A dog is the God of frolic

This town is a culture of cars and dogs. There is not a car in South Beach that has not been lovingly cared for. There doesn't seem to be any older than 3 years; they are highly polished and there is not a spot of the requisite rust on any. Each evening, and every holiday, the main street is a car show as cars pull into the traffic jam and travel the 16 blocks at an elderly snail's pace while most passersby (the audience) try to appear cool and avoid looking, but I see them peeking and wishing and hoping. It's a great show - Admission free!

And then there are the dogs. Probably 50 - 60% of the people own dogs with an amazing number of pit bulls, a much maligned breed, which can be very beautiful and, I am told, gentle. There are occasionally large dogs but most are of the small lap dog types. All are well behaved, groomed and coddled. They are treated like humans, which is OK, except it can lead to laughable situations:

Setting the scene:My wife and I are on our walk and are faced with a woman walking in our direction with 3 little dogs towing her along. They are minding their own business and are anxious for exercise but when they pass by an older dog owning lady, her dog suddenly growls, barks and jumps out at the passing three. The first bad dog we have seen. The perp's owner apologizes to the troika lady while trying to hold her bad dog back. The bad dog continues to struggle and bark.

Knight in Shining Armour arrives: A man, presumably the perp's master, comes jogging up. He is exasperated and in a tizzy. In a soft, but firm voice, he says directly to the dog,"What's the matter with you? (pause) Fighting with every dog that passes." He turns his back to his dog, looks at the dog over his shoulder and he adds dejectedly, "I hardly even know you any more, jumping out at every passing dog."

His wife interjects, "He doesn't jump out at every dog..." To which her husband replies, "Every second dog then."

Denouement: The rest of the family tiff is lost as we are out of hearing range. The husband reaches down and lovingly strokes his dog which lies down on the sidewalk, quietly.All is well.

Lessons learned: It has been said that every dog thinks every man is Napoleon but for the pampered puppies of South Beach, every dog thinks every man is Josephine.

Relevancy to PD:We finished our 3 mile walk and my tremor was only faintly noticeable about 10% of the tine. My affected arm swung naturally and my stride was strong and long. I did have to concentrate on the "heal toe" symphony playing in my head but I say again, exercise, exercise and then exercise some more. I am 3 years into this condition and my symptoms have hardly changed at all.

Maybe take a dog for a walk.