t seem to fit,
I begin to think Ethel May was about half lit.
Her howling at the moon was much too loud,
Disbelief was coming from the entire crowd.
She was celebrating that dog days were over,
Said no disrespect intended to our dog Rover.
What our Brother Ross said I’d rather not tell,
Grandpa wanted Ethel May in a foreign jail.
Bother Jake’s comments weren’t near as nice,
He said bad words, and he repeated them twice.
Lyle said Ethel May was some kind of a nut,
But at least her antics got him out of his rut.
I kept thinking about all that was said,
Little dog biscuits raced around in my head.
After Ethel May wanted us to howl at the moon.
I hope her next visit will not be any way soon.
JAL
PaintHorseAcres
