Chester by Foley Monster

 

 For years, Fletcher ran the newspaper in our village. When his parents arrived, they decided to move to Happily Ever After with Flethcer in tow. The newspaper office stayed vacant for years, and I was heartened to see the lights shining brightly and the paper ready to be printed. The Daily Bone was back in business.

Two days earlier, I welcomed my Blogville friend Chester to Rainbow Bridge. He had lived a long and well-lived life, filing reports from his yard. A natural reporter, I knew Chester would take to publishing the Bone with no problem.

Chester was rejuvenated when he passed over the Bridge. He had squeezed every bit of life out of his old tired body. Recognizing this, his parents stopped giving him the medicine he hated and let nature take its course. Chester grew tired and confused, but he kept his heartbeats in reserve until his angels told him he could continue reporting at the Bridge. His parents said he could go, and Chester crossed the Bridge the way he lived on his terms.

I tentatively entered the Bone. Chester was holding a paw in his pen. I asked him what he was working on, and he said it was his first editorial that grackles should not be allowed at the Bridge. It would be a popular view. No one like a grackle, and they are seldom seen here.

While dogs were Chester’s primary concern, he also is interested in the little creatures: bees, and insects that he used to report about in his yard. Several of them were working in the newsroom. “They see everything,” Chester told me. “And always give us the straight poop.”

On Sunday morning, the first Sunday issue of the Heavenly Bone rolled off the presses. I was among a dozen dogs hungry for news. His effort was splendid, although not everyone felt that way. Some of them put the paper on the floor and peed on it, claiming it was their training, not their opinion of the effort. Chester understands you can’t please everyone.

All angels need distractions to keep from thinking of how much they miss their parents. Chester’s is brilliant because we all benefit when the Heavenly Bone hits the newsstands, not just the ones who line bird cages with it.

The Heavenly Bone is in good paws and will stay publishing until his parents and all who they love join us, and Chester leads them all to the land of Happily Ever After.

Until then, I will look forward to the Daily Heavenly Bone, knowing it will always be the straight poop.