Howling at the Moon (standard:travel stories, 696 words)
Author: Pitter Pat	Added: Jan 30 2004	Views/Reads: 3919/0	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A story written using one of Kathy's endings

“Morning Mom.” 

“Hi kid, how was the concert last night? Did you and your friends have
fun?” 

“We had fun, but it sounded like you had more fun.” He snickered. “Do
know how late it was when you returned to your tent?” 

“No, Charlie, but I know it was late. Since you brought up the subject,
how late were you out? I saw your car lights come into the campground 
well after midnight. Didn't I set a midnight curfew?” 

I watched my son squirm for a moment then he continued, “Ok, the time is
not important. But tell me, why was everyone at the campfire 
encouraging Betsy's dog to howl at the moon last night? Had EVERYONE 
been drinking?” 

There comes a time when every child becomes a young adult and questions
their parents.  I'm sure in my son's eyes, this situation looked very 
questionable. 

Planning for the weekend began as many others.  I wanted him to go to
the Civil War Re-enactment and he wanted to go to a concert with his 
friend and his friend's brother.  When comparing the two sets of 
weekend plans, we found both events took place in the same town, 
approximately an hour and a half from our home.  We were both 
determined to have our way, so we compromised.  He and his friend would 
spend part of the day Saturday at the Civil War Re-enactment with me, 
then go to the concert with his friend's brother.   They would return 
to camp by midnight, attend the re-enactment with me on Sunday, then we 
would drive home Sunday evening. 

He left for his concert about 1:00 p.m. and I visited with friends, many
of them I'd not seen since a re-enactment the previous fall. 

“When it began to get dark, the Albertson's built a campfire. Soon many
of the re-enactors were seated around the fire. Beside Betsy was what 
we call ‘the vacant chair'.” 

“You told me she and Bill had been in a car accident and he had been
killed. What does that have to do with everyone encouraging the dog to 
howl at the moon?” 

“I'm getting to that part.  We went around the fire telling about
something that had happened in our lives since we met at a campfire 
last fall.  The Albertson's told of twin calves born a few weeks ago, 
Ronnie told of the youth center he is helping to build, Eugene told – 
never mind...” 

Charlie laughed. “Was Eugene passing the bottle? That must have been
good.  What did he tell?” 

I put my fingers over my mouth to hide my chuckle and continued, “Never
mind.  I told about your sister's new baby and...” 

“I want to hear Eugene's story!” 

“No!  You wanted to know why the dog was howling.” I said firmly. “We
continued around the fire until the only one left was Betsy. She 
hesitated then told us her story.  Last Halloween she and Bill dressed 
in civil war clothing, put their dog Mr. Toad on a leash, and...” 

“Mr. Toad?” 

“Don't ask.  They and the dog went for an evening walk to see the
trick-or-treaters going door to door for candy.  As it got later in the 
evening, the little kids went home and only an occasional older child 
was seen.  Bill put his arm around Betsy and pointed out the full moon 
in a sky full of stars.  A ‘werewolf” ran out of the dark and bumped 
into Bill.  Bill had a wonderful sense of humor.  He looked into the 
werewolf's eyes and let out a howl.  Mr. Toad took the cue and also 
began to howl.  Betsy told us the werewolf ran off, but Bill and Mr. 
Toad howled at the moon all the way home.  There was a long moment of 
silence when Betsy finished her story.  Ronnie broke the silence saying 
“Look, a full moon.”  With that cue, all the men started howling.  Mr. 
Toad's ears perked up.  Betsy joined in the howling encouraging Mr. 
Toad and soon everyone was howling.  Mr. Toad looked from person to 
person then tipped his head back and began to howl. That's why the dog 
was howling at the full moon last night.” 


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