Things Are Not Always As They Seem

The other day I nearly crushed another human being. Driving down the road I met, in the middle of the lane coming towards me, a woman pushing a shopping trolley. The sidewalk was not to her liking, but antiquated Buicks offering imminent destruction around curves were, it seemed, much more her cup of tea.

This person is a fixture in our neighborhood, although seldom in the middle of the road. She pushes her trolley which is heaped with blankets, and in the middle of the blankets rests a dachshund wearing a tartan coat, a wooly hat with a red bobble, and a series of extra blankets, just in case. This woman is taking her dog for a walk.

These days the dog is gray-muzzled, blinks sleepily, and seems entirely content with this arrangement.

In the past, when I’d see this woman, I’d do a mental head-shake and wonder about people generally. Then one day I was watching her do her ritual walk and I made the connection. Dachshunds have bad backs legendarily. Something to do with being overbred and over long. But now I made the connection - the woman pushing the trolley also had a bad back. Watch her carefully and you’ll see that she leans on the bar under her hands. She probably can’t walk very well without this trolley; as it is it gives her support, and she can walk each day. The dog, similarly afflicted, becomes a cover for her, a ‘reason’ to take the shopping cart when her pride might rebel at using a walker.

We all work out some sort of deal for ourselves, and some of the disguises we use to do it are every bit as odd. This lady and her dog taught me to look more carefully - and not to jump quite so readily to conclusions that merely confirmed my mind set. It's a lesson i cherish, and I am grateful.