Swing Low

I've seen him around town for a few years now. He can be seen most mornings walking the streets around the edge of town and out into the countryside. He's beating the tall grass and bushes by the roadsides, looking for aluminum and scraps of metal to recycle. 

The reason I see him quite often is because the scrap metal yard where he cashes in his finds happens to be 1/8 mile from my shop.

But what actually made me start noticing him is his partner. Ever by his side walks a small red Pomeranian tethered to his belt with about six feet of string. 

The dog looks like a miniature chow-chow and I suspect that even without the string, he wouldn't wander too far off from his pal. I'm guessing the string is for the man's peace of mind -- working as he does along busy roads.

One hot summer morning I stopped my van alongside him to ask if he wanted some water for his little dog. He mumbled a ‘thanks but no thanks’ as he reached into the pack behind him to show me that he carries water for the dog.

Well, this morning as I was riding my bike to work I passed him heading out to the scrap metal yard. This time he was riding a bike. I'd never seen him with a bike. And behind the bike he was towing a two-wheeled cart filled with his cache to cash.

And in the front of that cart the fellow had built up a little bench upon which sat the Pomeranian -- wind in his ever smiling face, riding his chariot like he owned the road.

I smiled too. Most of the rest of the way to work.