Daily News

Pat climbed up on his bike and lifted the heavy bag of newspapers over his shoulder. It was another day. He was in his usual spot at 5:00 A.M., delivering newspapers. Pat had been doing the job for two years and recounted his crazy memories of early hours and dogs.

Pat opted to start on the second street to avoid the bulldog on First Street. As Pat pulled up alongside the first house, he threw the paper. It landed directly on the doorstep. Just then, directly in front of him in the street was Max, the bulldog.

“What?” called Pat, screeching to a halt. “What is he doing here?”

Max began growling, and Pat began thinking of his options. He could just start screaming, but no one would hear him. Pat hopped on the bike again and pedaled as fast as he could. As soon as he passed Max, the dog began chasing him. Pat swerved into an alley and turned to see if Max was following.

Before he knew what happened, Pat was sailing through the air. He landed with a slump. He awoke to Max growling at him. He got up, grabbed his crumpled bike, and headed for home.

That morning Mom asked, “How was your route? Did you run into any dogs?”
“No, Mom. I got in a fight with a garbage can.”
“What?” questioned Mom.
“Let’s just leave it at that. It sounds better that way,” said Pat chuckling.