An Evening Out

Saturday evening we went to an auction for charity at the local pub. We made bids on a few silent auction items, got bored, and realized we were trapped there because we were winning on a few things. Everyone at the pub knew each other, and there was a 10 year old child wandering around selling 50-50 tickets. In the pub. At night. Getting drunk. Well, no, not that last part. But still.


The next day was when the really fun stuff happened.

We were at a dinner party Sunday evening when the host's phone rang. She disappeared to answer it and came back into the room a moment later, phone to her ear and eyes fixed on Chani, the girl sitting to my right. On the other end of the phone was Chani's neigbour from down the road in the tiny community where the dinner party was being held.

Emmylou was on the prowl.

Upon hearing this news Chani's husband and another man at the table sprang into action; throwing their shoes on, jumping into a car, and disappearing down the road in a cloud of dust and exhaust.

Emmylou, Chani's precious yet precocious pet, had wandered into a neighbour's yard. It was up to the boys to get her back to her own home, but were they up to the challenge?

It's no small feat to wrangle a 600 pound pig.

The party continued, and as dusk turned to darkness the boys finally returned. They were tired and smeared with mud, but Emmylou Hairless was home again.

They had pushed, prodded, baited, and begged. Emmylou had had little interest in going home - half the community had showed up to watch the efforts, and she was enjoying her moment in the spotlight. A local journalist was present and the flash of his camera puncuated the boys' efforts at cajoling the stubborn swine away from the neighbour's squash patch. Frustrated, they discussed tying a rope around her middle to drag her back. Emmylou heard this and promptly laid down.

They offered marshmallows. She ignored them and instead made amourous advances at a guy named Jimmy. Finally, with much effort in front of their growing audience, the boys got Emmylou home and returned to their abandoned plates of food at the party.

The potluck dinner - which happened to be completely vegetarian - was a smashing success, and the story of the wayward pig added much excitement to the event.

Also: new friends, woohoo!