After I graduated High School,I moved to Atlanta with a business that I had been working for in my home town.A couple friends ,that had never been out of state,kinda tagged along with me.They both found jobs easily in our new surroundings,because they were willing to work very hard.The three of us stayed at the same place,but I was the only one temporarily with my own hours were pretty lax,I worked noon until 8:00,and was free to run any errands that I needed to,so I had plenty of time to take my friends to their jobs and pick them up.

Ok so you're wondering why this is called The little Frisbee Dog,I'm getting to that.The one friend worked for a free lance contractor of sorts,bottom line they made stuff.Large corporations would contract to have small orders of things made to their specifications.All sorts of things.He had a small manufacturing shop behind his family's was a nice setup,everything laid out for what they were building at the time.Tables and jigs setup for each different project,so the projects could be easily duplicated ,as more orders came in for them.The owner of the business,my friend's boss,was in his early thirties,a really nice guy,smart and quick with the wit or sarcasm,sometimes it was hard to tell the difference..He always came up with a little two-word phrase that made you laugh,or made you at a loss for wasn't really what he said that mattered,but how he said it.He had a way about him that commanded respect,even when he was being funny.

The area adjacent to and behind the shop,was a nice grassy fenced in yard,about 80 x 40 ft..It was clear of any obstructions,all the way back to a small creek,that was just on the other side of the fence.The yard had signs of wear in spots,that suggested a small dog had been using it,but I had never been there long enough to see a dog.I just figured,that they had a family dog,that would play in the yard from time to time.

One afternoon,when I came to pick up my friend from work,he tells me that it will be a while.They had a sudden rush order,that needed to be finished,and they were running a little behind.OK,no problem,I figured I wasn't in a rush to get back to my job anyhow? I asked "Can I help?" and got a shot off the hip response from my friend's boss "I don't know CAN you?" I thought to myself,was he being funny,or sarcastic?He then said that I could help by loading some of finished items in the truck,so they could be delivered.I wrapped each piece with a protective covering,and loaded them on the truck.This left me with nothing to but wait,I didn't want to distract them while they were finishing the final pieces,so I just kinda wandered around the fenced in yard,looking at the small creek,and across the wooded area beyond the creek,I could see an apartment complex on the other side of the wooded area,but nothing of real interest.

It was a little while later that a car pulled in to the carport next to the house.A woman around 30 got out,and so did a little kid about five,they both went in the was just a moment or two later,when the downstairs back door of the house opened,and out came the little kid and a small dog with a Frisbee in it's mouth.I was right,they did have a small dog.The kid and the dog came over to enter the fenced in yard area,that I had left the gate open.,they both entered,and the kid closed the gate and looked at me sideways and said. "Born in a barn?". .......Wait?......What?..... ..did this little kid just scold me for leaving the gate open?

I watched the kid and the dog play with the Frisbee,it was quite comical.The dog would take the Frisbee and run away from the kid,when the dog got tired,it set the Frisbee down on the ground,and let the kid pick it up,to try throwing again.The kid would throw the Frisbee,and the dog would immediately catch it,before it had gone more than a few inches.I laughed out loud a couple times,the kid just glared at me sideways,with a little smirk,that seemed to say "I'll get you,you just wait!" The next inadvertent throw,landed the Frisbee at my feet,the little dog came over and stared up at me with its tongue hanging out,I could tell that the little dog wanted me to throw it.Before I could pick up the Frisbee,the kid shouts over to me,"Throw it!" I figured OK,I better not throw too hard ,or it will end up on the other side of the fence.I threw what I thought to be a nicely controlled Frisbee toss,but it just kept getting higher and higher.I figured I was going to have to climb over the fence to retrieve the Frisbee,when to my surprise,the little dog jumped about six feet in the air and grabbed it in its teeth.

The little dog brought the frisbee over to where I was standing and set it down on the ground,waiting for another throw. It was quite a shock to see that little dog jump so high,I excitedly yelled,"Your dog caught the Frisbee!" The kid came over picked up the Frisbee and said two words,rolled her eyes,smirked and walked away.The kid had gotten me,I don't even remember what the two words were,the words didn't matter,it was how she said them. I was dumbfounded,I had no response.I thought to myself. "Ooooh,I HATE THIS LITTLE KID!" how could this happen,how did this little kid come up with those two little words that made me feel like I was an idiot on display,like it was the first day of school,and this little kid was the teacher.I could feel my face turning red,I wasn't sure what to do.

A few moments later the dog brought the Frisbee over to me,and set it down on the ground for me to throw it.This time was a much tamer throw,no chance of it going over the fence.The little dog caught it,and the kid said "Your dog caught the frisbee" in a mocking voice,then giggled out loud. I thought to myself "I REALLY hate this kid!" Soon after this,my friend and his boss,finished the order that they were working on,and loaded the rest of the items on the friends boss got in the truck,and pulled up the steep driveway,onto the street,he was off to deliver the finished order to the friend and I talked for a few minutes in the fenced in yard,throwing the Frisbee to the little dog a few more times,as I tried to act like I was ignoring the little kid.We decided to leave,and walked over to my car that was parked in front of the shop.From the yard I heard a faint pleading voice "Are you leaving?" asked the kid. I don't think my friend even heard the kid,but I said "yep,see ya". As we started to pull away from the shop to go up the steep driveway,the little kid waved,and with a friendly smile said "see ya!". I thought to myself "OK maybe I don't hate this kid quite so much"

I originally wrote this in 1986,right after it happened.I have now added the following paragraph,as a follow up.

Fast forward to the present day,we have all gone our separate ways in life.Myself,my friend,my friend's boss,Tootser the little Frisbee dog,and the little kid.Many years have passed,we are all in different states now,the kid grew up,went to college,met her prince charming,got married and has a beautiful family with two adorable kids of her own. I wonder if they have their own little Frisbee dog..............................."I sure do miss that kid"