Southerners like to mind their own business. It comes natural as common sense. Yet, feisty will always prevail. This is what happened.
"Come on y'all lets go for a walk. Embry will you please put the dog on her leash and girls get the ball." Summertime and the livin is easy. No darned school schedules. Didn't like them when I was a kid and still don't. Barefoot and fancy free. Simple. That's how I like it.
The baby starts kicking his fat brown legs when he hears the word leash. "Come here sugar pie" I say while bending over to pick him up. Nothing like fresh air and exercise to tire young ens out.
We walk a short distance to the small private park that is in the middle of our piece of suburbia. About 75 medium size homes weave around the park that centers on a lovely pond.
As we reach the water I pick a spot and spread out the blanket. Giving the girls playdoh and the baby a little bucket of blocks, Embry and I unleash the dog and start throwing her ball.
The park is empty. At a fairly close distance is a woman washing her car on the side of her home, which is adjacent to the park. A little girl rides her bike back and forth. Our yellow lab, Gracie Burns
is thrilled to be free of a leash, galloping after each ball she is thrown. After about a half an hour I join the kids on the blanket and watch as Embry continues to play and run with our mutt.
I can't help but notice, the woman, who is now drying her car keeps giving me longer and dirtier looks. Oh brother, what is her problem. I admire the baby's blocks as he knocks them down and we start over again. Now, the woman and her daughter are clearly giving us the evil eye. I continue to mind my own business.
Another fifteen or twenty minutes pass. Lost in play with my children I am surprised to look up at the little girl who had been riding her bike. She is standing right next to our blanket. Smiling, I say hello as she frowns and points her pink polished finger in the direction of our dog. "My mommie says you should put your dog on a leash." I'm sincerely shocked at her age, what is coming out of her mouth, and the fact that this grown woman sent her child over to admonish me. I am floored. But, she is just a kid and I remain cool. On the outside.
"Oh really?" I reply. "Is our dog bothering you? "She thinks about it and answers with the honesty of youth. "No." "OK, tell your mommie not to worry about it. We live her too."
Shrugging her shoulders she turns to go home. At this point the woman is now cleaning the inside if her car. Lucky me.
Curious at my neighbors audacity I look in her direction. Not a pretty sight. She is more than a little bit overweight and her clothes have not kept up with her growth spurts. Each time she leans in, a huge blubbery chunk of butt glops down beneath her shorts and any excess from that, spills over the top of her shorts. I guess they are her shorts. But they sure don't fit and quite frankly, anyone that big should not be wearing 'shorts' of any size, in public.
I turn my head. Looking at my watch it is still early. Summer thunder clouds are brewing but they are a distance away. Opening my book I start to read. Hayley and Hannah are singing as they swing their legs back and forth against mine. These are the moments life is made of.
Another ten-fifteen minutes pass and sure enough, lookie here. Two pair of feet now stand poised at the edge of our blanket. The litttle girl and her mother are waiting for my attention. Once again I, smile and say hello. Oh my, a gust of cold wind hits my face as this woman glares down at me "Your dog has been running loose for the last hour. He should be on a leash. You dog lovers should realize not everyone likes dogs."
That was it. She should have run.
Standing up I look her right in the eyes. "Lets walk over here, shall we?" I cooly respond. I wanted to set her straight, but away from our children's ears.
Then I did.
"Yea, you could be right. But we are on private property. You and I both pay money for this park and for good reason animals are not prohibited. My dog isn't bothering anybody or anything. And since you walked all the way over here to tell me what to do after you sent your leash led six year old over here..... let me tell you what I have had to look at the past hour.
Your ass. And it doesn't look good from any angle. You should have on much bigger shorts and you might want to invest in a mirror. But do you hear me complainin? No you don't. Did I walk over to your house and ask you to put on some clothes? No I did not. I was mindin my own business."
A LTTLE BIT OF IVEY
