A Happy Contrast

Recently I wrote about walking by the boy mourning his dead dog on a quiet street near my house. Yesterday I walked that way again, for the first time since then. As I passed where the dog had been lying, I scanned the bushes and was glad to note that he had been removed.

As I turned my head back to the street, a very small boy rode past me very intently on his very small bike. Coming along behind him was a boy of about 7, with a young puppy on a sturdy leash. My eyes met this boy's and joy passed between us.

I stopped, and so did the boy. Immediately the puppy was chewing on me with his sharp new teeth. I asked how old the puppy was, the boy said he didn't know, and we continued on our ways. I was smiling for at least another block.

And so the circle turns.