People with dogs live longer, we are told. Perhaps one reason is that if one loves one’s canine companion they will enjoy taking daily walks in all kinds of weather. In so doing, the combination of fresh air and exercise may give one’s tense, tired body and soul some measure of refreshment. I think this is basically my experience.
The dog currently living with us is Brutus, a rescue dog who was adopted into New England from an animal shelter in Mississippi. How he came to live with us is another story. He is a Rottweiler-Beagle mix, so we are told. Sturdy and fearless like a Rotty, but vocally expressive and intelligent like a Beagle, with a nose and a tail-wag that won’t quit. And every day, at around 6:30 in the morning and anywhere from 8:00-9:30 in the evening, you can find us walking along the roads around our house. It’s not great dog-walking territory, actually, and we have to traverse along a busy town road on most days. But we do it.
What follows below the squiggle are a few things I have learned from this mutual experience.
The first thing I have learned is how much I hate cars. They provide a dangerous anonymity to their drivers, some of whom will threaten us with their speed and power. Blatant disregard for the vulnerability of a flesh-and-blood human and dog characterizes approximately 25-30% of the drivers we encounter. The courteous will give a nod to our presence with a slight shift toward the left-center of their lane. It really doesn’t take much to signal that we are noticed. The worst offenders will pass within a foot of us, even though we are off the paved road and there is no oncoming traffic in the other lane.
The second thing I have learned is how much I hate fast food. We live a couple of miles from the center of town, where the usual compliment of fast-food joints can be found. On a regular basis I find the refuse from someone’s meal tossed on the roadside after some late-night indulgence – the bag, the burger wrapper, the french-fry container, and the soda cup. Too much to carry home, I guess. I wonder if there is some relationship to the concept of a drive-through window for food and the utter selfishness that is signaled by throwing trash out of a car window. P.S. Next on the list are beer cans, despite the nickel deposit, followed by cigarette packs.
The third thing I have learned is the magic of change. Brutus and I bear witness to the awakening and blossoming of Spring, the greening of Summer, the arrival and departure of the red and gold hues of Autumn, and the gray, barren shades of Winter. And now, at this particular Solstice time of year, the morning walk may start just before sunrise. We walk toward the East, toward the ocean, with gossamer reds and oranges hinted on the horizon, faint moon hanging in the sky. We walk, in the felt darkness, and then…at some indistinct moment in time, imperceptible, sudden, we are aware that it is no longer dark, that daytime, has, in fact arrived. Just like that.