He took what he thought was a slight swipe at his

Chocolate Lab’s butt when the lab got too rambunc-

tious with the new, little, Golden girl from down the

street who just stopped by to meet the big boy. He

felt a pop above his elbow as his hand glanced off

the dog’s hind quarters. Cause and effect, karma,

divine retribution, the Wrath of God, stupidity, all of

the above? It didn’t take long for the Southpaw’s

swelling to increase and the range of motion to

decrease seemingly exponentially and opposition-

ally. The torn tendon tore through his arm with searing

pain and he never knew he would enjoy ice on an el-

bow at least as much as ice in a glass with three fingers

of bourbon, but if he wanted to get the self-prescribed

anesthetic to his mouth fast, the right hand had to be

the helping hand and that made it the “right,” if only,

hand available.