ON THE BACK BURNER

Port Townsend is a lovely place to be homeless and a street person. It seems. it is a short ferry boat ride from Seattle and the police seem to be very tolerant of people standing on a street corner with a cardboard sign asking for help. Some people even have a dog with them. The dog always looks healthy and well fed. Today was such a nice day that I decided to walk Dixie to the lagoon. There are usually bird watchers and dog walkers around, so I feel comfortable walking the different paths. Today, I only saw me and at least four street people enjoying the beautiful weather. I don't feel uncomfortable not having other dog people around, it was just something that I was aware of. Before we finished our walk, there were birders and walkers around, so I did felt better. This reminded me of a street person that I saw almost every day when we moved from the suburb of Evanston to a high rise in Chicago. I would walk our dog, Charlie Two, early every morning. This street person would earn some cash by selling newspapers on my corner.  He loved Charlie and Charlie loved him. I would drop the leash when Charlie saw him , and Charlie would run right up to him. The street person always thanked me for trusting him to be Charlie's friend. I think he was really trying to thank me for humanizing him.

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Latest comments

01.12 | 14:15

Safe travels. See you soon. sally

04.07 | 12:10

I read the last page first too. It’s a family curse.

22.05 | 12:38

so glad youre here mom!

29.08 | 17:45

Don't quite know how this got to me but it was on the top line of my computer (not in email) But I really enjoyed it. I truly admire you.