Marguerite is spinning in her grave

Old Joe has been converted into a bear.

(Photo by the so-called “old guy” with the dreaded and utterly reprehensible Nikon D100.)

Billy, the onliest child of Marguerite (“Mar-grr-EET”) and the recently deceased 94 year old nosy neighbor, is living alone across the street in their old house.
Their red maple, “Old Joe,” was dying, so Billy had it cut down.
Left standing was the tree-trunk, which Billy decided to have carved into a bear.
A guy arrived yesterday (Friday, October 3, 2008) and chainsawed the old tree-trunk into a bear.
Blackened it with a BernzOmatic®, and then sealed it with varnish.
“When Marguerite’s sister sees that, you’re gonna be in deep trouble,” I said.
“Seems like a skinny bear,” Billy observed.
“Well, he didn’t have much to work with,” I said.
“I think maybe I’ll get eye-beads, and plunk ‘em right here,” Billy said, pointing to the bear’s eye-sockets.

Marguerite is spinning in her grave.
“But Dad would like it.”
“Yeah, but he’d probably be complainin’ about the money ya spent. He probably woulda just cut the whole thing down.”
So now we got a bear across the street spying us through our bow window.
Reminds us of Vern.

Shhhhhhhh! (Photo by the so-called “old guy” with the dreaded and utterly reprehensible Nikon D100.)

RE: “‘Old guy’ with the dreaded and utterly reprehensible Nikon D100.......” —My macho, blowhard brother-from-Boston, who is 13 years younger than me, calls me “the old guy” as a put-down (I also am the oldest). I also am loudly excoriated by all my siblings for preferring a professional camera (like the Nikon D100) instead of a point-and-shoot. This is because I long ago sold photos to nationally published magazines.

“Marguerite and the recently deceased 94 year old nosy neighbor” are Vern and Marguerite Habecker, our neighbors across the street. Vern died recently; Marguerite last Christmas-day. They were married 70 years.