One time we were playing baseball and this dog ran onto the field. About that time the batter hit a lazy pop fly ball to short right field. The dog saw the ball and ran for it. The dog caught the ball in his mouth on the second bounce and ran toward the batter who was now rounding second base. He tagged the batter with the ball as if he was used to returning the ball in a game of catch. The umpire called him out in a joke. The batter's mom took it seriously and ran onto the field screaming. The other coach threw down his hot dog and stormed the field. The dog saw the hot dog and ran for the free meal. The ump, the mom and the coach got into a fight as the stands emptied onto the field. The ump called interference on the dog and ejected him from the game. We adopted the dog after the game. He lived with us for 11 years.

Yesterday I found one of those big heavy-cardboard refrigerator box in the alley behind my apartment. I dragged it home then wrote CHEEZ DOODLES and "Net weight 7 oz." on it with a felt marker. I climbed inside and spent many happy hours in there pretending I was a Cheez Doodle.