Dawg Towne by Alice Kaltman

Author:Alice Kaltman
Format: epub

autumn

Lately, most of my humans use me with a certain selfish survivalism. They extract fuels from me and burn them to warm their ridiculous houses. Some have large panels on their roofs, which has something to do with stealing the rays of my sun. They say this is environmentally correct, but I don’t understand how stealing anything can be prudent.

My humans drive outlandish, oversized vehicles. They shrug and blame their children. They blame their dogs as well. Large dogs require their own section of cars. Soft beds are needed in the rear of the vehicles. Trellises erected to separate dog from human. For privacy or safety. I’m not sure which.

The children have lots of needs, which the parents fulfill with stuff. The parents blame after-school sports. Especially in these months when the temperatures are cooling. The energy of the young is boundless as leaves begin to color and dry, as they blanket the ground in crisped orange and yellow remains.

The parents blow the leaves with noisy machines, or scrape at them with fingered rakes. Anything to make it possible for the children to race around with sticks and balls, wearing strange headgear. Parents drive their monster cars to cleared areas. They huddle and sit on hard planks and watch the children run to and fro across large fields marked with white chalk.

My humans create heaps of trash while applauding themselves for their recycling efforts. Mounds of debris are piled in hillocks on my outskirts in an area referred to as the Dump. These trash heaps disturb my natural aura. They make me look like I have a rash, unsightly bumps on my northern edge. The stench is something nature never intended, like living death, hopeful poison, blooming wilt. Everything curdled.

In bygone eras my perimeters were flat and grassy. Untrodden, inhabited only by subterranean worms and microscopic fleas. Now, aside from the Dump, to the south I have the Mall, a giant sharp-edged monolith with bright shiny features, and an even larger area tarred over called Parking for all those aforementioned cars. Humans come out of the Mall hauling large satchels filled with material goods. I am starting to comprehend the purposes of some items. Food I understand: sustenance and survival. Clothing, also a must in changeable climates like mine; protection and thermal balance. Toys; distraction and pleasure. There’s a category called Electronics, however, that is still an enigma.

When I’m this disappointed I need to remember every century or so a few special humans grow or settle in me. I have a soft spot for the wrong-headed do-gooders who wreak havoc. I’ve watched their dramas unfold since the beginning of time, and I can tell you: they don’t necessarily end well. But still I root for these unique if tiny specks who make it their mission to save the planet, save others, save the creatures, save themselves.

Chapter Seven

Nell: Downsizing

Nell’s rescue missions continued into early autumn. By mid-October she had twenty-three dogs safely sequestered at her retreat. Nell would’ve taken in more if she could, she would’ve searched out and saved all the enslaved.

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