The New Era - All about Sweet Home since 1929

Here they come, I could see them walking over from Safeway.

My memory fails me to remember their names likely because of the nicknames I’d attached to them. I only used those names privately, mostly between my wife Sandy and myself. But they fit the roles perfectly.

I think I probably reversed the names from the cartoon classics. I called the short one Mutt and the tall one Jeff.

Mutt was shorter than I, maybe 5 feet 4 inches. He was stocky, and he had the face of a prizefighter, or perhaps a barroom brawler. His nose was squashed flat, and the deep wrinkles told of a rough life.

Jeff,...