A Run for My Life

from August 08

Earlier this month, I was visiting my father who lives in one of Dallas's many suburbs. He lives in the same city he first moved to with my mother. After they divorced, my mother initially lived there with us as well. But then she declared the city was On the Decline.

Which to her meant the schools will soon suffer and it no longer be safe. So we moved to a "better" city that was not just thriving but growing.

Looking around my dad's neighborhood, I have to agree, it all changed from when I was an 8 year old girl. Majority of houses are now run-down. The local shopping centers are seedy ... none of the familiar franchises exist.

Don't get me wrong, there are a few homes like my father's. Where people bought their house 30 years ago. Its been long paid off... the lawns are well tended. Inside, many rooms have been remodeled so its very nice. You'll see these 65-70 year old men on their lawnmowers (usually these homes are on an half or full acre) wearing their cowboy hats.

One of my favorite things to do when visiting my father is to power walk in his neighborhood. With my tunes playing in my ears, I'll explore all the old streets of my younger days, waving to these men. Or noting the changes that have happened either because the homeowner got too old to take care of their property, rented it out to someone who doesn't care because they don't own it, or are an immigrant.

Daddy's neighborhood has a large number of Mexican immigrants who settled there. Their yards won't have the lush grass, shrubs and flowers ... they'll try to duplicate the landscaping of their former home. But Dallas is too far East and North for that kind of vegetation to thrive. Maybe if their yard sat in direct sun all day, they could pull it off.

There's been new trend that seems to have taken off in recent years. In the front yard, these elaborate water fountains sit. Fountains that are so big and ornate, they dominate the yard and dwarf the small modest style ranch house behind it. It looks as if they are competing to see who can get the gaudiest and biggest one.

I suspect its a status symbol in their culture. I've never seen one actually have water flowing so I'm intrigued by why a struggling family would bother with this. I say struggling because the car in the driveway is clearly not running (up on cinder blocks) and screens appear to be broken, etc.

But I so enjoy my walking and pondering. That is until The Incident.

I had just started down yet another street and noticed one of those cowboy hat wearing old men adjusting his sprinkler. He shuffled to his backyard gate with two dogs trotting behind him.

Oddly enough, he closed the gate, but with the dogs OUTSIDE still. Just as I'm wondering if he's a bit senile now as I pass the house, the dogs notice me and start barking.

I'm a tad uneasy, but I tell myself they're doing typical dog behavior and as I'm across the street, i.e. not on THEIR sidewalk, they'll just bark at me.

Much to my surprise, the run across the street towards me... I start to walk faster to get out more quickly out of their territory.

They follow. I start to run and they are in pursuit.

Now I actually am in a full blown panic and scream. Hoping the owner will hear it and call his dogs back. No such luck... I'm now several houses away and running as fast I as I can run. I look back to see how close they are to me.

And that's when I trip. I fall to the ground, rolling a bit. I scramble to my feet and run even faster. Finally, I must have crossed the boundary these dogs consider theirs.

My heart is thumping like crazy and I'm looking at the street sign as I'm not exactly sure where I am. I squint at it because its too blurry.

Oh shit. Its blurry because I am not wearing my glasses. They must have fallen off when I hit the ground. I look back down the street, I think the dogs are now laying down in front of that back gate where their owner had first left them. But I can't be sure as its such a blur at that distance for me.

I debate if I go back, as I fell several houses down from them, maybe they won't go berserk again. But I'm too scared.

So I call my Daddy. He'll know what to do. (Funny how that instinct never goes away!) He tells me to wait right there, he's on his way.

While I wait, I get a little annoyed. If you have aggressive dogs, you don't let them off your leash. I have a feeling its because he's an old man but decide to call animal control anyway. What if those dogs are still out when school lets out? I know children live in the neighborhood and will walk down the same street.

Plus, its just not right.

Daddy arrives... I hop in and he drives down the street. He spots my glasses and pulls over and grabs them for me. He wants to see the house where the dogs live because if he knows the owner he wants to have a talk with him.

I point out the house, and no, he doesn't know who lives there. I see the dogs are still laying by the gate so I point them out too.

Daddy looks at me funny. "Those are the dogs that chased you?"

I look again... and I see why he is confused.

They're basically two footballs with a head, tail and little legs. I could have easily just kicked them to resolve the issue. But never did that occur to me.

Truly, I was running for my life. From fu-fu dogs. Oy.