Chapter 26: The Boys of Summer
It is Labor Day Weekend in the good old USA and that unofficially marks the end of Summer. Let's celebrate with three new tales from the beach.
This chapter's melody is 'Summertime' by the Hawaiian band, The Green.
Fetch
Cooper gave the drool covered red Frisbee a shake and held it up while he glared at the tooth marks on the plastic disk. "Mate, this was brand new and you have already ruined it! Now I remember why I don't play catch with you." the small wallaby huffed at the fennec fox who was standing there dressed only in a pair of green boardshorts with white surfboards printed on them. Stone Kole's ears were standing erect, his tongue was lolling out while he excitedly panted, and his tail was eagerly wagging in anticipation.
"Sorry, dude, I couldn't help myself," the fox answered.
The wallaby gave a long sigh and shook his head.
After standing around for a few moments, Stone eagerly asked, "Are you going to throw it again?"
Rolling his eyes, Cooper gave a small smile before he heaved the disk into the air. He couldn't help but give a laugh when his best friend happily sprinted down the beach after it and dramatically leapt into the air, seizing it with his teeth.
With his tail wagging, the fox ran back to the wallaby with the Frisbee still clutched in his muzzle. "Again?" Cooper asked.
Enthusiastically nodding his head, Stone quickly handed the disk to the wallaby.
Beach Volleyball
"Where have you been?" Karen curtly asked the fennec fox in the green tee shirt and blue and white striped boardies when he joined her on the Boardwalk. The pretty sand cat was dress in a yellow and blue sundress and had her arms crossed and was looked aggravated.
"Watching a game of beach volleyball," the fox nonchalantly answered.
"I didn't know you even liked volleyball?"
"I've tried playing it a few times but it is hard to get a game going with others our size."
"It must have been a very good game to watch, you're late for our date."
"The game was okay, sorry that I lost track of time."
"You lost track of time once again," she reminded him after she took his paw and began walking toward the beach. They were heading in the direction that Stone had just come from.
"Sorry, it won't happen again," he replied. The sand cat was surprised when the fennec fox began to pull her in another direction.
"Wait, I thought we were going to hang out at Big Joe's Bar?" she asked in surprise.
"No, why don't we go over to the Crabbie Shack instead."
"Why..." she didn't finish her question when a couple of teenage whitetailed deer bucks raced past them toward the direction she had been walking.
"Dude, they are at it again!" one of the boys excitedly exclaimed.
"Come on!" the other buck yelled as they rushed around the side of a nearby bathing house which was blocking their view.
"Wait!" Stone objected when Karen released his paw and began following the boys onto the beach were she could see what was going on.
Once she rounded the corner, she stood there with her arms crossed as she stared at the eight very scantly clad female models pretending to play with a volleyball while making sensual poses for a photo shoot. "You call this beach volleyball? Really, Stoney?" she asked when the fox joined her.
"Well, they are kind of playing volley ball," he lamely answered. His ears were flat and his tail was tucked between his legs.
"Not really." Karen giggled.
Maritime Law?
Reggie looked dumbfounded at the fennec fox standing there in a pair of green swim trunks. Next to the fox named Stone Kole was a substantial pile of rather large beer cans. "Dude, where did you get all these beers?" the meerkat asked.
"Cooper and I have been busy exercising our rights to salvage," Stone answered with a satisfied grin.
"What?"
"When a ship sinks, you have the right to claim any items washed up on the beach."
"Huh?"
"It think they call it the finders keepers, losers weepers rule."
"I'm pretty sure that there is not such a rule."
There was cheerful whistling coming from behind a sand dune before Cooper appeared. The small wallaby was pulling a fully loaded folding wagon full of more cans. "This is the last of them, mate."
"I don't get it, what is going on?" Reggie asked before he picked up one of the sandy cans in his two paws.
"Two boats sank offshore," Stone remarked as he helped Cooper add his last haul to the pile.
"How did that happen?"
"An egomaniac in a motorboat decided to play chicken with a party boat and both lost."
"Wait, are you saying they ran into each other?"
"Those two blokes rammed bow first into each other, it was a bloody sight!" Cooper laughed. "Neither one of those yobbos or their passengers were hurt but their boats were demolished. They both swam ashore and then got into a fist fight on the beach before the cops hauled them off."
"Brah, I'm sure that it will make the news since DJ Stripes was behind the wheel of the motorboat and Sir Whiskers owned the party boat," Stone added with a grin.
"Are you telling me that I missed all of that just because my dad made me mow the lawn before I drove over here?" the meerkat groaned.
"Yep!" Stone replied.
"And the cans, where did you get all of those cans?"
"They were aboard the party boat when it sank."
"I don't understand, if the boat sank why didn't the beer also sink?"
"Beer cans float and they just washed up in the surf."
"So you just took them?"
"It's maritime law salvage rights, mate!" Cooper proclaimed.
"Are you sure?"
"Do I look like a bloody lawyer?"
"If they come looking for them, we will be happy to give them back," Stone proclaimed as he popped the tab of one of the oversized cans open and carefully helped Cooper pour some of it into three red plastic cups. "Even the empty ones!"
This last tale was inspired by a movie that Bob Hope, Phyllis Diller, Gina Lollabrigida, and Jeffrey Hunter starred in called "The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell". San Diego artist Rich Morrison and surfboard maker Gary Seagrave have crafted a somewhat functional surfboard made with epoxy resin and containing 72 empty beer cans, talk about recycling!