"The Essential Francisco Sosa or, Picadou's Mexico City"

            "Walking, I am sure my little black pug Picadou would
            agree, is the essential part of our day. If Picadou could talk,
            I think she would say that grass is nice, but humans and canines––their
             smells, habits and whereabouts (or nowhereabouts)––are
            the most interesting. So when we go for our afternoon walk down
            the Avenida Francisco Sosa, which has tall trees, whose branches
            hold hands across the street, we don't mind the lack of grass.

            But first we have to hurry down our own narrow street. Beneath
            the canopy of bougainvillea and lavender wisteria, birds chuckle;
            a gecko slithers up a wall into ivy. Weeds and tufts of grass
            poke between the cobblestones; Picadou picks her way eagerly,
            but carefully as a cat.

            In the length of a ball's toss we're in the alleyway of Montecristo,
            aiming straight at the Avenida Francisco Sosa. Most of Montecristo
            is spanned by the jail-high wall of the pumpkin-colored house
            that was listed by Sotheby's for several million dollars, but
            took as many million years to sell (I suspect at a much lower
            price than was asked) because, after all, its front door is on
            an alleyway. Here, the sidewalk is only two flagstones wide and
            cars barrel past fast over the jumbled stones, the chassis' creaking
            and tires bumping. Picadou does not like me to, but I pick her
            up and carry her. To avoid the lamp post, I have to step down
            into the street; then, after waiting for a VW van to rattle past,
            I step down again to go around a smashed beer bottle. There goes
            the Domino's Pizza delivery scooter: put-put-put..."

Award-winning author C.M. Mayo takes us through the streets of Mexico City with her dog in her latest C.D.

VISIT.

[Thanks Lauren!]

Comments

[Joy]

I visited her site and read the entire essay. Highly recommended!