Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Horses in the 'Hood

Nothing in the world sounds like horse hooves.

So when I'm in front of my house raking leaves today and I hear that peculiar sound on a beautiful November afternoon, it makes me ridiculously happy.

Not like falling in love happy or winning the lottery happy, but just happy that I live in a city where mounted police officers (in this case, one male, one female) have been patrolling the streets for over a century.

Happy that horses are still walking Clay Street decades after motorized transportation replaced them in the name of speed and cleanliness.

And it's not just me who is so taken.

A schoolboy walking home from the bus stop is riveted in his tracks.

A young woman walking a dog freezes as she turns the corner and spots them; her dog keeps going and she doesn't.

My raking is completely forgotten.

The only jarring moment is when the police radio squawks.

And then they're off down the street, clopping that wonderful horse hoof sound.

J-Ward, I love you.

1 comment:

  1. The horses are great. What's not so great is walking out to my car in the Fan to find it next to a few big piles of horse sh!t. If the dog owners have to pick it up, can't the city?

    ReplyDelete