Picnic in the Park

We decided to walk to the Coffee House on Fairfax to get a drink and sandwich for a picnic at the Berkeley Springs State Park. The
Park is about the size of a small city block. There’s a rock lined indention in the ground called Washington’s bathtub. I can’t see our president taking a bath there but I dutifully had my picture taken as a souvenir of our trip through West Virginia.

While eating our lunch we observed a little man coming out of one of the apartments. He was complaining to his dog, a small dust ball of blond hair. I overheard his complaints and had to laugh to myself.

“Get out of here Tom! Why don’t you just get out of here!

And take that dog with you. Take him for a walk—a long walk. You need it! You both are getting a little pudgy. The girls are coming over and I need some quiet!”

“The girls are coming over! The girls are always coming over. The girls are coming for bridge. The girls are coming for tea. The girls are a gaggle of geese, as far as I can see!”

Grabbing the leash he called to the dog.

“ Come on Piggy, Let’s get out of here. We can wander over to the park and watch the kids at the playground.”

“Maybe I can go get a haircut. I don’t like these curly locks. I wonder how she’d like it if I got a crew cut. How about that Piggy?”

“Would you like a crew cut too? That would really show her wouldn’t it!”

He wandered over to the playground and watched the toddlers slipping down the slide into the mud. It looked like fun. “Not something we could do though.” he said. “We’re too old. He stuck his hands into his jeans pockets and watched enviously. A light drizzle made the day colder and definitely
damper.

“No Piggy! No Piggy! Get down! Mr. Pie’ger’ come back here right now!”

“No! No! Stop rolling in the mud! Clara gets angry when I get dirty! And you’ve torn my shirt.”

“Not that that’s much of a loss! I hate plaid shirts. Cripes sake my grandfather wore plaid shirts. Now-a days real men don’t wear plaid! “

The rain started falling harder. He was definitely wet now and so was Mr. Pie’ger.

“Maybe I’ll just tie you up here and go into the library. No one would ever know. I could spend time and read the magazines. You
wouldn’t care would you Piggy? Good Dog!”

We decided to spend the rainy afternoon in the museum. After a few hours I could see the girls leaving the apartment building across from the park so I figured it was finally safe for him .

“I guess we can go home now.” He muttered, as he walked out of the library and untied the dog.

“We can sneak in with our shoes off and without Clara noticing the shirt. I’ll even give you a bath. No
one will ever know.”

“For Cripes sake doesn’t she understand! I’m only five years old!