Scenes from the Park--Bike Man and Bandana Dog
Most every morning, Anna and I go to our neighborhood park to go for a walk around the jogging trail. It's about the same time every day and we see the same cast of characters every day. We don't know anyone's name, but I've labeled each of them on my own:
The first installment of Scenes from the Park is about Bike Man and his dog, Bandana Dog. Bike Man and his dog live directly across the street from the park. Bike Man is outside every morning, rain or shine, usually tinkering with his truck or in the garage, listening to NPR radio news and milling about. His dog, Bandana Dog, is a Shepherd-mix of some sort, white and tan spots, who always wears a bandana. The bandanas range from holiday-inspired to sports-related. Judging by the way that Bike Man presents himself, (rather scruffy, pot-bellied and not terribly friendly) you'd never guess that he'd be the type of dog owner to dress his dog up...who knows, maybe there's a wife in the picture who coordinates the dog's wardrobe.
Usually while we're at the park, Bike Man gets on his bike and slowly rides around the park, not interested in his target heart rate or muscle-building, by any stretch of the imagination. Bandana Dog follows him, always a few yards behind. I've never seen a dog as intense as Bandana Dog. He has no interest in the other people, dogs, squirrels or children whom he passes in the park. He's all about the sniffing--nose to the ground and occasionally looking up to spot his owner. When I first saw Bandana Dog roaming around the park, I thought he was lost. Then, I noticed that he was following (albeit very far behind) Bike Man and then, after seeing Bandana Dog in the Bike Man's front yard a few days in a row, I understood.
Today, Bike Man was making his leisurely twirl around the park and Bandana Dog was doing his usual thing. Bike Man had gotten pretty far away, while Bandana Dog was sniffing a particularly interesting morsel near one of the trash cans. We approached Bandana Dog and I cooed my usual, Bandana Dog greeting, "Hey there, Pup-Dog". He looked up at me, looked over his left shoulder, then over his right. I noticed a wave of panic cross his brown eyes. He then turned around to face the other direction, his head bobbing and weaving, his tail nervously batting rapidly from side to side. He was looking for Bike Man. He'd probably spent too much time sniffing and lost track of his owner. I looked around and spotted Bike Man down at the corner of the park. I said to Bandana Dog, "It's ok...he's over there", foolishly pointing to Bike Man. Bandana Dog looked at my finger then looked the direction that I was pointing and took off running, finally rounding the corner of the community center, where Bike Man was at last in his line of sight. Then, he sped up to catch his buddy. It was a funny little snippet in our day.
The first installment of Scenes from the Park is about Bike Man and his dog, Bandana Dog. Bike Man and his dog live directly across the street from the park. Bike Man is outside every morning, rain or shine, usually tinkering with his truck or in the garage, listening to NPR radio news and milling about. His dog, Bandana Dog, is a Shepherd-mix of some sort, white and tan spots, who always wears a bandana. The bandanas range from holiday-inspired to sports-related. Judging by the way that Bike Man presents himself, (rather scruffy, pot-bellied and not terribly friendly) you'd never guess that he'd be the type of dog owner to dress his dog up...who knows, maybe there's a wife in the picture who coordinates the dog's wardrobe.
Usually while we're at the park, Bike Man gets on his bike and slowly rides around the park, not interested in his target heart rate or muscle-building, by any stretch of the imagination. Bandana Dog follows him, always a few yards behind. I've never seen a dog as intense as Bandana Dog. He has no interest in the other people, dogs, squirrels or children whom he passes in the park. He's all about the sniffing--nose to the ground and occasionally looking up to spot his owner. When I first saw Bandana Dog roaming around the park, I thought he was lost. Then, I noticed that he was following (albeit very far behind) Bike Man and then, after seeing Bandana Dog in the Bike Man's front yard a few days in a row, I understood.
Today, Bike Man was making his leisurely twirl around the park and Bandana Dog was doing his usual thing. Bike Man had gotten pretty far away, while Bandana Dog was sniffing a particularly interesting morsel near one of the trash cans. We approached Bandana Dog and I cooed my usual, Bandana Dog greeting, "Hey there, Pup-Dog". He looked up at me, looked over his left shoulder, then over his right. I noticed a wave of panic cross his brown eyes. He then turned around to face the other direction, his head bobbing and weaving, his tail nervously batting rapidly from side to side. He was looking for Bike Man. He'd probably spent too much time sniffing and lost track of his owner. I looked around and spotted Bike Man down at the corner of the park. I said to Bandana Dog, "It's ok...he's over there", foolishly pointing to Bike Man. Bandana Dog looked at my finger then looked the direction that I was pointing and took off running, finally rounding the corner of the community center, where Bike Man was at last in his line of sight. Then, he sped up to catch his buddy. It was a funny little snippet in our day.
posted by Jenny | 9:55 AM
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