You CAN Teach an Old Dog A New Trick

I got a call the other day from my friend, Kevin, in Florida. He used to live here in Searsport, but moved a couple of years ago to a warmer climate. We chatted about old times; he mentioned receiving my Christmas card, and stuff like that.

Well, during the course of our conversation, Kevin told me about a good deed he happened to perform. Where he lives in Florida they have a “Goodwill-type” thrift store called St. Luke’s. Kevin likes to drop in every now and then just to browse, and for some reason, on this particular day, he wandered over to the duffel bag section. Kevin is NOT the athletic type, but decided to check out the duffel bags, anyway.

I’ve done that. I browse for something I don’t really need, but decide to look it over because “it’s calling my name”. What I usually pick out never gets used for the intention I had in mind, and 6 months later it’s in the annual yard sale.

Anyway, Kevin saw a lot of ratty looking bags, but a nice leather one caught his eye, and he took it home. How can you lose when it only costs you a couple of bucks.

When he got it home he cleaned it out, and a VERY nice ring dropped out. At first, Kevin thought it was a class ring from high school or college, but it turned out to be a National Championship ring for a member of an ASL Championship Softball Team.

Well, it’s not a Super Bowl or World Series ring, but he figured whoever used to own it, lost it, and would probably like it back. Now, here’s where Kevin’s “Good Samaritan” story gets interesting.

Kevin is TOTALLY averse to computers and high-tech gadgets. That’s OK… there are lots of people like that.

Lord knows, we’ve tried to bring Kevin into the 21^st century, but all efforts failed. Our mutual friend, Charliy, once set up a Yahoo email account for him, so he could go to the library, and keep in touch with his out-of-state children and grandchildren. It’s NEVER been used.

Well, it seems one of Kevin’s grown children gave him an I-Phone, and he actually USES it to make phone calls. He even learned how to do “Google” searches on it. Kevin figured now was a good time to learn how to use “Google”, and he set out to find the original owner of the championship ring. He was successful.

Sadly, it turns out the owner had passed away within the past few months, but he located his surviving daughter. She was THRILLED to get the ring back. They thought it was stolen by a cleaning lady at the motel they stayed in during the National Championship tournament. She said it is the perfect keepsake for her to have of her dad.

So, you see… you CAN teach an old dog (Kevin) a new trick (Google)…. But the story doesn’t end here.

Back when Kevin lived in Searsport, wherever he went he always had his dog, Finn, with him. Finn was an adorable and VERY loveable dog. My friend, Charliy, used to say that Finn was really the “brains” of the outfit. If it wasn’t for Finn, Kevin would be getting into all sorts of trouble.

Whenever you saw Kevin driving through town, you saw Finn, sitting next to him in the passenger seat… erect, just like a human, staring out the windshield. Charliy used to say it was really Finn driving the car. It was a British car, and Finn drove, and Kevin was the passenger.

Since Coastal Coffee Shop is closed for the winter, we tend to gather, sporadically, at the Dunkin Donut shop on the outskirts of town. When I told this “Good Samaritan” story at Dunkin’s, Charliy just shook his head in disbelief. He thought Kevin could really have an I-Phone... and he really could have learned to use it for phone calls… but “googling” on it… “Naw,” Charliy said, “I bet it was Finn.”