Two Black Poodles

Although the sun showed itself any number of times today, it was basically an overcast day--and also a windy one. For a while it was sunny at the Viewpoint at the same time that it was overcast down on the bay. A woman came along with two black poodles. I asked how old they were. Although they looked just about alike to me, she replied that one was a year and a half, while the other was eight. She said that the year-and-a-half-old one was an eternal puppy. At least that's how I remember it--several hours from when she said it. It's terrible how easy it is to forget things. It would make more sense if she had said the eight-year-old was an eternal puppy. That would have made a more logical story, wouldn't it? One dog is young, while the other is old. But the old one is an eternal puppy! That has a little more poetry to it, doesn't it? And so my mind wants to remember it this way. This is just how stories get corrupted. Our memories have a tendency to go with what has a logical flow--a sort of balance--regardless of whether this was the case with whatever situation we encountered or heard about. This is why I don't put complete trust in anything I read. And that includes things I've written myself.

As the Sun Drops Lower

Union Bay, Early Evening (I), Sept. 23, 2009 

Copyright © 2009 Paul D. Natkin, All Rights Reserved

Union Bay, Early Evening (II), Sept. 23, 2009

Copyright © 2009 Paul D. Natkin, All Rights Reserved

Union Bay and Hunter's Point, Early Evening, Sept. 23, 2009

Copyright © Paul D. Natkin, All Rights Reserved

As the sun drops lower, I think of the music of Chopin. A sailboat with a white sail slowly makes its way across Union Bay. A man approaches with two little short-haired dogs with spots over their faces. It would have made a wonderful photo if I were a more skilled photographer, or at least quicker to react to the situation. I love the look of a dog being led on a leash around the curve of the edge.