as i’m finishing my jog with btg, i see a
familiar face beginning the trail. i couldn’t quite pinpoint where i had seen
him from, but i knew i had seen him and that we had spoke before. as i get
closer, i notice his dogs look familiar. he’s got a smaller black dog, and
a rough collie on a leash.
at that point, it clicked.
back in 2013 to 2014, you could find me at reedy creek barkingham dog park damn near everyday. i was the most regular of regulars. i knew quite a few people and their dogs, and vis-versa. one of the guys who used to be a regular there was Mr. Rich. Mr. Rich had a black dog named rocky, and 3 rough collies. that’s where i knew him from, the dog park.
i approached him and we began talking. he said he recognized bagel and i, but couldn’t quite remember our names. when i told him bagel’s name, his memory seemed to be refreshed. Mr. Rich said he hadn’t been to the dog park ever since 2014 either. i told him i couldn’t blame him because people and their dogs there are kind of assholes at times, not all, but there are quite a few of them.
i forgot about Mr. Rich. we stood beneath the shadows of trees under the may sky speaking on random things for 15 minutes. he told me two of his rough collies had passed, one due to a blood infection. it made sense to me in a way, as there were two rough collies missing from him today that were in my memory from 3 years ago. it was sad to hear, but reassuring when he said they had long, happy lives. i’m bad with offering words of condolence, but i told him life is a cycle that was here before us, and will be here after us. he asked about my beliefs, and though i don’t have one particular i subscribe to, he told me he was a buddhist. it surprised me, but it didn’t. he has the chill-buddhist vibes when you speak to him, but from his appearance, he’s an older white man who rocks a baseball cap and boots. Mr. Rich told me to check out a cambodian temple off north tryon before we went our separate ways. as i got in my car, i couldn’t help but to look at bagel and miss his two rough collies for him.
life.
-ratha, 4:45pm, 5.15.17