A Snippet from Behind the Keyboard

There are days your Favorite Storyteller should never sit behind the Keyboard. Today is one of those days.

The day started with breakfast, sitting behind said Keyboard, then progressed to physical therapy, still somewhat behind the Keyboard. It was just an evaluation visit, so not much real work. PT in and of itself isn’t a problem, but it does take time and effort that should rightfully be given to the Keyboard.

Sometimes, no matter what I want to say, the Keyboard has a mind of its own and changes my words into something I can’t decipher. It needs no help from me. (That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.) But today the poor thing has had to battle. And not just me, but also our favorite pooch, Bella, and my lunch. Not a fair task for anyone’s Keyboard, but especially not mine.

Here is a short visual. Maybe “word picture” would be a better description.

Our pooch, Bella, a Labrador mix, is lying behind my chair quietly snoozing when I decide I’m ready to eat. I had no idea she was there. She wasn’t supposed to be there. She’s almost always outside. We both made dying noises when my chair made contact with her tail. After we began to breathe normally again, she moved about a foot to the side so I could pass her, and began nursing her tail. That was safe for her, but a little iffy for me given my generally unsteady condition of late, and my legs still shaking from the fright. Mission accomplished, though.

A quick trip to the fridge and pantry told me I needed to have White American Cheese and Ritz Crackers for lunch. Don’t tell my doctors, okay? I like that combination, so back to the desk and Keyboard I went, food in hand.

There’s Bella, right where I left her. Eying my movements very, very closely. I know the dog has super sniffing powers, but to smell bagged processed cheese, really? I could see her eyes cutting around, careful to watch me and the cheese. I had just opened the ziplock bag and she’s up and sniffing around, trying to sneak my food. When her sloppy tongue touched my hand, I jumped, causing her to jump, and before I knew it there were White American Cheese slices lying across my keyboard, and Bella and I are in a battle to get the cheese, her barking and me screaming. I won, only because I was closer to the Keyboard, and could cover it with my body.

She never took her eyes off me, though, knowing I would drop something. Yep, I did. The smallest crumb of cheese imaginable. On the floor, under the desk. Guess who was there to find it, before I could even try to block her with my knee. You guessed it. It took her 0.2 seconds to find and devour that sliver of cheese.

Well, the cheese, mixed with coffee from a couple days ago and Girl Scout cookie crumbs…you get my drift. Sorta sounds like a yucky snack to me. I wish I had a picture of the cheesy Keyboard. Can any other writers out there relate? I hope so.

I hope this sneak peek into a day with your Favorite Storyteller doesn’t keep you from following the real stories and episodes. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow when the real story will appear. Same time, same place.

And again, thanks for reading.