Greenlake

On Monday I took the dog for a spin around the lake. Long walks are status quo for the pair of us and since I got an i-pod, they're much more fun. I get a little worried that the i-pod is yet one more device that prevents me from interacting with the real world, but then a New Pornographers song comes on and the trade-off seems worth it.

So we're walking around the lake and an older gentleman walking two dogs stops us to ask what kind of a dog I have (border collie mix I think) and how old she is (maybe 4?). B and I were on the South side of the lake, walking clockwise, so when the gentleman asked if I could give a message to the guy at the coffee stand - you know, the one by the boat rental place - I said sure.

"31"

Huh?

"That's the message. Just tell him 31."

Uh, okay. B and I continued our walk and stopped as promised to give the coffee stand guy the message. While B ate a dog biscuit and stuck her nose into the whatever that an older woman was knitting, I told the coffee stand guy "31" and asked if he knew what it meant. CSG said that it was a "promotional thing" that he had going with the gentleman, a secret number that would get the bearer a free coffee drink. I had an iced carmel nonfat latte.

Two biscuits later, B and I left the coffee stand to finish our walk around the lake and passed the gentleman again. I said thanks for the number and free coffee tip and he asked if I met the CSG. The CSG, he said, likes big dogs and cute girls. Well, it's always flattering to get that sort of a compliment and a little cute that the gentleman is looking out for the CSG. We chatted for another minute and then B and I continued home.

So that was Monday. Yesterday, B and I again circled the lake. We ran into the gentleman at about the same spot as before, and he introduced us to a woman he was with and asked if we were going to stop and say hi to the CSG. No number this time. B and I did in fact stop for a sec - there's a doggy water dish next to the coffee stand - and then continued around the lake where we ran into the gentleman a second time by the other doggy water dish. The gentleman introduced us to more of his friends and then asked if we stopped to talk to the CSG. He invited B and me to join him on our next walk around the lake and promised to teach B to climb trees. (That's one of the funniest things I can imagine - I do love my dog, but she's an ungainly clutz who's afraid of heights. Seeing her climb a tree would be about as natural as seeing one of the Woodland Park rabbits swim across the lake.)

I think the gentleman is trying to play matchmaker. I'm either going to have to start having conversations with the CSG or find another time to walk around the lake.