The Pantaloon : Gone To The Dogs : Brother Wagwit

The Pantaloon
Edited by Brother Wagwit
Earlyish in the 21st Century

Gone To The Dogs

A man is walking down a narrow sidewalk along a busy street. Lots of traffic. Cars, buses, coming and going. Not much wiggle room on the sidewalk. It’s narrow. The man looks up and sees a woman and her dog, walking up the narrow sidewalk towards him. Tall woman. Many tall women these days. Dog’s on a leash. Not much space to negotiate without jumping onto the street. Woman is not going to move, the man can tell. He sees a bus coming up the street. Definitely can’t jump onto the street. Just a couple of paces away and the woman won’t even make eye contact, let alone leave room for a wiggle. The man quickly turns sideways, his back against a wood fence. Less of an obstacle, he thinks. The woman is in his face now, she’s taller than she seemed just a few yards away. As she pushes by, her dog jumps up and bites the man on his thigh. Dog’s leash was not short enough. Surprised, he turns and sees the woman, briskly walking away from him. No acknowledgement, nothing. The man says, “Miss, your dog just bit me.” No acknowledgement. He says again, louder, “Miss, your dog just bit me. Would you at least care to apologize?” Nothing, no acknowledgement, not a word, not a glance. The man checks his wound. Not much to speak of. Just a surface break and a slight scratch. His shorts were thick enough and the dog had bitten at the seam. The woman was now a half-block away, turning the corner from the narrow sidewalk onto a side street. Gone.

Do you see me now?