I love the flow of your thoughts in this piece, Ollie! The seemingly small connections, pleasant mindful 'distractions,' on the fringes of your meditation, as you move forward, thanks to Jack!
Thank you, Victoria! Glad you enjoyed reading it. It was a pleasure revisiting it and all the memories from that period just before the pandemic... a different world!
I loved this: so full of incident and people and yet so brief. Really skilful. It’s interesting that it was from a few years ago, I think your writing has altered a little: this vignette has all the brevity of your work today with just an element of expansion.
Hi Nicolas, yes, I think you're right! Around that time, I started writing more compressed pieces and it's now become a sort of habit - one that I enjoy, too. Glad you enjoyed it, and thank you as always for sharing your thoughts.
What a beauty this brief essay is with this wonderful turn like a poem, Ollie: "Gentrification had now wiped that all away and left in its trail a bartender with flowy silver hair, glasses and gym-made muscles. A bartender who turned out to be Brazilian and took Mauricio's breath away."
Lovely reminiscence. The opening sentence really stood out to me.
I once took care of an English bulldog on occasion. The owners were a pastor and his wife, sometimes they had to attend out of town weddings or went on vacations and I would stay with the dog in their cozy bungalow in San Francisco.
I met so many people with that dog by my side. And my memories of walking her are full of visuals,not only because passersby wanted to say hello to her, but because, as bulldogs are wont to do, she would decide when the walk was over, even if we were a mile from home.
I spent plenty an afternoon sitting on the side of a road or in grass, watching life go by and chatting with passersby until she decided she wanted to walk the rest of the way home.
Hi Rosemary, good morning! Thank you for reading and sharing your reminiscence. At the moment, I’ve only done pet sitting around England’s South East (mostly in London) but I wonder if I’ll eventually do it in other countries. I’d love to visit San Francisco that way! I have a friend in Napa who has friends who go away to Italy to visit family; I may pet sit for them one day (with the added bonus of being across the street from these friends.) Like you, I’ve also found dogs to be such a good introduction to other people. You end up bumping into the regulars, wishing them a good morning or good afternoon, and eventually getting into your respective stories, life with the dogs, and so on. I have to say, though, that I’m also very partial to cats!
I love the flow of your thoughts in this piece, Ollie! The seemingly small connections, pleasant mindful 'distractions,' on the fringes of your meditation, as you move forward, thanks to Jack!
Thank you, Victoria! Glad you enjoyed reading it. It was a pleasure revisiting it and all the memories from that period just before the pandemic... a different world!
Beautifully told, Ollie, and I can see why Jack started conversations. He was a stunning dog, with those Bowie eyes!
Thanks Wendy, he was a really lovely, unique dog. Much missed by all who knew him!
"...my ticket into the world of pleasantries"
What a wonderful turn of phrase!
I probably read this on LJ years ago, but it still feels like a revelation
Yes, I believe you did, and left a comment there too! 🙂
Jack is/was beautiful, and so is this piece of writing.
Thanks David. 🫶🏼
I loved this: so full of incident and people and yet so brief. Really skilful. It’s interesting that it was from a few years ago, I think your writing has altered a little: this vignette has all the brevity of your work today with just an element of expansion.
Hi Nicolas, yes, I think you're right! Around that time, I started writing more compressed pieces and it's now become a sort of habit - one that I enjoy, too. Glad you enjoyed it, and thank you as always for sharing your thoughts.
What a beauty this brief essay is with this wonderful turn like a poem, Ollie: "Gentrification had now wiped that all away and left in its trail a bartender with flowy silver hair, glasses and gym-made muscles. A bartender who turned out to be Brazilian and took Mauricio's breath away."
Thank you, Mary! Glad you enjoyed it, and always glad to receive you here. xx
Lovely reminiscence. The opening sentence really stood out to me.
I once took care of an English bulldog on occasion. The owners were a pastor and his wife, sometimes they had to attend out of town weddings or went on vacations and I would stay with the dog in their cozy bungalow in San Francisco.
I met so many people with that dog by my side. And my memories of walking her are full of visuals,not only because passersby wanted to say hello to her, but because, as bulldogs are wont to do, she would decide when the walk was over, even if we were a mile from home.
I spent plenty an afternoon sitting on the side of a road or in grass, watching life go by and chatting with passersby until she decided she wanted to walk the rest of the way home.
Hi Rosemary, good morning! Thank you for reading and sharing your reminiscence. At the moment, I’ve only done pet sitting around England’s South East (mostly in London) but I wonder if I’ll eventually do it in other countries. I’d love to visit San Francisco that way! I have a friend in Napa who has friends who go away to Italy to visit family; I may pet sit for them one day (with the added bonus of being across the street from these friends.) Like you, I’ve also found dogs to be such a good introduction to other people. You end up bumping into the regulars, wishing them a good morning or good afternoon, and eventually getting into your respective stories, life with the dogs, and so on. I have to say, though, that I’m also very partial to cats!