....a Wonderful Day in the Neighborhood!

Dear Reader,

What a day in the Park!

I got out later than I wanted to, as usual, but once I got out, it was wonderful! The weather was perfect, everything was green, there were folks out enjoying the Park, and many of the dogs and their people who I have come to feel are friends, came through.

The highlight of the day was the extended interaction between a terrific dog, Smokey, and three lovely little girls, who I think were getting their first chance to really "molest" a gentle, patient dog.

Smokey and his person, Linda and a friend came by; we began to have a nice chat, then walked over to the bench area to have a sit and chat some more. Farther over there was a family with three small girls playing; at some point they espied Smokey, and ran over to see him.

Smokey is a singular dog. He is a rescued German Shepherd; incredibly gentle, well tempered, and focused. All Smokey wants to do when he's out in the Park is carry and chase his kong toy. This is basically a stretched hard rubber ball; it takes funny bounces. He likes to have it kicked or thrown; he will chase it if it goes 6 inches or 60 feet. He will do this on end, to the exhaustion of himself and whomever is participating. With all of this focus, it was amazing to watch him patiently sit and be petted, poked, pulled, prodded and generally admired by 3 little girls, each of whom was no larger or heavier than him. A lesser dog might have snapped, not only psychologically, but at one of the girls; Smokey dealt with it all, in hopes that he would get to play more, which he did.

It was such a hoot to watch the girls explore Smokey, watch them run around, speak with their parents about them, watch them play with another dog who happened into the picnic zone. In short, for me, it was so wonderful to watch people really enjoying the area I work in. This is exactly the goal I am working towards; having the area be an oasis for folks to come out, enjoy the park, maybe get to know their neighbors, interact with the nature that's out there, and appreciate the park in general. I am fortunate that in this case, I was also able to sit down with folks for a while and chat and joke. Although I'm out there working, for me it is a social exercise as well; sometimes I talk to the dogs first, but I always do end up talking to the people. I hope at some point to make some real friends out in the Park.

This harkens back to my previous column, "Small Town: New York City"
(http://catbirdeye.blogspot.com/2006/12/dear-reader-next-time-one-of-your-out.html). I continue to be surprised at how many people I know, at least by face, in my neighborhood. I even have neighbors in my building whose names I don't know, but who give a nice "Hi" and a wave when I see them in the Park or on the street.

I really love this part of my life. I know I post many depression-inspired columns, and those are totally real. There are parts of my life that continue to frustrate and sometimes overwhelm me. Fortunately, though, I have a short enough attention span that a day like yesterday enlivens me for a good time to come; I might even get my new tattoo soon!

Happy Memorial Day,
Catbird