One of the truly beautiful things about my life, about being me and about living right beside this gorgeous promenade is the fact that every single time I walk out the door with my dog a different adventure awaits with so many different and lovely souls to meet and share time, love and laughter with.
Tonight was particularly wonderful because it was a very hot day and Laz wasn't exactly the happiest hairy dog on the planet with the heat so we did not get out as much during the day like we usually do. He was super stoked and happy when I decided to take him for an earlier stroll when it cooled down.
He was even more stoked and even happier when we literally walked out our apartment door and saw our new friend Avi standing on the corner of our street and my gosh was Avi ever stoked and happy too when he saw me and Laz!!!
This 16 year old kid is amazing...just possibly one of my all time favourite souls I have ever met and get to spend time with.
He was afraid of dogs when we first met a few weeks ago but he is spending the summer in Edmonton with his 82 year old grandmother who doesn't like to go outdoors and this kid is super intelligent and super social and we hit it off immediately and he and Laz fell in love with each other.
He is a rare kid who doesn't do social media and decided to come to Edmonton to see and experience something new because he already knows Toronto inside and out.
The last time we met a few weeks ago he and Laz played soccer and we just hung out for hours and he loved the fact that Laz and I just sit out on the corner and so many people stop to talk to me to ask about my dog. This kid thinks he has died and gone to social Heaven hanging out with me and my big hairy dog. Not at all like my own kids who honestly, except for Sacha, do choose not to go out in public with me that much if they don't have to and when we do think nothing of pretending they don't know me and just continue walking when I stop to talk to a lot of random strangers.
But Avi, now Avi is my buddy and I talk to a lot of random strangers.
We barely made it to the end of the street before we ran into a very funny man named Dave who we had an extremely interesting conversation with about my "moral dilemma" of not giving my dog lamb dog food even though it suits his tummy best as a herding dog and instead I am a wuss and make him eat turkey. It is expensive limited ingredient food but just the thought that I am in anyway contributing to a little lambs pain, suffering and death just gets the better of me and I keep getting him the turkey one.
His friend Steve didn't stay around for the conversation for very long, especially after admitting that he had actually enjoyed a "really awesome lamb chop dinner" the night before. I just laughed and told him I don't have any issues with what other people do I just have a problem laying my head down of a night thinking about my contribution to the whole scheme of things.
We then got into a very interesting conversation regarding eating "pork" which I informed Dave that I didn't eat that either cause I had a pot belly pig as a pet named Pigsley for 11 1/2 years and pigs have the intelligence and understanding of a 5 year old child and are the only animal that know they are being led to slaughter.
Dave didn't actually know that and immediately decided with this new information to rethink the whole "eating pork thing". To each his own I say but I do think people should know this fact.
We wandered off from Dave and hit the promenade and I was DELIGHTED to see my Lebanese friend Mike sitting down there with a woman who nearly jumped ten feet straight in the air and backwards at the same time when she saw my dog. I have seen some reactions to my dog but this extreme reaction was a first. I informed her that my dog was more wary of her than she was of him and he would not come near her and Mike translated.
She did not seem impressed or assured and abruptly left.
Mike was so happy to see me and he and Avi hit it off right away and the even more exciting part is Mike invited us to a Hookah bar just down the street tomorrow night. He wants to "buy me a pint and tell me many more things" so since Avi is underage he will just have to have a soda, sucks for him but he was DELIGHTED to be included in the invitation.
Mike and Avi shook hands, he and I hugged again of course and we settled on meeting tomorrow night at 9 pm. Getting close to my bedtime but for these two wonderful gentlemen who enjoy my company...I will make an exception and stay out until the place closes down.
We met many more wonderful people who all wanted their photos taken with Laz and it was yet another beautiful evening with so many beautiful people strolling along the Victoria Promenade.
It was such a lovely night that Avi and I sat out talking on the benches on our street and we made a plan for tomorrow for him to take me on a tour of the Legislature buildings and he was again DELIGHTED that we got to bring Laz with us because he said he had never experienced so many people being so friendly and wanting to talk while he was just out wandering around.
I told him "welcome to life with me and Laz" and just then a lady wandered over walking her "orange rescue barn cat named Felipe" and he and Laz had an interesting "stare down" until Laz jumped first when the cat gave him "that cat look" that Laz knows all too well means a "swipe" is coming.
We then were approached by a very skinny, hungry man who apologized for disturbing us but did either of us have any extra money so he could go and buy some food. I felt so bad because I do not carry any cash on me and I could not help him out even though I wanted to.
Sterling used to say she refused to take me to San Francisco with her for her modeling shoots if I did not stop giving all the homeless people my money because I was too poor to think I should be helping poor people out but honestly I don't like thinking of anyone going hungry but I do know she is right. The young man's name was Israel and he just really seemed like he wanted someone to talk to so I chatted with him for a little bit and he said he was terrified of dogs after being mauled by a pit bull when he was a child but that my dog seemed very nice and not scary at all.
He wandered off and Avi and I chatted about all sorts of things then hugged goodnight.
Whew I need my beauty rest...someone has a busy, busy social day tomorrow and another adventure awaits.!
