Tonight

I love taking Goldy for her walk. Every time it’s a different experience. Tonight it was just getting dark and the sky was a gorgeous translucent blue. Up ahead, the trees on top of the ridge were reduced to dark silhouettes with the sky showing through. I was surprised how many stars I could see considering the sky wasn’t the dark navy blue of night yet.

It was dinner time and as I walked down the street, I could tell by smell that someone was having chicken soup and the people on the corner were having broiled steak. It amazes me that after being a vegetarian for over twenty-five years, cooking meat still smells good to me. And I can tell by smell what kind it is. The people on the corner have lamb chops a lot.

No one else seemed to be out walking. A police car went by and instantly I began to wonder why someone one had called them. There were no sirens or flashing lights, so I don’t think it was an emergency.

I admit it, I do look in curtainless windows as I pass by. I saw a family sitting down to dinner. And when I passed an open garage, I saw a kid practicing his drums. I bet his parents and the whole street wished he would shut the door and maybe add some soundproofing.

Other than the drum solo there wasn’t much action. I’ve had fire department ambulances squeak to stop in front of a house as passed. One night I watched a pair of uniforms jump out of their car and stop a pair of teenagers who were working the area with a scam where they claim to be selling magazines to raise money for their school. Apparently, they had gotten a little too aggressive and somebody had called the cops. Nosy me walked by real slowly, listening to what was going on. The teens were pros and knew just what to say. The cops couldn’t really do anything and let them go.

Another time the cops drove by looking for something or someone and shined their spotlight on me. Yeah, I looked like a real threat. Hook and ladders have rumbled past me. Coyotes have run by. And of course, we’ve met other people with dogs.

I say hello to everybody - well, not the cops who stopped those teens - but everybody else.
Last week I even talked to the guy driving the van for the crew from the commercial shoot. They were using a church parking lot for crew parking and he was ferrying them back and forth. By then the shoot was packing up. He noticed Goldy’s light (she has a collar with a LED light to make her more visible to traffic) and asked about it. Lots of people do. Sometimes cars even stop and people comment on how neat it is or ask where to buy one. Petsmart.

Tonight the only person I greeted was a housekeeper on her way to the bus.

As much as Goldy loves going out, she’s happy to come home and have her dinner. Then she goes back to her chair and I get back to my work.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from our walks, it’s life is what you make it.

Do you make something routine into something special?