Stories & Memories

My wife loves birds. Birds love sunflower seeds. Mice love sunflower seeds. Mice love to save sunflower seeds. Mice love to save sunflower seeds in the doors of The Hussy. That's the short of it.

EVERYBODY LOVES A HUSSY
Story & photo by George P.
The mouse showed up after the photo was developed. "I hate mice."

The full story goes like this:
The Hussy has been in the garage – inactive (rain and snow stuff make it hard to play with the Hussy). I've been tinkering around with the Hussy, getting it ready to take to the Big Show in Sac-a-tomatoes, when I notice some sunflower seeds on the running boards. I clean off the sunflower seeds and ponder their location. Who put sunflower seeds on the running boards? I open the door to clean the sunflower seeds that are under the doors, and when I close the door, more sunflower seeds appear on the running boards. What's going on? Opening and closing the doors a few times and more seeds appear. Whaa?

But I have no time to go into this puzzle. I've got to get over to Don's house to pick him up so we can go to the Old Towne Cafe for breakfast with the guys. I tell Don about the sunflower seeds and he thinks a squirrel has gotten into the garage. A couple of hours later, when we are getting into the Hussy to go home, we notice more sunflower seeds on the running boards. This is embarrassing. My rod is excreting sunflower seeds and all the guys will know it. I'm on the Main Drag in Grass Valley – the whole world will know that George's truck is pooping sunflower seeds.

It isn't until I get home that I realize that there are access holes in the bottom of the doors - a one-inch by two-inch hole at the front, and a one-inch by one inch at the rear of the door. Inspection reveals enough sunflower seeds in the doors to supply a major league baseball team for a year. It also reveals a dilemma. How am I going to get those damn seeds out of the door? I try blowing them out –big time mess, very few seeds. I try to vacuum them out but can't get the sucker in the door. A coat hanger down through the window works best and takes forever.

But where did the seeds come from? There are no seeds in the garage. I mention my problem to my ever-loving at dinner. "Oh, I took the seeds out of the garage because something had been getting into them. They are now in the storage closet with my garden stuff."

I hate mice.

The full story of the Hussy>