Introducing Miss Lou Tennant

     I had previously stated that I would not be attending the tour of the animal shelter with Sissey, but this morning, I realized I must my face my failures head on, look shame in the face, "man up"to the situation, and go forth to the shelter to meet Miss Lou Tennant Alexander. Armed with note cards and pens, we headed out to Dawson Drive, where the animal shelter was located beside the local county jail. As we pulled into the shelter about 12:30, a female officer in full uniform was out in front of the entrance to the building,  accepting a truck loaded with supplies: dog food, cat food, office supplies, etc.  I knew at once that it had to be the Lieutenant. I tried to sneak around the back of the eighteen-wheeler  and enter the building unnoticed, hoping I could somehow pull off the visit without exposing myself to further humiliation.
     A friendly young man named Mike greeted us as we came in the door and asked if he could help us with anything.  I explained that I was the one who had called earlier in the week to set up an interview, introduced him to Mary Lapsley, and then tried to fade into the background. I inched over to the front desk, casually perusing the bulletin board and posters lining the walls, keeping my head down and my face averted from view. As Sissey was chatting with Mike, "Lou" walked in the door.  I was trapped between the front desk and the door, with Lou blocking my exit. There was no escaping, I couldn't sneak out unnoticed, couldn't pretend I was not there with Sissey, so I slapped on a huge smile, walked over, stuck out my hand and said, "You must be Lou."
       She broke into a big grin and started chuckling. It was obvious that she had not forgotten our phone conversation earlier in the week.  I tried again to explain my confusion over her title, tried to establish my credibility as a sane adult, and finally just gave up and admitted to being completely embarassed over the situation.  I would not have begrudged her a single smirk or snicker, but as she had been on the phone earlier, she could not have been more gracious and polite, a real "trooper" in the face of an awkward situation. She not only agreed to have her picture taken and posted on my blog, she handed out her business card and invited us to come back....anytime... as often as we liked!
     So now, it is my great pleasure to introduce you to a most gracious lady, an officer of the law, lover of animals and college students and crazy middle aged women:
Miss Lou Tennant Alexander.
      By the way, I finally did learn her real name. It is Sherry.  But you can just call her Lieutenant Alexander.
      And as for those guns in her holster, they're real.