When Farmer Joe first met Vernon, he thought he was merely a pig.

A big pig.

But as he got to know Vernon, he found out the Swine truly was a neat and tidy fellow after all. There was nothing about him which was piggish.  Well, except for his snout, and ears, and hooves, and pinkness, and…. wellll… I guess there was a lot about him that was all-hog.

But.

Vernon read every issue of “Organize IT” and “Real Simple” Magazines. Little Vern would share tips with the entire group at Farmer Joe and Eloise’s Card Parties.

Vern would say, “Folks, try placing shower hooks on a closet bar and hang purses from them to keep your carryalls at eye level.” Oh, Joe really loved that one.  They would laugh, and eat pretzel sticks.

And then Vernon would throw in a zinger…. like … Oh, what to do with those plastic Kroger bags? Perhaps you should dispense plastic grocery bags with ease by stuffing empties into an old tissue box stored under the sink.”

Oh, Joe liked that one too. Vernon snorted with glee. It sure helped that Farmer Joe had Obsessive Compulsive Tendencies. I mean, for crying out loud, EVERY YEAR….. he would plant the corn in perfectly straight lines, AND…. he kept all his ducks in a row.

Then one day, Farmer Joe was rummaging through the cupboard for a pan lid. Eloise just stuffed them all inside, haphazardly. Vern was at it again… and said… “To keep pot lids from rattling around and getting lost in kitchen drawers, position a short tension rod to create a divider. Stack pots and pans in the larger section and lean lids against the rod on the smaller side.”

Farmer Joe rubbed Vern’s muzzle. “You are the best Vern. I’d say you are a great pig… but you are not a pig at all, for being such a pig. And you smell good…. like Bacon… or something.”

Joe hugged the hog… and they walked together into the farmhouse, to organize the sewing room. They chatted about the alternate uses of thimbles… and enjoyed a glass of Bourbon on the rocks. Pals they would always be. An OC Farmer and his really neat Pig.  A match made in farmland.

Here’s mud in your eye.

“Friendship isn’t a big thing – it’s a million little things.”  – Author Unknown

“Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty.”  – Sicilian Proverb