Aug. 15, 2013 Walk and Talk About Town

Dog Days of Summer

In these days of technology, it has become easy to avoid interacting with fellow pedestrians as you pass on the street . Many have IPods connected to their ears, the music drowning out surrounding chitchat; others are carrying on a loud, animated conversation on their cell phones, and some are pretending to listen to a call simply because they don't want to be engaged by a passer-by. On my walk today I hoped to find people who wanted to share a casual visit. So, to make that goal more likely, I brought along my dog. Few can resist a slightly overweight, friendly, lovable golden retriever. She truly was a magnet pulling residents to the edge of the road to pet her and converse for awhile. We spoke of nothing particularly important, instead exchanging information of gardens, lawn ornaments, yard sales, and classes in school. It was a break from a mundane day for them and an opportunity for me to meet some pleasant folks. The dog thoroughly enjoyed the attention. As her reward for drawing these people out, she was allowed a swim in the river. How delighted she was!