The Difference Between Me & John Steinbeck

Me:  The patrol heard a dog howling in the distance.

John Steinbeck: "Down toward one end of the village, among the small houses, a dog complained about the cold and the loneliness.  He raised his nose to his god and gave a long and fulsome account of the state of the world as it applied to him.  He was a practiced singer with a full bell throat and great versatility of range and control.  The six men of the patrol slogging dejectedly up and down the streets heard the singing of the dog, and one of the muffled soldiers said, 'Seems to me he's getting worse every night.  I suppose we ought to shoot him.' "
  -from The Moon Is Down, 1942

Guess I'll keep my day job.