TODAY THE WORDS are THEN THERE WAS HOSS
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| MY FATHER, ARLIE LOTT (OWNER OF HOSS ) |
Since today would have been my Daddy’s 89th birthday and because animals were a big part of Daddy, I thought I would share a humorous story about one of Daddy’s dogs, Hoss. The name was a version of Horse since this dog was as big as a large pony. I never was sure of Hoss’s origin or breed. Someone probably gave Daddy the dog as that is how we acquired dogs back in the day. Not too many dogs were bought at that time; people shared puppies. One day when I went out to visit Daddy, Hoss was lying in the yard. Daddy had told me to let him know when I was coming so he could tell Hoss it was all right. I saw what he meant when I drove up. Hoss stood up in the yard and I could easily tell that I wasn’t going to be allowed in until I had permission. Once Daddy spoke to Hoss, he immediately changed his guard dog attitude and became a gentle giant. He laid down and in a few minutes, Daddy looked at his watch and said, “In about five minutes, Hoss will do his patrol.” Sure enough, almost to the second, Hoss jumped up and went down the fence line and around to the pigeon and chicken coups and back around. When he returned, he laid down again. Daddy said, “You can set your watch by Hoss; every hour he patrols and if all is okay, he lays down. He would bark or take care of whatever would be wrong. He is a good dog.” Every hour that is exactly what Hoss did. But this is not the story that you might find funny. Georgia Power had its power lines behind Daddy’s land and you had to cross his road to get to the power lines. One day, while Daddy was home, one of the men that was going to work on the lines the next day came up and asked Daddy if he could park his truck at Daddy’s and walk to the lines. Daddy said yes and the man left. The next day, Daddy left for work early as he always did and started working. Almost lunchtime Daddy remembered the man was supposed to be there and “Then There was Hoss”. Daddy drove immediately home and there was the man on the top of his truck (not the hood but the top) and then there was Hoss standing up on his hind legs! The man said “Thank God” and Daddy called off Hoss who willingly went to get some water. Daddy apologized and said I forgot to tell Hoss it was okay. The man said, as long as I was up here, he was fine, but I even tried to get back into the cab of the truck and he let me know quickly, “Not until it is okay”. Daddy said, “You can come back any day and he won’t bother you.” I never knew if the guy ever came back. Now for the deeper thought……God watches us when we believe and trust in Him like Hoss watched over the yard. He is always there on patrol and also if we don’t believe, He can be called off like Hoss and He will allow the uninvited into our lives. Be diligent and let God know we need his protection so we can keep the “bad ones” on the top of the truck. Happy Birthday Daddy and I hope Hoss is roaming the land with you! Love and hugs!
DAILY FEATURED BIBLE VERSE:
Colossians 4:2-6
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
(c) copyright 2012 Arline Lott Miller. The material here copyrighted, use only by permission.
