Posted in GTO on December 24, 2010 |
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My father would have turned 80 on December 6th if he were still alive. He loved trains, classic cars, road trips, maps, macaroons, Burl Ives, Johnny Cash, stamps, Susan B’s, $2 bills, magazines, the Drive-In, truck stops, diners, dogs, tall tales, and anything off the beaten path. So when a stray followed me home on Roy’s birthday, F and I decided to foster him in memory of Roy’s love of dogs. Maybe we would even keep him if we couldn’t find him a home.
Since then, I’ve been walking him as soon as there’s daylight. We go for an hour… down the narrow alleys of Pastita, through Embajadoras where juicers are just setting up their tables, down empty streets that will be filled with traffic and morning commuters in less than an hour, and up Tecolote and the barking roof dogs. By the time we reach the Panoramica Pipila-side, I’ve worked up a sweat. We walk past the parking lot attendants and say Buenos Dias, past Pipila who is warming up with the first rays of sun on his back. I look down and see the University, half covered in shadow. We continue and pass a chicken and rooster always out on the street at this hour. To the left, three massive Dobermans bark up a storm. The first time I saw them, I was grateful for the fence as they followed us, until I realized the fence simply stops at one point and the only thing separating us from them is 30 feet of space and a ditch. But they just bark and we keep walking.
We’re in Cuarto de Gallo now and we begin the decent back into town. We walk-run down a steep hill. On Sundays, neighbors gather outside a small church on this street to sing and pray in the street. We stop at these times to listen and observe the solemn moment. We move on. In no time at all, we’re at the Basilica making our way to Plaza Baratillo and then up one of the streets for freshly squeezed juice: mandarin, orange, cactus, carrot, beet, celery, apple, combo… I select something different everyday. From here, it’s a straight shot up the last hill to the Prepa, and then a jump further to the Panoramica, and finally up the dirt hill to our place.
Yesterday, we went to the Bufa. There was nobody there, just Farley and I. It’s nice having this walking companion. He often glances up at me on our walks, and it always seems as if he is smiling. Once at the top of the Bufa, I ate an apple and gave him some water as he sat as close to me as he possibly could. We both looked over the cliff at Guanajuato, grateful for one another’s company.
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