Hunch
“Astrid Jason was her given name,” Bernie said. “But I’m having a – let’s call it a hunch – that she changed it to Ethel somewhere along the way.”
“Why would anyone do that?” said Albie Rose. By that time we had Albie and Foster sitting side by side on the pool deck, me and Bernie standing over them. “Ethel, for God’s sake.”
“No accounting for taste,” said Bernie. I mulled that over, came pretty close to getting it. “Or Ethel might have been the name on some fake ID she picked up in a hurry. But that’s not the point. Let’s start with one sure fact – Astrid Jason came from Tennessee.”
Foster gave Albie a quick glance. I was always on the lookout for that. We were starting to roll – I could feel it. Was this a great job or what?
Ingrid news: No 4th Echo Falls book planned at the moment, but something else is cooking in the middle-grade oven, a bit different.
And: Happy Birthday, Ben! And many many more.
Tags: Albie Rose, Astrid, Foster
This entry was posted on Sunday, April 25th, 2010 at 10:25 am and is filed under Chet The Dog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
5:45 am on April 25th, 2010
Rio – I loved your prayer for Wolfie's boys. Mom got a little teary because our family already went through that with our boy. Thank you.
6:02 am on April 25th, 2010
So Wolfie, your "hunch" about names is correct. Now, I wonder what the "quick glance" is all about.
Who is Ben? Anyway, happy birthday.
6:07 am on April 25th, 2010
Hunch!… Wolfie wins the prize!… snort!… He guessed the Astrid, Ethel, Tiffany name game correctly!…heh! … Looks like the mention of Tennessee has Foster glancing at Albie for some reason…grunt!
6:09 am on April 25th, 2010
Happy Birthday Ben!… snort!
6:31 am on April 25th, 2010
Wow, Wolfie Wigglebutt from the Wild Wild West! Way to go. Now that glance that Chet noticed Foster give to Albie – they know Astrid/Ethel from Tennessee for sure.
6:56 am on April 25th, 2010
Ahhh, Astrid who became Ethel out of necessity and Tiffany because Albie is an idiot.
I bet she kept that Tennessee accent. Maybe that was the look. Or maybe Albie's been running white lightning. Or maybe some of Astrid's family became NASCAR drivers, and Albie knows them. Of course, I don't know if that's big in LV.
But some of the rum runners went on to driving race cars, such as Junior Johnson who was a buddy of her uncle's. (White Lightning, 3/30 post)
I was hoping for a simple quiet day, but youngest struggling actor son found out it's better to do travel plans yourself or at least check up on the guy doing it. Now, they are taking the bus instead of the train. The guys car is 40 miles away from where the bus gets in.
Jeez.
7:27 am on April 25th, 2010
Happy Birthday Ben,
Good one Wiggles
PS I think that we are writing the blog and Spencer decided to use WWW's idea…((snicker))
AbbietheKitty
7:29 am on April 25th, 2010
I have to admit we couldn't write the blog.
The thought gives me the willies.
But we sure can give Him a little idea and He just runs with it.
And He can run really well.
A-Kat
7:48 am on April 25th, 2010
AbbieTheKat!… You are such a silly kitty sometimes!… snort!… Do you think Ben is one of the four mentioned before the beginning of ‘The Tutor’? …grunt!
7:56 am on April 25th, 2010
i expect you are right.
it is hard to type now as alice has decided it is my duty to hold her. so i can't capitalize.
staff
8:15 am on April 25th, 2010
Good one, Rio….regarding Ben.
8:22 am on April 25th, 2010
Here's an idea everyone: Give Spence some ideas for another contest and then perhaps Admin would set it up.
8:32 am on April 25th, 2010
OOO we haven't had a Monday Pop Quiz in a long time.
Of course you with your Kindle's get them every time. Those of us who forget things…wait a minute. Rio doesn't have a kindle and he won the last one.
OK
Maybe it should be a quiz on a blog story?
AbbietheKitty
8:42 am on April 25th, 2010
You can't see me but I am blushing. Thanks, guys.
Here are a few more random thoughts:
I think it's likely that Albie had her murdered. Foster knows. This is what gives him a power edge over Albie. And I think that Astrid/Ethel/T3 was a hooker, due to the Euphenism post.
My guess is that Ray was raised in Tennessee. Maybe his mom stayed in touch, maybe not. But Ray is trying to put the pieces of his past together.
8:50 am on April 25th, 2010
A quiz about a blog story would be fun. Should it be a past event or a guess about the future?
Or a quizz about either DOI or THAT. (I would eliminate myself since I have a Kindle.)
8:51 am on April 25th, 2010
Melanie,
I love the polar bear photo!! I am the fourth from the left. My tail is usually blackish / brown but in the picture it is gray from the snow. It is a fine looking tail, if I do say so myself!
Rio – your prayer for Wolfies boys made my mom cry. I worry about my boys. When they were younger, I would chase their bad dreams away, but it is not so easy now. They live so far away. Your Rio prayer are powerful, and mom feels better now.
Sam, mom wants to know how your boy is doing? Did he go to school in Utah too?
8:53 am on April 25th, 2010
Oh, and Happy Birthday, Ben!! Many happy returns.
If you have any birthday cake left over, you can send it to our Pack. It would a sacrifice but we could probably take it off your hands.
8:56 am on April 25th, 2010
Oops, I missed some words there. BStover and Rio, have at it!
Abbie – how do we know that Rio doesn't have a Kindle? Maybe he has one and "forgot" to mention it.
8:57 am on April 25th, 2010
We LOVE pop quizzes here!
9:23 am on April 25th, 2010
Wolfie: Typos, and I consider words left out in the same way, never count as English errors.
10:43 am on April 25th, 2010
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by ChetTheDog. ChetTheDog said: Hunch: “Astrid Jason was her given name,” Bernie said. “But I’m having a – let’s call it a hunch – that she change… http://bit.ly/bTplNN […]
9:47 am on April 25th, 2010
Hey Wolfie Dog!! Glad your tail got in the pic. And Mollie recognized hers, that's great.
Now if we just knew which dog joker held up the balloon dog tail . .
Happy Birthday to Ben,
Happy Woof day to Ben,
Howling harmonies to Ben,
Happy Birthday from the Pack!
A friend is picking up struggling actor son from the bus station with friend. Whew. Now we just have to leave here at 5:30 am to get him to the train station so he can back to NYC for two rehearsals on Monday.
I don't every remember being as busy as he is. Maybe I was and just don't remember. That is a good thing. The memory of all that activity would make me tired.
9:56 am on April 25th, 2010
Melanie,
Who does the kitty tail belong to? Did Alice Johnson or AK somehow sneak along? I loved the balloon tail!
Thanks for the pass BStover. As perfect as dogs are, sometimes we get carried away!
10:33 am on April 25th, 2010
Suggestions for a quiz: What is the "whole new Leda situation"?
Or, what bit Bernie "near the huge saguaro"? Both are mentioned in the blog titled "Guys Like Us" on March 19, and both are in TFAT.
11:31 am on April 25th, 2010
Busy!…. You guys have been way busy today! …. wow!… I’ve been at the nursing home making grandma laugh! … snort!… She just has to look at me and she laughs….gruff!… Then I show off for her and that really gets her going… wheeze!… Last week my friend didn’t think grandma would make it…snort!… She had caught pneumonia and was seriously sick… grunt!… But after a week of antibiotics, grandma is looking a lot better now… whew!
11:35 am on April 25th, 2010
Pssst!… What do you guys make of that guy who posted under the name of “Dave” on yesterdays blog?….snort!… He copied one of my posts from earlier that evening….grunt!… That freaked me out when I saw it… shudder!
11:41 am on April 25th, 2010
The Dave post was not there this morning.
12:17 pm on April 25th, 2010
Sob!… We are just now recovering from the little bit of the Keli McGregor memorial service we got to see…. Sniff!… What a tear jerker… sniff!
12:28 pm on April 25th, 2010
Youngest struggling actor son got here. He hasn't slept for 2 nights. Don't see how he does it.
I showed him the polar bear pic with the 10 extra tails. He says I'm weird.
Genetics works both ways, I told him.
Hmmm, maybe that's how the chipped tooth is the same with CB and son? His son chips his tooth and so CB had to have his tooth chipped? Time is weird, maybe it was a time warp and both teeth got chipped at the same time but not?
12:37 pm on April 25th, 2010
Melanie!… Please tell your son I am a fan because he was an actor on ‘Damages’!!!… snort!… Ask him what the story line was…mmmm.. I bet they don’t let extras know that…. crap!…
Also!…Some one up above thinks I have a Kindle… snort!… I do not!…. grunt!… I don’t even have the first 2 books anymore….groan!… They are “loaned” out…. growl!…I will probably never see them again…crumb!
12:48 pm on April 25th, 2010
I saw the Dave post – it was at 7:45 this morning but on yesterday's blog. And yipes, it is a copy of Rio's post.
1:35 pm on April 25th, 2010
Sam!… Yikes! Is right!… snort!… It freaks me out!… shudder!
Photos!… On a lighter note, we just learned how to import photo’s off our new digital camera!… snort!… And someone is very excited!…(not me)… grunt!… Here is a photo from our trip to the museum yesterday… heh!
A Kat mummy!… snort!
[img ]http://chetthedog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/1272234912-cat_mummy.jpg[/img]
1:42 pm on April 25th, 2010
Oh Boy!
Glad to hear something being planned in the middle grade oven. A bit different – sounds good to me. I am going to start these Echo Falls books soon. But first I have to finish a non-fiction about the brain – fascinating stuff.
Rio: Dave is a copier – the post is there. Curious.
Is that cute baby still on the slide show? I was thinking that could be Ben but unless he was a preemie he looked too young to be a year old.
1:48 pm on April 25th, 2010
Oh Boy Rio – Are we going to get a new picture of you?
1:51 pm on April 25th, 2010
Zippy!… Don’t encourage a kopy kat by using the word “curious”… freaks me out!… sniff!… What have you been up to lately Zippy?… snort!… Did you have a good time at your sisters? … grunt!… Did you get to feed Alice grapes while fanning her? … heh!
1:59 pm on April 25th, 2010
Rio: Curiosity killed the copy cat…and then..ick!…someone mummified the body! I've been taking an online course and too bug-eyed to have fun afterwards. But that's almost over.
Yes, I fed Alice whatever she wanted and she wanted alot being crabby about being left behind and missing out on a Great Adventure. Not to mention having to share her bed and chair with me.
2:09 pm on April 25th, 2010
Sam!… I have been darting and dodging the new kamera for days now… grump!… So far no photo’s have been in focus!… heh!… There is one where everything else is sharp, but I am a blur…crap!… She’s looking for that one right now… errrr!… She can’t find it!… heh heh!
Focus!… This was when she was trying to use a phone kamera… heh.. She’s not used to the new camera’s that have no view finder… (all in my favor so far!)… snort!… It was taken over at Pepper’s house… grunt!
She says they will get better by golly!…(I doubt it!)…snort!
[img ]http://chetthedog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/1272236838-Rio_Sals_h.jpg[/img]
2:20 pm on April 25th, 2010
You look very handsome and I see your toy too. Nice!
2:25 pm on April 25th, 2010
To Wolfie's Mom – My boy went to school in Iowa, a very very long way from home. He's back and we are so happy. I know he is too, because it saved him from some dreadful things and let him mature some more in a safe environment.
2:54 pm on April 25th, 2010
I miss AbigaltheKitty and Alice Johnson – they sure do liven up the place. Mom keeps thinking she sees Alice running past – maybe she has materialized here a few times but I haven't seen her. They are back on the ranch for the summer.
3:03 pm on April 25th, 2010
Ranch!… For some reason I am having trouble imagining the glamorous Alice Johnson on a Ranch!… whooo hooo!… Are there cowboys and ranch hands riding around on horses with their spurs?…snort!… I wonder if Alice will slip out at night and sit round a campfire with those guys and gals… (a reference from “Their Wildest Dreams”) … only SiberH will get that one!
Alice!… Please write and tell us all your experiences on the Ranch! … snort!… I can’t wait to hear about it!…grunt!
3:34 pm on April 25th, 2010
Oh my my! What will happen to Alice's beautiful (dyed) fur if she's out rounding up cattle?
3:41 pm on April 25th, 2010
Rio – Is that a toy I see in your photo?
tee hee
3:47 pm on April 25th, 2010
Sam -Thanks for giving me some hope.
One of my boys took a "five finger discount" at the store last week. He is in BIG trouble. I would never steal. Never. Except for chicken jerky treats, and I'm sure that Teddy doesn't really want hers, anyway.
How old was your boy when he went to school? How long was he at school? And how old is he now?
3:53 pm on April 25th, 2010
Sam – oops, I just saw your comment on Rio's toy. It's worth mentioning twice. (aside) I never thought that Rio would be caught dead with a t-o-y.
Lexi – yes. I bet that Lexi loves toys!
3:54 pm on April 25th, 2010
Alice!… Glam Girl rounding up cattle!…heh!… Now that is a funny image.. snort!
Wolfie!… Please read all the other posts before you start asking questions that have already been answered… dang!… That toy is mine “now”, just so you know!… snort!… It was a whole paw discount!… heh!
3:57 pm on April 25th, 2010
mmmmm… Where is SiberH anyway??? … gosh! I hope he is okay!…grunt!… I don't remember him posting yesterday either… sniff…Where are you SiberH???
4:00 pm on April 25th, 2010
I'm not seeing the "Dave" post anymore. Does anyone else see it? I wonder if Admin took care of it?
4:04 pm on April 25th, 2010
I get back in town to find that Alice is on a ranch.
Cowboy Up…Alice Do you think she will be catching mice in the barn? Somehow, I can't see that happening.
Rio, my mom doesn't like the cameras that have no view finder either. It takes forever to get a picture framed (or whatever the word is). Photography is not my mom's "thing", as you know.
That is a cute picture of you, Rio. Loved the one of the polar bear and the tails.
It was fun to get back to the computer and have two installments of Chet's story to read.
Mom and I have been away with Husky Rescue at New Mexico's huge, annual pet adoption event. Around 550 dogs and cats were adopted. Keep your paws crossed that these will be forever homes.
4:07 pm on April 25th, 2010
Thanks for missing me, Rio.
4:12 pm on April 25th, 2010
Okay, okay,
I guess it's a farm, not a ranch. Rio…you must remember that picture of Alice looking out the screen door at a pheasant? That was at the farm…no cows…no cowboys…just farmers. Alice comes to the big city in the winter and back to the farm in the summer.
Dave/Rio's post is gone now. Mummified.
4:17 pm on April 25th, 2010
Jasper's mom here. Jasper is on my lap snoring. Ranch! Reminds me when my dad's father was visiting our family when I was a child and called our 10 acre spread a ranch. Could never figure this out because he was from Texas. Of course, he later was killed by a Brinks truck while walking on the highway, cops never figured out how that happened. Things that make you go hhhmmmmm.
4:18 pm on April 25th, 2010
Zippy!… You just ruined an incredible opportunity for Alice to tell us some amazing Ranch tails!… snort!.. What a spoil sport you are!… geeze… How disappointing….grunt!… Have you NO imagination at all Zippy?…. crap!
4:27 pm on April 25th, 2010
Admin!… Thank God you took that kopy-kat thing away!… sniff!… It was making me crazy all day long…snorkel!… Now! Can you PLEASE remove that darn Zippy’s comment about a farm vs ranch!… Lordy! .. I had some fun things planned around the whole Ranch and Alice senario… sigh.
4:32 pm on April 25th, 2010
Whoa!… Jasper!… That is a real life mystery… snort!… Have you yourself ever tried to unravel it?… gasp!… An unsolved Brinks truck murder!… holy crap!… Did they interview the truck driver?… What was your uncle doing on the side of a highway at the same time a truck filled with money was driving past??? …grunt!… All the questions are swirling around my head… Were they ever answsered Jasper??? …gosh!
4:33 pm on April 25th, 2010
Poor Rio:
With your imagination, surely you can think of some amazing farm stories.
4:58 pm on April 25th, 2010
Hello D a w s o n…
Did you ever watch Seinfeld?…. You are like Newman to me now… snort!… Boy oh boy…Hell! No!… I’m not fixing your mistake D a w s o n!… grunt!.. I won’t suffer from not hearing the farm vs ranch stories….Grunt!… Everyone else will though because of you… D a w s o n.
"Poor Rio?"… please!
5:02 pm on April 25th, 2010
I can see Alice on the farm having her staff catch mice for her.
5:06 pm on April 25th, 2010
So, now that the farm/ranch thing is all sorted out, is Alice going to be catching mice in the barn at the farm?
Jasper's story could be a Chet and Bernie mystery. If they don't want to take the case, Rio could.
5:08 pm on April 25th, 2010
You're right Sam. Staff would do it.
5:12 pm on April 25th, 2010
Cyber-Husky,
Welcome back, dude! That was a good thing you did, helping at the adoption. Everybody deserves a forever home!
Thanks, Admin, for keeping this forum sacred. And seeing as today is a Sunday, I'm especially impressed. Sending you lots of Wolfie kisses!
5:20 pm on April 25th, 2010
Also, I see the mouse being brought to Alice on a little silver tray.
5:23 pm on April 25th, 2010
No!… The whole Farm vs Ranch has to be decided by AbbieTheKat!…snort!… AND she is out there for the summer too!… grunt!… She will know what’s best for summer entertainment…. snort!… Or at least I hope so…heh!… Catching mice in the barn is not that darn funny (to me)… grunt!
5:59 pm on April 25th, 2010
Wonder if they have any Border Collies at the farm.
Why do I think that Rio saying that catching mice in the barn is not funny is so funny.
6:18 pm on April 25th, 2010
SiberH!…You must be my biggest fan!…snort!… You laugh at everything my dear, dear friend…. Snort!… You have no IDEA what encouragement you give me…no idea at all!…sniff!
But!… You did read ‘Their Wildest Dreams”, SiberH! ….snicker!… Don’t you think it would be a good ole ‘parody’ setup with our Alice on a Ranch??? … Not just mice being caught and eaten from the barn….grunt!… But, there could be something way more amazing! …grunt!… The book we both read and found funny??… Do you remember any of it???…sigh
7:26 pm on April 25th, 2010
Pepper!… thinks that’s her toy, but it’s mine now!… snort!
6:38 pm on April 25th, 2010
Has anyone read "Oblivion"? Mom and Dad downloaded it from itunes are listened to it on their trip. Whoa…what a great book. They are going to play if for me while they're at work tomorrow. (I'll get to listen to the whole thing and are only six hours into it. Hah!) I'll let you know how I liked it. As near as I can tell, there are no dogs, though.
6:45 pm on April 25th, 2010
Hmmm!…. A couple of us have read that book Wolfie!… snort!… I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!…snort!… All I can tell you is, listen Very., Very closely…heh! … especially during the First, Middle and End parts!… Peter Abrahams Rocks!… heh!
7:10 pm on April 25th, 2010
In spite of the exhausted state I am in, Rio, I do remember that I read "Their Wildest Dreams". I think it would be a great parody setup with Alice on a ranch. We now have only one problem…Alice is on a farm. There have to be some farm stories, but farming just doesn't have the, umm, sex appeal that ranching does. Mom says that I watch too many old John Wayne movies. No offense to Abbie and Alice…my dad grew up on a farm.
I don't want to give you bad dreams, but keep in mind, Rio, that some of us promised that Alice could go on our next mission. You will be in charge of that mission.
Goodnight and love to everyone! Mom has to get some rest so she can get me to the dog park in the morning. I had to give up the dog park this weekend because of the pet adoption event. I don't mind as long as it doesn't happen too often.
7:16 pm on April 25th, 2010
I read "Oblivion" and liked it very much, Wolfie.
Yes, Rio, I mostly remember it.
7:19 pm on April 25th, 2010
Goodness Alice is so sorry to have missed the whole Ranch/Farm thing.
Yes, I hate to tell you Rio, it is just a farm. Tractors and combines and such. We do have woodchucks and bunnies and squir…er fuzz-butts here too. Today we saw the gigantic woodchuck (bigger than Abbie)in what is supposed to become the vegetable garden. That will be a challenge this year.
Alice has had to work very hard to achieve her glamour puss status. She came out of the woods at 6 months, obviously dropped off by some nameless evil person at 12 weeks old because that is how big she was. But when we took her to the vet he said nope this cat is way older than 12 weeks.
Her fur was so dirty that we had to wash her several times and then, to get her really clean, we had to use hydrogen peroxide on her. Yes, the truth is, Alice is a bottle blonde.
[img ]http://chetthedog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/1272255425-dirty Alice.jpg[/img]
Picture of Alice at her first cleaning…Poor little Alice.
BTW Alice disapproves of showing this photo. I had to give her several treats to calm her down.
~Staff
5:08 am on April 26th, 2010
Gasp!…Alice?…. Oh my achy breaky heart…. Poor lil Alice.