Hot Dogs

In writing my column this week, a picture on display near the street at the Sonic drive-in kept popping into my mind. Every time I go by there I want to stop in and get a hot dog.

Hot dogs have been around a long time. They come in many different ways. There are hot dogs with just mustard. There are hot dogs with just chili or hot dogs with both chili and cheese. Sonic changes them every few weeks and I have tried a lot of them in the ways they fi x them.

You know, a hot dog can mean a puppy in the summertime or the tasty meat on a bun we enjoy at ball games, or one we can buy at Sonic.

There is a story as to why this sandwich is called a hot dog. Many years ago there was a man who sold a new kind of sandwich at ball games and he called it a tube steak with mustard. That sounds like something made out of an old tire, but people tried it and liked it. The story goes that this tube-steak seller was followed by his old collie dog.

On those hot summer days at the ball park, the poor dog would start to wilt under his long collie hair and he would pant and look very hot. Everyone noticed this man’s dog and started calling him “the hot dog man.” Eventually they started calling the hot dog man’s sandwiches “hot dogs”.

The next time you enjoy a yummy hot dog, be thankful for having lots of good things to eat and the next time you see a hot collie, give that poor dog a drink of water.