Indian Summer weather reminds me of a hot day many years ago...we once had a Samoyed puppy, Baba, that was about a year old, when we had to leave him inside our VW Bus, while we grabbed a quick lunch in LA.We left those little side "vent" windows cracked open, but they really were not adequate, but we didn't know what else to do, and thought we'd check on him every few minutes.
We had just gotten our food, and were peacefully starting to eat with our friends, when before we'd even been there long enough to need to check on Baba once, (or so we thought) suddenly we heard a "group gasp" as all the patrons who had window seats along La Cienega Blvd, where our van was parked, stood up en masse, hollering and running toward the window, pointing, and exhibiting minor states of hysteria.
We went to the front of the restaurant, to see what the commotion was all about, having a hunch we maybe knew, and sure enough, there was Baba, our fluffy white Samoyed, who had obviously had it with baking in a hot car, parked on a hot street in LA. He had worked himself into quite a pickle, in his effort to get out, and was now stuck...trying desperately to get out of his embarrassing predicament.
While everyone was watching, he was floundering about, with half his body in, and half of it out, wedged in the tiny slit of an opening of the little mini vertical side window. It didn't seem possible that he could have even fit in that tiny opening, yet there he was.
In retrospect, we laughed and laughed when we retold this story, but at the time it was terrifying. As we watched from across the street (the moment is frozen in time) Baba's rump did a huge "pop" and he was ejected out of the VW Van in one giant swoop, and somehow, miraculously landed, on his feet, in the street, while cars went careening past him!! The restaurant onlookers shrieked in unison as he hit the pavement, and were beside themselves all hollering and waving their arms about, with their eyes glued to the scene.
Luckily, at this moment, my ex-husband was now racing towards Baba, who stood, bewildered, in the middle of the busy street, cars honking on every side of him. Chris, my ex, was nimbly dodging traffic, and flagging down cars as he raced across the street. He quickly corralled the confused Baba off the street, and back to the van, just long enough to grab his leash, slap it on him, and walk him back across the street, where the owners of the restaurant happily let our overheated pup sit in the shade, on the sidewalk, outside their establishment, until we were done eating.
They even brought him a bowl of cold water! Baba was quite proud of himself, and regally accepted the patrons' adoration (he was a beautiful all-white puppy), as they all felt compelled to pet him on their way out the door! Whew! What a comical memory!!
