Travels to a Different Time: Travels of My Mother: 20July1970: Pag Island, Yugoslavia: The Terrible Food in Yugoslavia

We are all packed and ready to leave for the other end of Pag where will spend a few days before going to Rab and then after to Krk. Look at the map. We are on the coast of Yugoslavia nearing Italy.

Had a long letter yesterday from Fritz and he has all kinds of plans for us in Germany. He will meet us in Munich and show us around for a couple of days. Then to Cologne and then to the Black Forest and stay in a wooden cabin so he can take Robert hunting (good thing they like each other). When we go to West Berlin, he will meet us for 4 days and will probably see us in Frankfurt before we return to New York. We will be driving on the Autobahn in Fritz’s Alfa Romeo. Fritz tells me he drives up to 230 kilometers and hour!

Barb I would love to go to Jamaica but not now. My clothes are a wreck. I will be glad to return to American soil and if you have a few days perhaps we can stay with you.

I don’t know how the old babes get to the each here so early. The beach begins to fill up at 8:30 in the morning. Not for me as I like the good life. I hope the next place we stay at has running water. We have to get a big jug filled up at the public square and lug it back to the room, strange that we have a full bathroom but no running water but boy does it stink. I was in such a hurry last night I spilt toothpaste all over my shirt. I had to go for a swim to get it clean. Rob goes to the night club each night. He finally got the courage to ask a girl to dance but it was a slow one and he changed his mind. He has just gone to the P.O. to give them our change of address. Then we will wander into town and have some lunch.

The knapsack is a godsend for travelling as you can put the heavy stuff in it. Rob with his water jug and our lousy luggage we will look like a couple of hippies when we return to Montreal. I will bring back my Yugoslav string bag as a memento. The plan is to return in late August or the first week of September. Rob must be back for school on September 9. I would like to come back in January to Spain but also Germany either first or last.

I’m getting to be like a real native going out at 7 a.m. with my string back buying bread and meat for breakfast. I am getting tired with the food here in Yugoslavia. I have to be slim for Germany even if I have to starve myself. I am here finishing the bottle of wine so I don’t have to pack it. Barb what are the name of the weight reducing pills you can buy in Germany. Please don’t forget. The meals are terrible here. No one who has been to Yugoslavia can complain about my cooking! So much starch and so few vegetables. No wonder they are so huge. I am on a diet to get rid of this fat. Fritz is so meticulous he might take one look at me and turn around.

Very windy here today unlike our first day. We have run out of books and there are no English books to buy here so we play cards to pass the time.

Love Mum

Rab July 23, 1970

Arrived here this morning. It is about 90 minutes from Pag on the ship. We are staying in a brand-new pension with lots of hot water. We haven’t found the beach yet but no desire to swim today. We found Time magazine and an English paper and that is a good thing as I was about to go mad with nothing to read. That must mean there are some English about so I can talk to them.

Love Mum

Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog: Anwar Speaks From The Land Beyond: Allah’s Hint About Reggie! Chapter Eighteen

My name is Anwar. I was Reggie’s master after the demise of his previous one. I was given Reggie when he was still a puppy. The wife of a good friend of mine gave Reggie to me. Her husband was a journalist with an Egyptian television network based in Cairo. He hosted a political commentary show and frequently had guests who were critical of the Egyptian government and I think he had one too many guests who were critical of the government and one day he disappeared never to be seen again. Journalists throughout the world and his wife knew what had happened to him. Prior to his “disappearance” he had received several death threats at the hands of an extremist group “The Brothers of the Correct and Only Islam”. Our journalistic investigations gave us preliminary indications this group was a branch of the secret service of the government of Egypt so we assume he was kidnapped and executed. His wife fled to Wa Wa in Ontario, Canada fearing her life as she was a feminist demanding equal rights for women in Egypt very dangerous in the political climate. So, I ended up with Reggie!

Habibi was his original name but to give everyone a fresh start I renamed him Reggie after a character in an American cartoon I often watched called “Archie”. I never owned a dog before so I had to do some research on the raising of dogs. That helped me and Reggie was a very smart dog which made both our lives easier. Reggie was toilet trained in under a week. I worked mostly from home but when I was out researching and interviewing, I had a dog sitting service take care of Reggie.

I watched a lot of BBC news and documentaries to get a realistic view of the world. Egyptian media was largely controlled by the government so it was difficult to get the truth about your own country! Reggie and I watched the BBC news every night and I swear he was beginning to understand English. In fact the practice of my English was helped by talking to Reggie in English. I prayed to Allah every morning and night and Reggie watched and listened intently to me.

As I had no wife and very little family in Cairo, Reggie was a great comfort and companionship for me but as many people in Egypt experienced good things can come to an end. One night the secret police and army came and arrested me for treason for slandering the government in my articles. A soldier told me Reggie escaped telling me Reggie was most fortunate as often pets of arrested “traitors” were shot by the soldiers on sight.

I was executed by a firing squad and I entered The Land Beyond being furious at the government for taking my life and turning Reggie into a street dog. I wanted to remain as a ghost in Cairo and haunt my wrongdoers. Allah himself spoke to me and asked that I forgive those who had murdered me taking his name in vain to gain and retain power. So I made a deal with Allah that he let my spirit remain on earth until Reggie was safe and taken care of. One does not make deals with God! But Allah said he would do all he could to help Reggie. And in his mysterious ways he did. And Allah tells me Reggie will change history. You never hear about Allah and his sense of humour but believe you me in this screwed up world you don’t get to be Allah without one! A small dog like changing the world. Allah is joking me!

I see my Reggie now with people called Bob and Fay in Toronto, Canada. I hear his prayers to Allah and to me so my spirit appears to him to help him adapt and I can see he will be safe and loved and well taken care of. I am still sad he and I are parted but so happy to see he has a good life ahead of him so my anger and fear has been alleviated so I must now go to The Land Beyond” and wait one day to be reunited with Reggie. So I close my eyes and I leave earth and go to The Land Beyond with a light heart. Good-bye.

RKS 2024 Wine: The Great Ontario Merlot Redemption Meets Dale Carnegie

Merlot as a single varietal wine has a bleak future in Ontario. But blend it with Ontario wunderkid Cabernet Franc and lackluster Cabernet Sauvignon and you can consistently have a great Ontario Meritage in both Niagara and Lake Erie North Shore. Sometimes the sum can outshine some of the parts.

For example, the Queen Bee 2019 Meritage from Lakeview Wine Company in Niagara-on-the-Lake is a blend of 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 23% Cabernet Franc. The juice was transferred to stainless steel tanks and fermented on their skins and then transferred to 70% Hungarian and 30% American oak.

Aroma: An immediately approachable, accessible and delightful aroma greets the nose. Toasty and smoky. Blackberry dominates the landscape of the wine.

Palate: Yet more blackberry but not jammy as it has lightness almost hovering over the wine as opposed to burrowing down in it. Just a tiny bit of dark chocolate on the finish courtesy of the Cabernet Franc. Unidimensional but so delicious no complaints from these sidelines. Acids and tannins in complete harmony. Assuming you do not have a cellar a maximum of 15 minutes in the refrigerator please. Not what you would label a long finish but the faint impression of blackberry hangs in there.

Personality:  Dale Carnegie “How to Make Friends and Influence People” is the name of my game.

Food Match: A Navy Bean Soup from Kingston’s Chez Piggy jazzed up with Parmesan rinds Ribolla style.

Cellarbility: Consume by 2025-year end.

Price: $20 CDN (Ontario) LCBO Store Manager Discount Price otherwise $24.95.

RKS 2024 Wine Rating: 91/100. Tony Aspler 89-91.

(Queen Bee 2019 Meritage, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Lakeview Wine Company, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, 750 mL, 13%).

Reggie The Egyptian Rescue Dog: The Final Cut: Karim Tells us About Himself: Chapter Seventeen

My name is Karim and I think I am about three years old. I was born in Egypt like Reggie. I am part Schnauzer and weigh the same as Reggie which is about 18 pounds. All that delicious chicken kibble and of course the chunks of cheese that “accidentally fall” on the floor have plumped me out a bit.

I was bought in an Egyptian marketplace by a family with a little girl. I forget their names. This may be selective forgetfulness as I do not want to remember my life with that family. They fed me and gave me water. The little girl was nice to me in the beginning but the parents soon changed their mind about having me as a pet. I spent most of my young life in a crate even when the humans were around in their home. They ignored me except for that little girl who was too young to properly care for a dog. Although she was nice to me most of the time, she pulled my tail hard and that made me squeal in pain.

You might want to say I was ignored and abused. Can you imagine a dog being locked in a crate almost all the time? I was sad and lonely and grew to really hate these humans. A dog likes to move around and be as free as a domesticated dog can be. These humans were cruel and the man smoked cigarettes a smell that really bothered me. His wife thought I was dirty and cursed at me for being a filthy creature. I was locked up so much I never made any friends with the neighbourhood dogs. In fact, dogs began to frighten me.

Then a terrible plague COVID struck Egypt. The man and his wife owned a small local restaurant and because people were afraid of contracting COVID they stopped eating out at restaurants and the man and his wife had to close their restaurant. They became mean with me claiming I brought them bad luck and one day they took me far away from my home on a bus and left me in a very run-down part of Cairo. They returned home without me so I became a street dog.

Reggie has already told you what it was like for him. It was really the same for me. But instead of being frightened I felt free. I felt what I think a dog should feel like. But food and water were hard to come by. Like Reggie there were kind people that sometimes would give me food and water but a dog had to learn how to steal food and rummage in garbage to live to see tomorrow. The big dogs were not nice to us smaller dogs so I formed a pack of small tough dogs to defend ourselves and steal and hunt for food including rats. Reggie always protected my flank in our fights and he was fearless.

After living on the streets for over a year my fur was matted and I was covered in flees. Like Reggie I was injured and found myself in an animal hospital. It was the same hospital Reggie was in. I was not bitten by another dog but intentionally hit by a motorcycle “for fun” as when I lay on the street with a big gash on my scalp I heard laughing. Like Reggie a policeman took me to the animal hospital. It might have been the same good policeman. I am not one to pray to Allah like Reggie because Allah deserted me the moment I was born. Humans deserted me except for the kind policeman and animal doctors. I had much anger toward humans. The same Canadian rescue society that brought Reggie to Canada brought me there too. I ended up with Bob and Fay.

Bob and Fay have shown me nothing but kindness so much so I began to trust them quickly and of course Reggie was in and out of my pack so I could trust him. But for dogs and humans I do not know I become frightened and lunge out at them. They have done nothing wrong to me so why am I so bad?

Reggie tells me it is post traumatic stress disorder caused by my past life. I don’t understand these complicated words but Reggie puts it another way saying I had such a terrible life in Egypt I lose my head and lunge as a way of forgetting those terrible times but a special person called a trainer has been working with me every day for awhile now and I have just about stopped lunging except for humans on skateboards, rollerblades, scooters and joggers. Dillie and Reggie do the same thing so Fay and Bob are willing to live with a little bit of lunging when I am on the leash.

Speaking of Dillie I think he is a spoilt dog that knows little about life and I snarled at him a few times when I arrived at Fay and Bob’s house but Reggie set me straight telling me that was a stupid thing to do for a rescue dog. I recognized this and apologized to Dillie who understood enough about my past to forgive me. He is a true leader and from a tradition of great and fearless Scottish hunting dogs. Reggie told me some of the brave things that Dylan did and I would have welcomed his fighting spirit in my pack. He comes from a noble tradition but I am from the gutters of Cairo. Being street smart, I let Dillie be the leader of the pack. I also like him as he helps me understand humans that care and respect dogs. These are not humans I have much experience in dealing with.

I love my life in Canada and the snow is so much fun. Reggie and I love rollicking in the snow but Dillie prefers the warmth of inside the house. After two years on the street and homeless and hungry I was deserted by him. I think of my brothers and sisters in Egypt and hope they are well.

Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog: The Final Cut: Dillie the Westie Speaks About Karim and Reggie: Together We are the Rat Pack! Chapter 16

My name on my registration papers with the Canadian Kennel Club is Dylan Saunders. But I have at least a dozen nicknames such as Snookums, Poopie, Dillie, Dillykins, Lambchops, Pumpkin and Sweetie are just a few but most often it is Dillie and that suits me fine.

Dillie the Westie speaks about Reggie and Karim!

I am older than Reggie and Karim. I am 13 years old and I sleep more than I used to and puppies were so much fun when I was a puppy but as a senior I find them too much to handle as they jump all over me and want to play. I just want some peace and quiet. I realize that my time on earth is getting shorter. I have seen and heard about many humans and dogs dying. Oggie, Cody and Freddy are all gone. My time is soon. We all must die one day and all dogs and humans must accept that and make good however much time we have left. Reggie loves living for sure but he looks forward to meeting Anwar in “The World Beyond” where all living creatures go when they die. There are people and dogs I want to see in that world but until I get there I wake up each day joyful to be alive. My heart is not always regular and at the animal hospital Dr. Murray says I have a heart murmur but I don’t let that stop me from doing the things I love the most being eating, getting treats, walking at the golf course, playing with my toys and sleeping!

Bob and Fay gave me warning about Reggie and Karim before they arrived so I would not be surprised. I was excited! Reggie is a very intelligent dog. He watches the news every night and loves BBC documentaries. He understands English just as well as I do. But he is a very tough dog having lived on the streets of Cairo by himself and that was very difficult. I have had it easy for all my life with my bowl always filled with kibble, lots of cold drinking water, toys and the best of care and the most love a dog could ask for.

Reggie and Karim respect my territory and we never fight over food nor with each other. Reggie and Karim know what it is like on the streets and realize they must respect me and Bob and Fay or they think they may end up on the street again.

I understand what it is like living with caring humans. I know how to read them. I know what their tone of voice means. Both Reggie and Karim are more used to living with mean humans than I am. They are beginning to trust humans and that may take time as they were kicked at, spat upon and cursed a good part of the time. I can help them understand how good humans treat dogs so they can feel safer and more trusting. Karim has been longer on the streets than Reggie and he trusts Bob Fay and I but he had a problem with fear and aggression lunging against other humans and dogs he does not know but a trainer has helped him become less fearful.

I can say I loved it when Bob and Fay retired because they are around the house with me so I spend very little time alone. I mean there was a dog walker that took me out when they used to work but that’s not the same! Reggie and Karim keep me company when Bob and Fay leave the house so I enjoy having them with me. They are part of our new family! I also do my best to keep them out of trouble. I enjoy being the leader of the pack and that means Karim and Reggie respect me. I can teach them things and they can teach me things too. They are my brothers and I am so fortunate to have them . I also know I will probably die and go to The World Beyond before they do so they can take care of Bob and Fay as they love me so much they will be so sad when I pass on. There will be Reggie and Karim to take care of them. You think humans take care of dogs? They do but we take care of humans too. Love and respect are mutual.

I love it when all three of us dogs go on walks and the humans all say what a handsome group of dogs we are. The dogs also know how tough Karim and Reggie can be so we get a lot of respect and even admiration from them. I love that movie “Ocean’s Eleven”. We are the Rat Pack! I love Reggie and Karim like brothers and will do all I can to make their lives in Canada so much better than it was in Egypt.

Travels to a Different Time: Travels of My Mother: 9July1971: Hvar Island, Yugoslavia: A STARK NAKED MAN SMOKING A PIPE!

I was up at 6 this morning. I went to the market to buy, cucumbers, peaches, bread and sliced meat for breakfast. ROB GOT UP, ATE AND WENT BACK TO BED. It is 10 now and very bright and sunny and becoming a hot day. I am sitting outside on the patio with the last bit of shade. WE BOTH HAVE HAD TOO MUCH SUN. We will take it easy today.

Yesterday we took an excursion to the other end of the island to a town called Minha. We left at 9 and returned at 6. It was a very long day. It was so hot we had to seek shade in the woods to a beautiful spot on the pine needles. Made me think of a jug of wine, a loaf of bread and some cheese. Andy so good to receive your letter as I had almost given up hope. Please write and our address c/o Tourist Office, Pag Island, Yugoslavia. Your last letter took seven days to arrive here. We will not leave here until we hear from you. Please write today. We saw a white poodle yesterday and it made me think of Suzy. My old sandals are falling apart so I took them to the shoemaker and I wonder what he will do with them.

The swimming here is fantastic. That’s the only word I can use to describe it. So clear but there are tar globs on the beach and our bathing suits are ruined. Both Rob and I have a good tan and look healthy. It is easy to tan here.

Last night we attended a concert in an outdoor theatre. I loved it but Rob was bored stiff. It was opera but which one I had no idea. There are so many Germans here and I am learning how to say “Mein Gott!”. I said we would visit Heidi in Berlin for 10 days in about two weeks from now. We will leave back home from Frankfurt on Overseas National Airways.

I haven’t gained that much weight. I will be seeing Fritz in Berlin so I must not get fat. I really do not like the food here. It was so much better in Greece. The helpings are small and there is little meat so you must fill up on bread. It is difficult to get used to the store hours. The day must be so long here for people living on the island. The stores are open 9-12 and then 5-9. You just can’t buy a thing when the stores are closed.

Rob and I will go to a nudist beach before we leave only to say we have been once. Yesterday we passed one and Rob saw A STARK NAKED MAN SMOKING A PIPE. If I go naked, I will hide behind a rock! There are so any fat women here that I would not be ashamed. There are many nudist beaches here as the Germans love them.

I think we will leave here in three days on a 7:30 a.m. boat to the mainland and then to Pag Island.

Bye for now as its time for a swim.

Love Marnee

Travels to a Different Time: Travels of My Mother: 25June1971: Korcula Island, Yugoslavia

Dear Barbara and Andrew:

Barb, as far as I know we will le leaving from Frankfurt to get to New York and we will be seeing Fritz in either Munich or West Berlin but I will definitely know when I get to Hvar because we are waiting to hear from Heidi. Korcula is beautiful, old and quaint.

30June1971

Today the wind blows. It is dull and cool. We had planned to go to a fishing village at the other end of the island but with no sun what is the point. So we will go into town and see the museum. We have had one day of rain off and on otherwise it has been lovely. The beach is rocky here. They have huge slabs of cement to lie on. I am very tanned but today it is cold enough to wear slacks and a sweater. What a change from Greece! I twisted my ankle a few days ago ankle so I was flat on my back for a coupler of days. The doctor did pay me a visit.

Andy is your tooth fixed? Did you put that money in the bank. I hope so. How is your cooking going. I hope you are fine and I think about you often and hope you are getting to your appointments. As soon as I know our address in Brac I will send it to you and write right away. Andy please keep our letters. Rob writes in his dairy every day. It will give you a laugh.

Today we take some empty wine bottles down to the place the locals take their plastic jugs to get filled with wine. There is only sterilized milk on the shelves and I can’t get Rob to try it. Like Greece the bread here is coarse. We have read all our books and there are no English-speaking tourists here so no one to exchange them with. Rob is out in the ocean with his speargun often. He bought a Russian speargun powered by cartridges. He also has a ghastly looking octopus lure and a fishing line.  If only the water would calm down he might catch an octopus.

Unlike Greece there are only a few hippies here (maybe a dozen). Maybe the season has just begun.

The diet is about the same as last year on the Greek islands. We have meat and bread and cheese for breakfast. The women in town are excellent cooks. They never seem to have the foods you ask for. The restaurants are government run so they don’t care either just like in the stores and post office. The people are very surly here. They think we are Americans. I would not like to live behind the Iron Curtain. The stores have few goods in them. Not much in the food shops either but there is always a good supply of wine. It is very cheap. A pack of cigarettes cost 22 cents.

There are palm trees outside our window.

Supetar, Brac Island

We just retuned from the museum but there is not much in it as this is a tiny town. There was a big turret in the port when we disembarked. A huge Yugoslav flag was on top of the turret with a big hammer and sickle. Tito speaks from the top of the turret when he is here.

We bought some sweet cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, meat rolls and some oranges and ate them on a bench overlooking the harbour. We are becoming European. I also bought some laundry detergent to wash our clothes. Rob has gone fishing again and I will find him later. We bought tickets to a folklore concert for tonight and that ought to be fun. It will be held in an outdoor theatre. We met a French couple here. He is an oceanographer with Jacques Cousteau.  He is travelling with an Austrian FAIRY who massaged my ankle and he loves Robert and keeps on patting him!

30June

The concert was good. We leave tomorrow.

Travels to a Different Time: Travels of My Mother: 3March1970: Hallgarten, Germany: Stuck In Frankfurt!

Dear Barbara:

I will give this to woman boarding an Overseas National Airways flight to New York. On Sunday there was a flight on ONA to Chile then back to New York. I did not try for it. There is one tomorrow but it is sold out with a crew of 7 trying to get back. The next plane goes on the 11th. Perhaps I should go to Palma and leave from there. I hear there is a mail strike in Canada. Andrew and Robert must think I have left forever.

Mum

Reggie The Egyptian Rescue Dog: The Final Cut: Reggie’s First Christmas: Chapter Fifteen

Should a dog that prays to Allah believing in his vast powers be celebrating Christmas? I am uncertain but my heart dictates if we all accept some divine presence there is no reason a Muslim dog could not celebrate Christmas. Both Jesus and Allah helped people so why not celebrate their lives but again I am not a sophisticated religious type “only a dog” but if it makes your soul feel good. I feel copasetic about celebrating Christmas. Just in case in my morning prayers I tell Allah what I am celebrating and ask for forgiveness should I be wrong! Reggie believes in covering his bases!

We dogs are up early and there will be no sleeping in on Christmas Day! That’s what we confidently think not yet having our turkey. Bob is surprised we are up so early and we go on an early morning stroll and it is snowing with big fluffy flakes that make our noses cold. All the dog walkers exchange “Merry Christmas” salutations to each other. The dogs are positively bristling with excitement.

We return home and excitedly gobble our morning kibble and a traditional Greek Christmas breakfast for Bob and Fay of Melomacaruna (honey cookies), corobedies (almond cookies with icing sugar) and baklava. We all receive a few crumbs of each and Karim and I remember a few shopkeepers and bakers giving us stale Egyptian pastries that taste like these Greek ones. Fay once had a grandmother living in Egypt for a few years. Do I have some cosmic connection to Fay? Fay and Bob have several cups of tea. Oh why are they so slow! We want to open our presents!

But wait, there are socks hanging over the fireplace with our names on each of them. Bob tells us Santa Claus was here when we were sleeping and left special presents in stockings. We are watchdogs so how could this be! We tear open the wrapped presents in the stockings. There are toys and balls in a pile when we are done. Karim receives a beautiful plaid jacket for his winter walks. Then there is that big box for each of us we tear open with our teeth. A new bed and a set of shiny bowls for kibble and water with our names on each. We are barking with excitement and Bob calms us down and we begin to play with our toys. We share them but the beds and bowls are our special property. We spent the morning playing with our toys and racing around the house careful not to knock the Christmas tree down. Dillie knocked it down when he was a silly puppy and it fell right on him. He laughs about it today but he tells us he was a very scared puppy even though he was not hurt.

Fay puts a big turkey in the oven. A turkey looks like a big chicken but it is stuffed with wonderful smelling stuffing. There are little cabbages called Brussel Sprouts and carrots. Around noon there is an aroma like Karim and I have never smelt before. Dillie tells us it is the smell of the turkey cooking. He also says we most likely will get a piece of turkey meat! Oh all of us can’t wait.

Lexis, Mick and Drew are coming for an early dinner. Lexis is the daughter of Fay and Bob and Mick is her husband.Drew is their son. Lexis and Mick have a little daughter Katie. But prior to their arrival we are all going upstairs to watch what Bob calls a Christmas Classic narrated by Burl Ives called “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”. It is beautiful story and we three dogs are overjoyed to see a deer as the hero of the story. Wow! He can fly and his nose glows red! Perhaps he is descended from some magical creature from the times of the pharaohs. And we all love Santa Claus for giving us our presents.

When you are a street dog there is no magic except perhaps how Karim and I arrived in Canada. This whole Christmas celebration is magic.

Lexis, Mick and Drew arrive and Bob has set a roaring fire. We greet our guests and snooze by the fire as the humans open their presents. In fact we get a present from Lexis and Mick and from Drew. Doggie peanut butter cupcakes. Fay says to us that we are getting a special Christmas meal so we will wait until New Year’s Eve for the peanut butter cupcakes.

The humans drink a bottle of something that goes pop when it is opened and they turn on the radio to listen to Christmas Carols that we dogs have been listening to for weeks and are growing tired of listening to.

Fay and Bob prepare dinner and Bob makes a special sauce called gravy. He takes our Christmas present bowls and puts carrots, the little cabbages, mashed potatoes, carrots, and a big piece of turkey meat soaked in gravy. We all gobble it down and Karim and I feel like great Egyptian leaders of pharaoh times eating a feast fit for the pharaoh! The food makes us very sleepy and we fall asleep in our beds. Karim, is not used to eating so well so the poor guy farts up a storm. Dillie says it is the Brussel Sprouts. We wake up as the guests leave and the cold air bathes us from the open front door. It clears that “Karim gas” out if you know what I mean.

Bob and Fay spend a couple of hours cleaning up. Bob makes what he calls “turkey broth” which he says will make something called risotto. After that we go to the bathroom outside in the backyard and go upstairs and watch a funny movie “Home Alone”. Karim laughs and Dillie is asleep on Bob’s lap. Karim and I try to get as many belly rubs as possible!

What a day! Bob takes us out for a walk in the crisp cold air in our new coats and after that humans and dogs go for a sleep. I have never been so happy and my tummy so full. All a dog wants is to loved and I am getting that in Canada. I wish a Merry Christmas to my original master Anwar in The Land Beyond and I think I hear a big laugh and Anwar saying, “I love you Reggie”.

Reggie The Egyptian Rescue Dog: The Final Cut: Reggie’s Naughty Christmas Eve: Chapter 15

Everything is settling down nicely with Bob, Fay, Dillie, Karim and me REGGIE!

It is cold outside. Poor Karim is not used to the cold but Dillie and I have such beautiful winter coats when we swagger down the street on our walks I think the entire neighbourhood is admiring the FRIENDLY PACK of Scottish and Egyptian dogs. Karim will be getting a new coat very soon! We feel with our leader Dillie The West Highland Terrier who is Bob and Fay’s 13 year old Westie we are so cool like the Rat Pack we all saw on Turner Classic Movies a few nights ago. Dillie is Sinatra, Karim Sammy Davis Junior and I am Dean Martin. We are so cool. We are on top of the world. Even Dillie has gained some energy as he keeps up with us and at 13 years old that’s great for him.

I am not sure what this Christmas is but it is very important for those who call themselves Christians. Their Allah seems to be called God and his son Jesus and it is time to celebrate his birth and everyone seems to give presents to each other on Christmas Day. That’s cool with me.

Fay and Bob have set up a wonderful smelling tree with lights and funny little shiny balls hanging on it. And there are presents wrapped in wonderfully coloured paper. Karim and I are fascinated by the shiny boxes which I understand are opened on Christmas Day. Fay and Bob’s children will come over on Christmas Day and they will have a special drink called Christmas punch and open presents with the fireplace crackling. We dogs are so excited! We are hoping to get a big piece of the big bird they eat on Christmas day called “turkey”.

Bob and Fay go out on Christmas Eve, which I think is the day before Christmas, to a neighbour’s house where they will drink something called wine and eat many special treats. We dogs love peanut butter as a treat but I am not sure what the humans eat for special occasions.

Dillie, Karim and I love to look at the Christmas tree with its lights and special shiny balls. We are all so happy and grateful that Allah or God has thrown us together. We see the shiny boxes and get a bit crazy and rip them up so the paper is all over the floor. Dillie joins us so we think it is OK. The living room is a mess like a terrorist bomber in Iraq had detonated a bomb. All of us enjoyed our fun but now are thinking we have done something wrong and hide.

Dillie the Westie advises us after our naughtiness the Canadian Christmas Tree police might have arrested us!

Bob and Fay return from their party. I hear Bob say “Holy Shit! What have these devils been up to?” Then Fay and Bob laugh and call our names softly and we come for pats on the head and belly rubs. It is the season for love and forgiving but as we go on our Christmas Eve walk Bob tells us we have been naughty but that it has been a long year for all of us and as his God forgives he will follow him and forgive us but he warns us don’t you ever do this again! Bob and Fay are so kind to us sometimes even when we are not good. I do not know why.

We all go to bed as Bob and Fay wrap up what we destroyed. But we are so very excited about Christmas Day. I tell Karim that Dillie has told me there are presents for dogs? I have never celebrated Christmas before so what presents could Karim and I receive as Cairo street dogs? We are used to hate and anger and are not being forgiven for the bad things we do so perhaps being forgiven and loved is the biggest present of Christmas.

Fay and Bob put out cookies and milk for a man called Santa Claus that will come down the chimney and give us presents. Dillie says that in all circumstances don’t bark or growl at Santa Claus or there will be no presents for us. After our Christmas Eve walk Bob says that we have been so naughty and if we dare eat the cookies for Santa we are in big trouble. We poor Cairo street dogs are so happy about this Christmas we will not eat the cookies although early in the morning Dillie tells us we can eat the cookies very quietly and return to bed and we do enjoying the sweetness of these shortbread cookies. We are all so excited about tomorrow where Dillie says we will all receive toys. I drift off to sleep too tired to say my prayers but Anwar, my original owner, comes to me and says how much he loves me and how proud he is of me even if I have torn up the shiny boxes under the Christmas tree.

I feel in my heart that Allah or Bob and Fay’s God have a special and tender heart for all dogs. If it is Allah or a Christian god they seem to be the same to me. Love, forgiveness and compassion!

I will remember this night and lessons that it has taught me forever. Just you wait and see. The Ayatollah was moved when I told him about this night. In fact I saw tears rolling down his face. More to come.