Dear Diary:
About 30 years ago, I lived in the East 60s between Park and Madison Avenues. Because the apartment was in the rear, it had what all New Yorkers crave: quiet.
In those dark predawn hours the delicate stillness of our treasured sanctuary would often be replaced by the shrill continual barking of a small dog, quickly followed by an angry chorus of shouts and threats by abruptly awakened neighbors. This boisterous interchange between man and dog would continue for upward of 45 nerve-shattering minutes.
Throwing poisoned meat out the window was suggested by many, which prompted me to step up and volunteer to find the owners and talk to them. The problem was, everyone could hear the dog but no one could see it. Further complications arose during the summer months, when the foliage became so thick it was impossible to figure out exactly where the barking originated.
The erratic early-morning nightmare continued.
One day a super cleaning outside the suspected building directed me to the ground-floor apartment. Other than the yapping dog on the other side of the door, no one was home. Writing down the information from the plaque outside the brownstone, I returned home and looked up the phone number and left it on my nightstand.
At 5:20 a.m., amid the barking and the shouting, I called the dog’s owner.
“Hello.”
“I’m calling about your dog … ”
“[Expletive deleted!]” the voice on the other end snapped.
Click.
And who answered the phone? I’m guessing it was the psychiatrist who lived there and whose practice was called “The Institute of Better Human Relations.”
Read all recent entries and our updated submissions guidelines. Reach us via e-mail diary@nytimes.com or follow @NYTMetro on Twitter using the hashtag #MetDiary.
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends:
- Massacres That Matter - Part 1 - 'Responsibility To Protect' In Egypt, Libya And Syria
- Massacres That Matter - Part 2 - The Media Response On Egypt, Libya And Syria
- National demonstration: No attack on Syria - Saturday 31 August, 12 noon, Temple Place, London, UK
via http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNFimO1t612e7zfEue_KfIEay71S2A&url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/09/im-calling-about-a-barking-dog/
Show Konversi KodeHide Konversi Kode Show EmoticonHide Emoticon