Dog Walking and Poetry

I am going to preface this post by letting you know that this story is going to give you insight into what happens inside my head .... and believe me it is a scary and chaotic place to hang out . I also want to mention ahead of time that for awhile now my husband has been letting me know that I have issues in terms of my interpretation of what is actually happening as opposed to what I "think" is happening . Like he said to me this morning " Heather, in your world , communication is something that happens between you and you ."

Here is the story . Last night I was walking my dog . It was night time . We were walking in an area bordered by a walking trails . It will come as a shock to you to know that I was in my own world . I was thinking about teaching poetry to my students and planning out some activities that would help them to understand why poetry is so important. I was specifically thinking about figurative language and imagery . Suddenly a woman appeared from the dark of the walking path . She looked a bit disheveled and she had pajamas on . She walked directly towards me and as she was passing me she leaned slightly towards me and said very confidently , "the big guy is coming but he's good "

Ok..... so my first thought here was "shit. " My heart started to beat really fast , I avoided eye contact , made no indication that I had even heard what she said and quickened my pace . She was clearly insane ! What the hell was she talking about ? Who was the big guy ..... and suddenly it hit me .... she is talking about Christ ! She is one of those insane people who mumble about the coming of "the big guy." and what he is going to do when he descends upon on humanity ! Oh crap ! Why did I choose a Shih Tzu and not a German Shepherd ???? What if she follows me ....I turned to look back and she was standing staring at me !! Ok Heather .... don't run .... just stay calm . She said the "big guy" was good so clearly she is not hostile . She is just spreading the positive news right ????

I need you to know that this all happened in the blink of an eye .... all those scary thoughts crashing around inside my head . It looked something like this .... scary woman .....trees ......I'm cold....why is she leaning towards me .....what the hell ......heart beat, heart beat, heart beat......panic, panic, panic, what the hell ......why does this always happen to me ......don't run, don't run , she is not going to kill you just be calm , crazy religious psycho please leave me alone , please don't kill me, why are you staring at me ....leave me alone . Suddenly my thoughts were interupted . Coming from the same place that she had come from was a very very large, unleashed dog . He bounded towards my shih tzu and I ...... gave us a friendly glance and tail wag and continued on towards his owner ( the crazy psycho, pj wearing lady ) . The big guy did indeed come and yes he was "good."

Shit I thought to myself .... another example of me choosing the figurative interpretation instead of the literal one ! My heart rate slowed as I realized that I was in no immediate danger ! On the plus side .... I had my lesson plan about figuarative language !!!!