Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Among the One Percent (of Something)

MICROPOLITAN DIARY
Dear Diary,
Tonight I walked Joey down by the river. Because there were a couple of dogs in riverfront park (Joey has terrible leash aggression), we went to the boat launch. I parked the car in the parking lot, and we proceeded to walk around the perimeter. As we were walking on the grass near the launch, Joey pooped, and I picked up after him with the trusty poop bag I had in my hand. (Annoyingly, the pants I was wearing had no pockets, so I had one poop bag in my hand and two more, just in case, tucked into the waistband.)
I thought we might manage a little walk at the north end of the park (the other dogs had been near Rick's Point), so we headed in that direction. As we approached the Hudson Power Boat Association, a woman sitting on a bench just outside the entrance said to me, "Thank you . . . for what you had in your hand." 
I was momentarily confused, because what I had in my hand at that point was the key to my car, but it occurred to me to ask, "You mean the poop bag?"
She said "Yes," and went on to say, "Ninety-nine percent of people don't pick up after their dogs." I responded, "Oh, I hope that's not true," adding "I would never not pick up after my dog." She attested that the last time she saw someone pick up after a dog was two years ago and then said to me, "God bless you."
I thanked her for the blessing, and we wished each other a pleasant evening. Then Joey and I headed on into the park.
Her perception of us dog owners disturbs me. Who are the 99 percent who are not picking up after their dogs? It's the law, and it's also basic decency. Fellow Hudson dog people, we can do better.
"Micropolitan Diary" is Gossips' homage to and blatant imitation of "Metropolitan Diary" in the New York Times. The term micropolitan was coined (by Gossips) because Hudson is a metropolis in microcosm.
COPYRIGHT 2019 CAROLE OSTERINK

1 comment:

  1. Speaking of which there is a mountain of dog poop under my tree on Warren Street - just sayin.

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