Taking Back The Sidewalk

Newsday ^ | 27 February, 2003 | Jimmy Breslin

[Servant of the Nine]

In the darkness at dawn the other day, I nearly broke every bone in my body when I tripped over something on the sidewalk. It was a dog as small as your foot. No wonder I didn't notice him. "Sorry," a man said, holding the small dog on a leash.

...... Pepe cannot let his pit bull go unchained. Which is just what he had around the dog's neck, a big thick tire chain from a gas station.

...... Here he came lunging and Pepe held onto the chain for all in his arms and the front of the dog, as big as a car grill, was in the air, fighting to get free and to get at these men, and he really hated the men. Pepe had to hold him, and this was some dangerous bundle to restrain. The dog could not control his fury. Pepe had to pull him away and go up the street one step at a time, fighting with his dog Chango.

When everything finally was calm, I had a great thought.

"What do you do in the morning?" I asked him.

"Not much. There's no work."

"Why don't you come down and take a walk with your dog with me in the morning. I'll buy coffee."

[Servant of the Nine]

Breslin has becomeeither totally psychotic or Violently Senile.

Who would think something like this, much less write it and have it printed?

He doesn't just need to be fired, he needs to be put away.

And don't tell me this is one of his "Humor" pieces, it's not.

SO9

[moodyskeptic]

senile.

[EggsAckley]

Actually, the original article is rather interesting. Your formatting made it hard to understand what he was trying to say. The humor is in the real article, not your excerpts.
JMHO.

[KellyAdmirer]

So Breslin lives in an area where the people are rich and can afford fancy dogs and gear for them (upper West Side)? Sort of undermines any claim to being a man of the people - though the term "limousine liberal" comes to mind. The rough, tough-guy prose can't hide that.

[Servant of the Nine]

actually, the original article is rather interesting. Your formatting made it hard to understand what he was trying to say. The humor is in the real article, not your excerpts.

Newsday articles have to be excerpted on FR.
Breslin can be very darkly funny, but I think this is just an example of Senile Rage.
Breslin hasn't been consistently rational, or even comprehensible for about 20 years.

So9

[mr.pink]

Breslin has becomeeither totally psychotic or Violently Senile.

IMHO, he's a lot of both...but I found this line from his piece pretty funny......

That is what curb your dog means. Have dogs play in traffic like they should.

I'm quite familiar with what I call the "dog people" of Manhattan, and the particluar mentality of a large percentage of them. An eccentric bunch to say the least. In my old NYC neighborhood, birthday parties for dogs (with mailed invitations) were very common.

As a non-owner, I was thankfully spared from that.