A lot of people are mean

As I’ve gotten older, it’s a thing I’ve seen

Pushing others down to climb higher

Saying nasty things to grant a selfish desire

So on a pretty Sunday morning I snuck out with my dog

We headed to the park for a swim and a jog
I hoped we got there early enough

Hoping to avoid mean people, loud children, and all their stuff

We ran the hidden path behind the baseball field

Outside the vision of the park ranger

Maybe he saw us but figured we were just other strangers

We got to the back of the park along the river

I saw that floating dock and remembered

How fun it is to jump off

That’s what we were there for

An adventure, a dive, more than a sport

Some of the crew boats were out behind the building

Just beyond the tennis court

I had a feeling some people would be out

From behind the trees I saw a woman with white hair

I wondered if she’d care

Should we ask permission to swim

Or just let my pup dive right in

If I were her age, I know I’d be mean

She was probably just like that one woman I met at the Cape – heartless

Saying pups shouldn’t be in the bay

The heels and handbag gave her away

Always one somewhere to shut down the fun

But this time me and my pup were on the run

He wanted to dive

The sign by the dock said no swimming

We were inching

Would the park ranger give us a ticket

Would the rowers hoard the lake

Would the pretty spring morning give us a break

I asked the older lady who was carrying a paddle

“Is it okay to let my pup do a few dives?”

I swung the Chuck-It Stick at my side

She smiled and said, “Oh honey, I won’t tattle

I used to have a Golden retriever myself – I took him swimming off this very pier”

A second later, the park ranger showed up

My hope sank but he smiled and said, “Anyone want a beer?”

Some well-mannered kids followed suit

One of them was even a little cute

She said she liked my hair

A rower pulled up in his boat and said, “Look there! A Golden retriever!”

He told his friends who rowed up, “I don’t like those ‘no fishing’ signs, either”

In no time there were 10 people on the floating dock

Plus a diving pup

A park ranger, an old lady, some rowers, some kids, and me – an outdoorswoman

It was just our luck

People were kind

A pretty Sunday

Friends in the park I thought I would never find

No one said a thing – about drinking in the morning or the pup swimming or kids skipping

Each person gave the other a compliment

Citizens in the park on a Sunday morning

It was beyond the red tape

But to me, it was legitimate