My friend Bruce called last night after he'd sent me a link about a landmark pet store, Ed's Pet World, that's closing after half a century or more in business. It's a shame and it's the end of an era. I probably went there at least 350 times. Ed's a character to say the least. So was our friend Johnny Odess.
Bruce reminded me of a story I'd forgotten but was thrilled to hear again. I've been needing a good laugh.
He started telling me about one day when we all paid a visit to Ed's. As with any visit to a pet shop we were as stoned as possible. Ed didn't care. He probably was too. Ed was older and had been a real hippy. He was the last of his kind.
I still remember the dank funkiness of the place...the aroma of fish water, sawdust and cedar shavings, animal dookie and the humidity.
Bruce started telling me the story but he barely got past the part where we walked in before he started laughing. There was a room off to the side that served as a mini zoo, with snakes and all manner of exotic reptiles.
Bruce was trying to tell me the story but he couldn't talk from laughing. I heard him laugh but then he got quiet except for some squeaks and sounds as if he couldn't catch his breath.
He has MS and I thought for a minute that he was having some sort of attack or something. "Talk to me man" I said, but he couldn't reply. Finally I realized that he was literally helpless with laughter, so I started laughing too. We were both cracking up before he even told the story. It was great.
We'd gone into the zoo section. There was a sweet older black women who was basically in there against her will. She had a fear of snakes but her daughter had dragged her in.
Johnny was wide open, and if he saw an opportunity to make merriment or cause a laugh he wouldn't hesitate. Johnny was a total hoot. We never knew what he was going to do, and that day he outdid himself.
After several minutes of coaxing and cajoling, the daughter finally convinced her mom, bless her heart, to get closer to an aquarium which held a large green tree snake.
Mom gingerly poked her head down toward the snake, which didn't move. "See?" her daughter said. "He won't hurt you." She hadn't figured on Johnny O.
Johnny got a look on his face...his trademark grin that let us know he was up to something. We braced for impact. As she inched closer to the snake, Johnny casually reached over and lightly brushed her hair with a fingertip.
She let out a scream that could wake the dead. She took off and ran straight out the front door. Johnny had a satisfied smile on his face and we were howling with laughter. That was classic. I'm glad she didn't have a coronary event.
Johnny went out and apologized to the poor woman. She laughed and playfully punched him in the chest. "Oh, YOU!" she said. Her daughter was still cracking up and she gave Johnny a high-five.
I doubt it did much to cure the woman's fear of snakes, but it made our day, and it made my night to hear the story again. For an older lady she could really move. Again, bless her heart. Johnny's too.
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