“Reggie The Egyptian Rescue Dog” : The Final Cut: A Grisly Blast: Reggie is Kidnapped! John Travolta Asks Me for a Favour! Chapter Forty (40)

Tuckered out from our Stockholm flight our private jet touches down at Toronto’s Pearson Airport. Our pilot comes to say good-bye to us as we take the stairs off the airplane. You wouldn’t believe this but it was John Travolta. He has inside contacts at Disney and is lobbying to be my voice in any Reggie sequel and asked me to keep him in mind for casting calls! We clear customs and Mr. Antonio is waiting for us in his Mercedes van. Sweet home and a bowl of clean and cold Canadian water with a simple chicken kibble and of course the occasional treats we find in our bowls. Dillie and I love watermelon particularly sweet yellow Ontario watermelon. Of course, we love cheese and the morning is not simply a morning without a piece of toast or a bit of bagel…. sesame of course. I can’t stand those Toronto Bagels where bread is made in circles and called bagels. I think of food too much but I am a dog after all!

Do you remember that sense of dread I had in Stockholm? It sits in my stomach as we enter our van to take us home. Penny has her mistress waiting for her and they head home to Beamsville. Kit Kat has been picked up by the Portuguese Consul General to Toronto. Dunny Funkheiser, Ollie’s master is there to pick up Ollie. Ollie is very upset with something. He tells me he smells danger.

We drive on the 401 Highway with Dunny and Ollie behind us and take the Bayview exit to our Bridle Path home. Why is that black Zil with tinted windows following us? As we pass by the Edwards Botanical Gardens and are a few minutes away from our home the Zil cuts us off and three heavily armed men approach the limo and shoot Mr. Antinio in the head before can grab his Dirty Harry Special Edition 357 Magnum. There is blood all over the seats. Dillie the Westie and I are not frightened. We have no guns but we have Scottish and Egyptian bravery in our blood. It is do or die time! Pay the price of our strength and bravery you low life’s. We’ll rip you to shreds!

The Russian 1985 Zil used in Reggie’s kidnapping; Photo Courtesy of the Bulgarian Extortionists Daily

The door of our van opens and Dillie and I take our victims. I jump out and lunge at the neck of one of the attackers. He collapses in a pool of blood. Dillie can’t jump like me so he attacks biting the ankle (his speciality) of another thug who falls screaming in pain but gets up and smashes Dillie the Westie in the head with the butt of his Browning pistol. Ollie jumps in the fray and is clubbed on his flank and is rolling on the ground howling in pain. Bob is in a rage and emitting a horrific scream runs toward the evil man who clubbed Dillie. Bob is shot in the shoulder and spins to the ground. Fay has fainted. One thug throws a Potato Masher and all I see is orange and the smell of burning human flesh. I look over briefly before passing out and see Dunny unconscious on the road his arm hanging by a yellow piece of gristle. Oh Allah, God or Jesus please help. PLEASE HELP REGGIE, DILLLIE, Ollie and Dunny! HELP BOB AND FAY. A wet rag with some horrible smelling chemical is put over my snout and I remember no more.

Dillie is in the best animal hospital in Toronto with a cracked skull and an inflamed brain. He has a 50% chance of living. Bob is in hospital having lost a lot of blood but he will survive. Fay is in a state of shock and does not know where she is. She is heavily sedated and for the time being in a calmer world.

This is an international incident and it is no surprise the “The Brothers of the Correct and Only Islam”claim responsibility demanding a $50,000,000 ransom be paid for my release. There is no religious overtones to the demands as these Bulgarian mobsters simply want money. But do they know who they are dealing with!

These cowards. If I could only escape from the cage they imprisoned me in I would show them NEVER MESS WITH A CAIRO STREET DOG!

Our friend in Washington Joe, oops, President Biden, phoned Bob in the hospital and he is so very angry that three brave dogs have been put in peril and Mr. Antonio murdered. His Federal Bureau of Investigation know much about these Bulgarian extortionists and criminals who launder money for radical fundamentalists in Pakistan. President Biden will send a top FBI operative with a very thick file to help the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in their “recovery operation”. The Pope in the Vatican has said a special mass for Dillie the Westie and me. Our friends Drake and Mr. Gordon Lightfoot have offered whatever help they can give. Bosco and Mr. Gordon Lightfoot are at a bedside vigil for dearest Dylan. Drake is so upset upon hearing of the carnage he cancels a show in Rochester and flies back to Toronto.

Is this all my fault? Would it have been better if that Rottenwhiler had killed me in Cairo? Pardon me for my foul language but these Bulgarian criminals are going to get their ass kicked in.

Travels to a Different Time: Travels of My Mother: 28June1971: Rhodos, Greece: The Town is Lousy with U.S. Sailors

Dear Andrew:

We are sitting in an outdoor café waiting for some service for breakfast. It is 9:30 now and they do not open for dinner until 10. They serve orange juice in a can here. And always buns in the morning. They sure eat lots of bread here. Loads of it at every meal.

Yesterday we visited the U.S.S. Roosevelt and went down to the kitchen. They were baking hundreds of Chelsea Buns. We had them right from the oven with the first milk we have had in weeks. The town is lousy with American sailors. I think every Greek girl here in Rhodes found a boyfriend this week, They leave on July 5th which is day we are planning to return from Symi for which we leave tomorrow. If it is nice and there are things to do we will probably stay for a week. They fish for sponges at Symi. I haven’t a clue how they get them. We are travelling deck class on the ship there. That is the way kids go and they sleep on the deck in their sleeping bags. I don’t even know if they are allowed in the snack bar. The trip is only two hours so who cares.

Love Mum

RKS 2024 Wine: A Shiraz from Australia’s Langhorne Creek: I am Not Waltzing With This Matilda

Thoughts on a Bleasdale 2019 Generations Shiraz.

Aroma: Oak has worked itself nicely into the wine softening and plumping it up, hopefully not for the slaughter. Ripe plum, blackberry, cherry, spice and white pepper.

Palate: No jammy Aussie bunko wine. In fact scratching my head with such an alluring aroma where did the fruit go. Brusque, rough and tough leaving the question who did it sell its soul to? There are tannins. There are acids sending off a warning sign something is off beat here.

Personality: A good looker and a charmer until you get to know me.

Food Match: Friday night wine is my secret code to you. Easily decipherable.

Price: $25 CDN (Ontario).

Cellarbility: Brave enough to buy then drink it ASAP.

RKS 2024 Wine Rating: 70/100. Ken Gargett winepilot.com 94

(Bleasdale 2019 Generations Shiraz, Langhorne Creek South Australia, Bleasdale Vineyards Pty Ltd. Langhorne Creek, South Australia, 750 mL, 14%).

“Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog”: : Reggie and Bob Receive Nobel Prize for Literature! Dillie Makes Scotland Proud! Why all These Calls From Nicole Kidman? Our Invite to Camp David: Chapter Thirty Nine (39)

Bob is on fire with his novel “Reggie The Egyptian Rescue Dog”. It is on the number one position for novels on the New York Times Best Seller list for 32 weeks in a row. Additionally he has signed a huge deal with Big House Publishers to convert his internet published novels “Life at Megacorp”, “Virus # 26” and “Mutantism on the March” into hardcopy novels. He has been offered options by Big House Publishers for an additional three novels. And the Hollywood studios are approaching him about converting his novels into films. Quite frankly it is getting out of control and my sense is Bob wants a simpler life of walking about the neighbourhood with Dillie and I and writing yet another novel but his fame is catching up with his previously unpublished fiction and he is heading to the stratosphere in riches and fame. And why is Nicole Kidman phoning Bob on a regular basis?

In this rush of fame and fortune Bob has been notified he has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for “Reggie The Egyptian Rescue Dog” for narrowing the divide between Christians and Muslims primarily due to me a Muslim dog living happily in a Christian world where love and security unite the world. And me, Reggie, has been specifically invited to the awards ceremony to be awarded same prize. A human and a dog co-winner of a Nobel Prize!

Imagine all this fame and impetus towards world peace sparked by me trying to eat a few morsels of food from a Rottenwhiler‘s bowl. Fate plays a strange role in our life doesn’t it? Thank goodness our nice walled home in the Bridle Path has big gates and a security team protecting us as there are cameras. There are journalists from all over the world wanting to speak to Bob and take a picture of me. Not even Drake’s mansion has been mobbed like this.

Bob repurposes his tuxedo and I get an extra special grooming and off we all go in our newly purchased Embraer private jet to Stockholm for the awards ceremony. There are more dogs than humans on the plane. Dillie the Westie is mellow and so supportive. He gives me the confidence to get through the awards ceremony by saying I am and will always be a dog and loved in mute fashion by so many dogs all over the world. Dillie is so wise and calm he relaxes me with his worldly insight.

Ollie sniffs thoroughly both inside and outside the airplane for explosives. Good to go! The Mookster has combed his intelligence experts for potential threats. None! Kit Kat is reviewing diagrams the grounds and interior of the palace where the award will be given. Penny is in the hotel lobby discretely hiding behind a potted plant watching comings and goings.

We enjoy the long flight to Stockholm and the music of Gordon Lightfoot calms all of us. We arrive at 9 a.m. the day before the award ceremony. Bob and Fay take all us dogs for a long walk in this beautiful city of Stockholm before throngs of people that laugh and clap as we proudly swagger down the streets,  Before we fall into an exhausted sleep back at the hotel Bob puts on the “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” by Mr. Gordon Lightfoot to calm us down before we sleep. I love that song but in my bones I feel a sense of dread for no apparent reason!

We wake up refreshed after such a long trip. After breakfast Dillie the Westie and the security team go out for a long walk in Stockholm with many strange sights and smells and a few local dogs come to greet us strange Canadians.

When we return to the hotel after our walk the press is waiting for us. I am big news globally as the only dog to ever receive a Nobel Prize. As I look out in the crowd I long to see Anwar my former owner but I know he is The Land Beyond with Karim but I look nonetheless. I feel that they are with me to share my special moment. It is OUR MOMENT. We go to a fancy Nobel laureate lunch and a rehearsal. In the evening the King of Sweden will give out the awards. Dillie the Westie and I receive a bath and a fluff out in the afternoon after the lunch. We got a little muddy on our morning walk. Our security team is hard at work at the awards venue.

A big limousine arrives and whisks us the royal palace for the ceremony. I see Fay in the room holding Dillie. There is silence as the King walks into the room. Bob picks me up and we walk up to the King and Bob bows and I give a bark of respect and the entire room breaks up with laughter. The King ruffles my head and says,” Reggie you have taught the world a lesson in respect.” I have a shiny medal on my collar now and it is much bigger than my rabies vaccination tag!

We attend a press conference where Bob makes a statement, “The book ‘Reggie The Egyptian Rescue Dog’ was written by me with the help and inspiration of Reggie. After finishing each chapter I read it to him. If he agreed he would bark and if he disagreed he would growl. Each chapter you have read received a final bark of Reggie approval. I hope the book reaches many children and in a gentle and non didactic way creates a sense of respect for different cultures and religions.”

We have a grand banquet with the prize winners. Dillie the Westie and I have ground venison and rice. We meet many important and fascinating people. A winner from Scotland comes up to Dillie the Westie and says that Dillie is a wee Scot and has made Scotland proud! I am glad to see there are many people that want to see my best friend and mentor Dillie the Westie as he is also an important character in the book. That sweet dog has not an ounce of jealously in his old and wise body.

On our last day in Stockholm all of us are invited to a private lunch with the King and his grandchildren who want to meet and pet me and Dillie the Westie. Before we go to the airport Joe, I mean President Biden, calls us to congratulate Bob and I on our prize. President Biden tells Bob a secret and invites us all up to a place called Camp David in the summer. What is President Biden’s secret? Are we going camping with the President?

After our takeoff Bob tells us President Biden’s secret which is United States and Iran have reached a “nuclear deal” but I am not sure what that means. “Reggie The Egyptian Rescue Dog” said President Biden, has softened the heart of the Iranians.

RKS 2024 Wine: Château Castagnac from Fronsac

Fronsac, think Bordeaux. Think red wine. Think Merlot. Think of possible luxury at a discount price.

We try a Château Castagnac from a good year in Bordeaux, 2020. It is Merlot and aged one year in French oak.

The grapes were grown in a three-hectare herbicide free vineyard in clay-limestone soil near the town of Saint-Aignan. 25,000 bottles were produced.

Aroma: Soft and mellow if not lush. Full of plum with a thick fruity streak of cassis and blackberry. Classy.

Palate: Full bodied and stern. In its youth and certainly needs time to flesh out. There are ill mannered tannins out in the wine world and this is not one of them. One senses the fruit starting to emerge from the iron dome of tannins. Prediction here of a fruitier and softer wine over the next 6 years. Ready to open now but if you can wait until October 2024 do so. The longer you wait the softer and more fruit laden the wine will be. I noted after the wine had been opened for 24 hours there was a tiny seam of acidity which has me a bit concerned. I have noted when natural yeast is involved there is a higher risk of notable acidity.

Personality: I punch way above my price. Keep me aside for a few years and listen to your adoring guests praise you savvy.

Cellarbility: Drink by the end of 2029.

Food Match: Roast veal in a pesto crust.

Price: $24 CDN (Ontario).

RKS 2024 Wine Rating: 92/100. Jamessuckling.com 90.

(Château Castagnac 2020 AC Fronsac, Vignobles Coudert, Villegouge, France, 750 mL, 13.5%).

“Reggie The Egyptian Rescue Dog” : The Final Cut: Reggie Has Tea with Gordon Lightfoot and a Surprise for Bosco: Chapter Thirty Eight (38)

Bob, Fay, Dillie, Bosco and I were invited to tea at Mr. Gordon Lightfoot’s home. Mr. Gordon Lightfoot is a neighbour to Drake, Bob and Fay. Bob had purchased some Greek pastries at Serrano Bakery on Pape Avenue in Toronto to bring over to Mr. Gordon Lightfoot’s. Bob had also downloaded some of his music and it really is from a different era but I enjoy listening to it especially the song about the sinking of some ship the Emma Fitzgerald? I can’t excise that song out of my mind and keep humming it to myself.

Mr. Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian singer and guitar player, is a geezer but has a sparkle in his eyes and has taken a fancy to Bosco who is not so stinky as all of us dogs had a grooming and bath before teatime. Bosco jumped up on Mr. Gordon Lightfoot’s lap!

The humans had jasmine and oolong tea and Bob was so happy to have his favourite teas in a relaxing living room full of guitars. There were cucumber sandwiches and all matter of dainties for the humans. After our promotional film tour it was a joy to just relax and do nothing. We canines had oatmeal and chicken cookies. They were YUMMY! Unfortunately they gave Bosco gas. Just about all food gives that guy gas! Bosco has a stinky aura.

Mr. Gordon Lightfoot asked if we would like to hear a song and Fay said “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” which is the tune stuck in my head! Oh he played it on his guitar so beautifully I felt sad that so many men had died on that ship. I gave a couple of barks of appreciation after his performance. Mr. Gordon Lightfoot says he had received applause many times but clapping and not dog barks. He said thank you to me and said he would sing “If You Could Read My Mind”. That was a wonderful song too and I gave him another few barks.

Mr. Gordon Lightfoot was so happy I liked his songs he invited all of us to his upcoming concert at Massey Hall in Toronto. We would have back-stage passes, meet musicians and go to a big party afterwards.

Then Mr. Gordon Lightfoot dropped a bomb on us. He said with a sly smile on his face he was becoming more of a lonely old man and needed some company like perhaps a dog. I am a bit surprised when Fay asked Mr. Gordon Lightfoot if he would like Bosco as his own. Mr. Lightfoot looked shocked and accepted Fay’s offer.

You know Bosco was never really a member of our family. He retained his arrogance but not his bad manners. He also was a stinky dog and between you and me had a persistent farting problem. So that night we said good-bye to Bosco knowing he would do a great service to Mr. Gordon Lightfoot. They seemed to get along so well and we noted he seemed very happy and frisky when around Mr. Gordon Lightfoot. No longer was he a third fiddle but king of his castle plus he could visit us as we were next door and often out being taken for walks at the same time.  True to the Bosco character he never turned to us to say good-bye. It so happened that in the early 90’s Mr. Gordon Lightfoot was in a coma and lost his sense of smell so he won’t have to worry about that stinky Bosco.

Bob and Fay discussed the comment Mr. Gordon Lightfoot had said about being lonely so he became a regular guest over at our house and we’d often go for tea at his house. Mr. Lightfoot had a huge hit after “adopting” Bosco called “Dogs in Our Lives” and the lyrics included positive remarks about Bosco! There are rumours that Bob hears about a sequel to Disney’s “Reggie The Egyptian Rescue Dog” and Mr. Gordon Lightfoot’s new song would be a must.

RKS Literature: No Work For the Undocumented Latino in Los Angeles

“Later Cándido stood on streetcorner with two hundred other men while she shrank by his side. The talk was grim. There was a recession. There was no work. Too many had come up from the South, and if there was work for them all six years ago, now there were twenty men for every job and the bosses knew it and cut their wage by half. Men were starving. Their wives and children were starving. They’d do anything for work, any kind of work, and they’d take what the boss was paying and get down on their knees and thank him for it.”

“The Tortilla Curtain”, T.C. Boyle, Penguin 1996

RKS Literature: Understanding Caravans and the Sense of Entitlement

“The right to work, to have job, earn your daily bread and a roof over your head and a roof over your head. He was a criminal for daring to want it, daring to risk everything for the basic human necessities, and now even those were to be denied him. It stank. It did. These people, these norteamericanos: what gave them the right to all the riches of the world? He looked around at the bustle in the lot of the Italian market, white faces, high heels, business suits, the greedy eyes and the ravenous mouths. They lived in their glass palaces. With their gates, fences and security systems, they left half eaten lobsters and beefsteaks on their plates when the world was starving, spent enough to feed and clothe a whole country on their exercise equipment, their swimming pools and tennis courts and jogging shoes, and all of them, even the poorest had two cars. Where was the justice in that?”

“The Tortilla Curtain”, T.C. Boyle, Penguin Books 1996

Travels to a Different Time: Travels of My Mother: 17July1971: Othos, Karpathos, Greece: The Most Beautiful Greek Island Yet!

Dear Mother:

We have been on Karpathos for 9 days and in three more we sail for Crete. This island is the most beautiful Greek island yet. We met a Greek girl in town who invited us to a real Greek party. We went there and met a charming Greek couple my age. They asked us to visit them. They are very kind people and very thoughtful. The wife is so clean and a fabulous cook and would put any Canadian housewife to shame. We stayed with them for two days.

We leave for Crete tomorrow at 4 a.m. and the trip takes 6 hours. We will be beat when we arrive. You can go crazy with fruit in this country So much variety and so cheap. There are melons of every colour and shape. The Honeydews are so sweet and must be because they ripen in the sun.

I am still resisting smoking and it takes will power. I will have to take up smoking when I return to help dieting. There is too much good food here and fattening!

I am brown as I can’t escape the sun. The heat is dry and I have NO back trouble here at all. So glad to have a few months without pain. The houses here are $15 a month to rent. The are lovely, cool and clean. Food is cheap and swimming the best.

Wel this is all for now. We are going for a walk.

Love M