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Maybe
this has nothing to do with anything, but
this weird thing happened to me today. I
was walking by myself, which is something
I like to do in the mornings on Saturdays
when it's still quiet. The sky was pretty,
part blue and sunny and part gray, with
all these different kinds of clouds, like
maybe it couldn't make up its mind whether
it was going to rain or not. The air
smelled good and there was a breeze. So
I'm walking along, not really thinking
about anything, and I see a man with his
little girl and this really great looking
Labrador Retriever, just like my Uncle
Carlos has. I like those kind of dogs. You
know, there are some little dogs, like
miniature poodles and pugs, that bark at
everything and act like they could take
anybody down. But the truth is you could
send them flying with one kick and they
wouldn't ever know what hit them. They
just make all that noise because they're
afraid someone will find out that inside
they are nothing. So behind all the noise
is just fear. I know people like that too.
Before I joined the gang I felt like that.
Then after I left the gang and got away
from all of that macho stuff, I didn't
feel that way anymore. That's why I like
Labs, because not only are they smart and
big and strong, but they are gentle. It's
like they know the power they have, so
they don't need to be barking and snapping
at everything that moves. Those dogs got
pride and no fear.
Anyway,
I'm walking toward this man and his
daughter and I smile and say "Nice dog."
The man smiles at me and pats the dog's
head and says "Yeah. He's a good one."
Then the little girl, she's like four or
five, pulls on her dad's sleeve and says
"Daddy, you're not a allowed to talk to
strangers!" Her father laughs and I smile
at the girl and say, "I am just admiring
your dog. My uncle's dog looks just like
that and his name is Taco." The girl
cringed at the sound of my voice and
buried her head in her father's sleeve. It
made me feel weird to think I was scaring
her and the man seemed embarrassed "She's
a little shy," he told me.
The girl
yelled louder "Daddy, you're not allowed
to talk to strangers!" And started making
a big fuss. The man said to me, "I'm
sorry." and started to walk
away.
And she
screamed at him again and punched his arm
frantically.
I said,
"No problem." and I got out of there real
fast. That's when it started to
rain.
On the
way home, I kept thinking about what
happened and the stuff people teach their
kids about other people and about fear.
The whole thing seemed really weird to me.
I mean, I understand the "Don't talk to
strangers" thing. My Momma told me that
too when I was little. But even when you
are young you realize that there are
people you don't know who are nice,
like this lady who once helped me find my
momma when I got lost in a store. So I
wondered why does this little girl was so
filled with fear. It's not like she was
alone. And it's not like she was being
threatened and neither was her father. I
wondered why didn't she trust that her
father could take care of her? Why she
didn't even trust that her father could
take care of himself? She must
believe that no one can be trusted and
that the world is a very dangerous place.
That's real sad.
After
lunch I took my brother Ray to the movies.
We met Dee and her brother Trevor there.
Ray and Trevor sat together and so did Dee
and me. But after about five minutes she
got up and left. She seemed really mad. I
don't know why, but I'm sure it wasn't
anything I said, because we hardly talked
at all. I guess she just didn't like the
movie.
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