The story of the Christmas basset turns 30 on Day 24 of Tillymas

                                                                                                                                  DESIGN COURTESY OF CANVA

By JOHN E. BIALAS
Broadmoor Basset Chief

Molly was Kristin's Christmas puppy, a basset hound that Patty presented at home to our child at about 4 p.m. on Dec. 24, 1989, after Kristin and I saw a Fred Savage movie, "The Wizard," at Hardy Court in Gulfport.

Kristin was 8 years old, and years later during the holidays, we went to Mobile for Christmas shopping on a Sunday, left Molly in the back yard and came back around 10 p.m.

Once Molly was in the house with us, I went to put out the trash for the Monday pickup. My neighbor snuck up behind me and scared the heck out of me. He complained that Molly's non-stop barking disturbed the peace and this led to an argument between the two of us as we stood in the middle of the street.

Being home alone outside of the house, Molly's separation anxiety probably kicked in, much like when she was boarded while we were on vacation and her mournful howls inside the place of business resulted in Molly spending a night or two at the home of the business owner. What a baby.

I also remember the Sunday night that Molly rode with me to the post office downtown, where I went inside to buy a package of stamps from a machine and left Molly in the front passenger seat, where she seemed comfortable during the ride.

But when I got back to the car, Molly was on the floor of the passenger side, apparently overcome by moments of fear because she had been left alone. What a baby. It's a misty-eyed memory and it's my fault.

It took many years before peace was at hand between my neighbor and me, and with the past behind us, we have the occasional friendly conversation. 
  
Molly became ill when she was 13 years old and she passed away in 2002, when Kristin was a student at Mississippi State University in Starkville.

Now Patty and I have Tilly, our second basset hound, and Tilly is 6 years old.

Kristin and her family have a sweet chocolate Lab named Stella and a cat named Lionel. Legend has it that Lionel is a young street-fighting man from the Lower 9th in New Orleans and he says, "Hello, is it me you're looking for?" in a diabolical way.

I could make up more stuff about Lionel, but I really want to point out that today, Christmas Eve, is a super holiday trifecta: Tilly Tuesday, Tillymas and the 30th anniversary of Molly's arrival.

Tilly Tuesday is a Tilly picture and basset-related story posted every Tuesday and Tillymas is a celebration in which she appears in a Christmas-themed image on Instagram every day for 25 days during the season. 

Tillymas, also known as 25 Days of Tillymas, began on Dec. 1 and it took me a while to figure out that Christmas photo effects and filters were available for free. So since they're free, I have taken advantage of the tools.

In last week's Tilly Tuesday post, I shared Tillymas photos for Dec. 11 to Dec. 17, and now it's time to share Tillymas photos for Dec. 18 to Dec. 24. 

DEC. 18 

 

DEC. 19

DEC. 20

DEC. 21

DEC. 22

DEC . 23 

DEC. 24

 

That's a wrap. This is the last time I will post on the Pictures of Tilly blog because Tilly is bringing her social media presence to Facebook, where she will have her own page set to launch on Christmas Day.

So Merry Christmas to all y'all and thanks for your support of the Tilly blog.