I Stalk Dogs

And maybe I should be a tornado chaser.

I had a surprise day off of work today so I hit the road to the Barnes and Noble in Cary to do some fine reading of the lastest novel I'd started. Not too long into my retreat I began to feel achy and realized I must actually be getting sick.

I decided to go home, but on my way I saw two dogs frolicking by the road. Yes, it had started to rain a few drops and yes, I was feeling achy. But that didn't stop me from pulling off into a neighborhood and trying to coax the dogs toward me.

These were pretty trusting pups. The small one let me pick him up and the large one allowed me to hang onto his collar. I debated whether to take them to my car to call the number on one of the tags or whether I should take them up to the front door of the house that belonged to the driveway I was standing in. Deciding that I did not want to look like a dognapper should the family see me leading dogs away, I took them up the steps.

Poor big dog, he was old. After I got him up the steps (with which he seemed to struggle), knocked on the door, and released his collar, he went back down the front steps and I soon followed suit since there apparently was no one home. But now the big dog wouldn't come because he probably figured I would make him go up more steps. The little one was a follower and did whatever the big one did.

They ran off so I did what any daughter of my mother would do, I followed them in my car. I got out of my car once more and tried to get them to come back, but they did not listen. I drove around the neighborhood a bit more and not seeing them, I decided to leave them. It was their fault if they wanted to be in the rain and what I soon found out, was a tornado watch.

My anger toward the dogs soon turned to my anger toward a friend. I think most of my friends and family thought I was just dissapointed in how my relationship with this friend went, but in actuality it hurt with a pain I have rarely known in my life and I'm not sure when the last time was that I had cried that much.

Ok, yes, I had been a bit irrational, but he had been rather insensitive. It's not the first time I had noticed that about him, but I usually tried to dismiss it. I don't think he intends to be insensitive. I actually think that in his mind he doesn't connect his actions to insensitivity. I still respect him because he had been a good friend and there were glimpses of sensitivity once in a while. I'm not so angry now, but I still am a little annoyed by the boy.

Which brings me to my point of being a tornado watcher. As I learned there was a tornado warning in a nearby county and a watch in mine, I found it fascinating as I contined to drive down the back road, the sky gray and a storm on the horizon. I thought it might actually be neat to see a funnel. So says the girl who has never experienced a tornado.

My thoughts and feelings have been all over the place lately.