Listics

This afternoon while I was mulching some sapling evergreens and the dog was wandering around collecting ticks to deposit later in the house when her Frontline repellent finally forced them from her thick, concealing fur, I heard a frightening roar. From far up the road came the sound of a high-end race car, a throbbing drum beat of bass notes resonant in its mighty pistons, tuned exhaust crackling as it shifted up through the gears, the volume increasing as it approached. I didn’t think those things were allowed on the public highway. It fairly screamed as it flew past. Shrubbery screened me from the road and the road from me, so I had to ask Beth, “Just what the hell was that?”

“Three hogs and a rice-burner,” she replied.