Mr. Charlie and Miss Charlene

Mr. Charlie is a favorite character of mine; he’s a Golden Retriever who lives in my Magic Nation Tales series. Mr. Charlie, whose owner is Joey, speaks four words (more to come in future books): yes, no, maybe and Joe. He uses computers, judges pet shows, frequently gets into trouble, and loves cats. He's in love with an Irish Setter named Scarlet Tanager. Mrs. Wright, the “glue” who holds my stories together, reads his mind.

Mr. Charlie’s intelligence and antics may seem fantastic, but he is based on a real Golden I know. The real Golden is a female who loves to pose for photographs. Now you know how those beautiful “sketches” of Mr. Charlie came to be. (Thanks to computer programs that turn photographs into artistic pieces!) To assure her privacy, I’ll call her “Miss Charlene.”

Miss Charlene seems to have more qualities of a Border Collie than a Golden Retriever. Yes, she retrieves––everything from sticks to Frisbees to soccer balls. But she also herds and protects. When the younger children in the neighborhood slide down their playset slides, she waits for them at the bottom, ready to shield them from harm. Like a good nanny, she keeps them in the yard and sits vigilantly while they climb and swing.

But yesterday, Miss Charlene performed an antic beyond belief. Beyond the skills of the fictional Mr. Charlie.

She climbed a ladder.

She wanted a soccer ball which sat in the treehouse of the playset. There are three ways to get to the treehouse: the slide itself, a climbing wall, and a five step, straight up and down ladder. She tried the slide. Just imagine a huge Golden Retriever trying to go up a slippery slide. Within a few minutes, she recognized her limitations and moved on to the climbing wall. Two paws went on, but that third one just wouldn’t make it. So, on to the ladder.

She placed two paws on rung number two, practically wrapped her “ankles” around the rungs, and moved the back legs up a step. Then two steps, then three, then four, then on to the playhouse deck and the soccer ball.

How to get back down?

The slide, of course!

Sometimes I wonder if the ideas from my stories come from reality or if they make reality come about.