Mabel and Me: A San Diego Boy and His Always Do Right Dog
His name is John. We call him Little John because he is tiny. And, I guess also because his dad’s name is Big John. This is the story of John and his always do right dog – Mabel. They live in San Diego.
John and Mabel are best of friends. They have been since they were both born. When John is away, Mabel waits in the window for him. “Where is Little John?”, she says.
And sometimes, when Mabel goes out for a walk with Dad, Little John sits in the window waiting for her to come home. “Where is Mabel?”, he says.
No matter where they are, they like to pretend. They always dress up when they pretend. Sometimes Little John dresses up like a cowboy.
And sometimes he makes Mabel be his horse. Just like a real cowboy has a real horse. But Mabel’s not a real horse. She just sits there. “Come on Mabel, Giddyup!” yells Little John. But still, Mabel just sits there.
Mabel likes it better when she gets to be a Warrior. Mabel say’s to herself. “I am not a horse. I am a Warrior!” And than she barks to show you she means business.
But mostly, Mabel just likes to be Mabel, the-always-do-right-dog.
And she likes to do cool dog things. Like run outside. “Running outside is a great dog thing to do!,” Mabel says. She goes outside almost everyday. A perfect day is a day outside with Little John.
She always does the right things, never the wrong things. Like always peeing in the right places. Not the wrong places.
..Or letting Little John eat her dog treats and not saying anything. “If Little John wants my dog treat. He can have my dog treat!” she says as she gazes the other way to avoid making him feel uncomfortable for stealing her biscuits.
And if anyone tries to do anything to Little John, she makes a mad face and stands like this. “No one is going to hurt Little John”, she says. And she barks again to show you she means business.
If he ever needs me, I’ll be right there for him. Because he’s always right there for me. I’m Mabel-The-Always-Do-Right-Dog.
And so that is how the story goes. Legend has it that Little John and his Dog Mabel went on to conquer the world together.
Well, even if it was at night and even if it was only in their dreams. They still did it. And they did it together. That’s all that matters to this boy and his dog.
Check out DogVacay in San Diego if you love Dogs. Its an interesting alternative to your dog sitting problems and one that looks like it’s getting a lot traction.
Montreal Street Scenes
Montreal is a great city. This is Part II of our Canadian Travel pictures. These are street scenes from the cool city.
The Man who Knows Every Bird in Quebec
It was 6:30 am. It was cold in Quebec this particular morning and had just finished raining so the streets were deserted. It was a perfect day for taking some pictures of a beautiful city in a dreary and moody setting.
As I rounded a corner to head into a park, I heard a man whooping and hollering like a cattle rustler in distance. It sounded like a mixture of french and english “Ah Yeah, Oui, Oui, Mange, Mange”. It was interesting to hear such a commotion when the city was nearly empty and quiet.
Heading down the stairs, I finally saw what the commotion was about. An older man, with two large bags was flinging crumbs to pigeons and yelling for more to come. He had two large bags, apparently he had a lot to give.
I think at times there is a tendency to think that someone doing something out of the ordinary is crazy, that they are nuts. I think I assumed that and cautiously approached him, snapping some pictures from afar.
He didn’t yell at me, so I moved in closer thinking that he was quite sane. He started to talking to me. He said, “I know every bird in this city”. Again my suspicions were aroused that perhaps he was crazy. How do you know every bird in the city?
He explained further. “I have been coming here, every day for 30 years. I have been feeding these birds everyday.” He wasn’t crazy and he was not lying. He did know every single bird in the city.
“I use “Huile” he said. That is why they love me. I use “Huile”.” I assumed that he meant Oil and he assumed that I knew French. He explained to me that everyday he would go to all the restaurants in the city and get their bread scraps. They cut off the ends of the bread. They pour olive oil on them and leave them for him to collect. I wondered to myself if the birds enjoyed the oil as much as he thought they did.
So here he was at 6:30 am. He’d done it every day for 30 years and he seemed so happy. So happy to feed pigeons, a few seagulls and a single crow that he said was “very smart but very bad mannered”. He told me had 4 children but they moved away. He looked sad and happy at the same time, talking about his family, and birds.
Sometimes a camera can give people an excuse to talk to each other. Me just a wanderer by and he just a bird loving old man. It’s a chance to hear each others story.
He said, “Goodbye, thank you for stopping by”. I said Goodbye too. He probably barely remembers me now, but I have his pictures. I remember him.
Le Petite Cafe for Tea
We’re staying at a small boutique hotel called Le Petite Hotel. It’s pretty cool. We’ve had a great day in Montreal before we head on our train ride to Quebec City. It’s beautiful in Montreal this Autumn.
California Dreamin at Crystal Pier
California Living. It feels nice to live in a place that is known for being laid back and friendly and that’s pretty much the vibe that you pick up on when you take a walk down any California beach before sunset. I went down to another favorite place of mine. This time it was Crystal Pier in Mission Beach. This place is know for surfers, sun and beautiful sunsets. This is where a lot of our friends head to after work to get in a few waves before the sky turns dark.
Tonight the waves were small but the water was warm enough, and it was pretty enough where everyone went in and waited for the small waves.
Crystal Pier and Mission Beach has a long stretch of flat beach, you can even take your beach cruisers for a ride on the sand.
