A Dog-Eat-Dog Place (Or Just An Expression?)

This city is unbelievable. I used to see something blog-worthy a few times a day last year, and I'd hold onto one or two until I got the change to write for the day. Here, I'm bombarded from every side and through every sense I have by things that I've never seen before and that I'll never see again. I've quickly learned, therefore, that never again will I be able to remember something all day, because as soon as I write the first sentence in my head about something unique, something else catches my eye and I begin another different blog entry all over again.

But today I got one. I was on my walk to the gym, about 8 blocks total, and just as I got to there I passed by the dog park. I love this place. There's always at least one dog owner there, playing frisbee or running around or just reading while their dog trots around, catching relentless whiffs of unfamiliar scents. It's obvious that these moments have become routine for the dog-owners, yet the whole park just seems to exist outside of the agenda of New York. It seems like these people wait all day for these minutes, and even though there isn't even any grass, it's important to them to do something nice for their dog. Even if they still have miles of paperwork, even if they're just beginning their day, this part of their life is home.

And then the dogs themselves, they're something else. One day I saw a beautiful fluffy white dog hop out of the kiddie pool, filled with hose water, and run across the pavement to her owner. There's almost always a golden retriever somewhere on the streets in this neighborhood, and the dog park is no exception. I even saw two full grown retrievers wrestling outside a store one evening, obviously having fun, while their owner looked on and smiled and everyone walking by (including myself) couldn't help but watch. And today, at the park, I saw something very funny - a retriever exhaustively playing fetch with his owner, while a big fat bulldog slouched alone on a bench and watched them like an old man watches little kids jumping rope.

I know that the dogs are often the reason their owners want to come home at the end of the day. I can see why here, more than anywhere else, taking care of something so loving and simple can be so crucial for one's spiritual health. I know that a life indoors and on pavement isn't what these animals were meant for, but I can't see how they could belong anywhere else than catching a frisbee thrown by someone who finally managed to put down a cell phone and get some fresh air.