my home-
this community-
now a dog park:
with one-way sidewalks
neighbors who yelp and yap and growl at my wife
instead of Chuck waving across the street:
“Hey Bob, how’s it goin?”
now when we go for a walk at night
our neighbors bark at us,
stray dogs,
dogs behind fences,
two dogs on leashes
and sometimes three:
the more the merrier for every owner
and they come in all sizes
huge like SUV’s,
the bigger the better,
the louder the barking
the more secure
our neighbors figure
“help, honey, help!” my wife screamed last month
chased by a dog on one of those long leashes:
“it’s okay”, the owner laughed reassuringly,
“he doesn’t bite”,
and that’s swell
but now my wife won't go out for an after dinner walk
and should I carry a cane or something more baleful?
and the times my shoes have gotten dirtied
checking the mail after work
in my own front yard?
and the crazy dog stories we hear:
Sam the handyman
getting attacked in backyards fixing sprinklers
or just walking by someone’s house,
really?
or is that okay cause: “he doesn’t bite”?
and the time last Wednesday night
walking by four or five dogs
owners laughing and talking
a woman arrogantly shouts “we don’t hear any problem”
above the chorus of yelps
after I had to move off into the road
into oncoming traffic
yes, neighbors,
there is a problem
like Paul Simon said:
"folks just hear what they want to hear and disregard the rest"
so how long do we compensate for these new neighbors
who have populated our community these past few years
along with the foreclosures
and the squatters
who don’t seem to hear or care?
who don’t understand or remember all the quiet and peaceful years before them?
can we get a handle on this situation?
this is our community,
these are our hard working streets!
and as for me…
my previous leisurely afternoon walks
now have become late night covert operations
dodging and avoiding my new neighbors (with earplugs)
to take my daily doctor mandated walk,
just to enjoy these once placid Rainberry Lake streets
even though it's obvious
and getting pretty clear:
my time has come
Delray Beach
5/7/11