strolling along

last weekend, santa barbara hosted a five day party technically called old spanish days but, for locals and wannabes it's fiesta, as in viva la fiesta. one might assume that it is rooted to a historic event, or perhaps is a time to reflect on those who brought spanish culture and architecture to this area. this is not the case--it was originally created to lure tourists in, have them sleep in over-priced hotels, eat at many of the millions of restaurants, and basically prove that people are suckers. it works like a charm. it also makes parking nearly impossible.
friday night i decided to partake in some festivities, but had a longish walk to get downtown. i was walking behind a small group of high school girls dressing the part when i noticed them all casually avoid something in the sidewalk. i took the non-verbal warning and found that a dog had defecated in the middle of our path. by this point i was looking for any excuse to keep my gaze from the highschoolers' eyesore-outfits, and took quite an interest in the shit.
it was pretty fresh, uncommonly dark green in color, and unfortunately soft. unfortunate for the person who stepped in it not long before we came along. after the (still warm?) pile there were diminishing footsteps of one foot, trying to wear-off the smelly surprise. then i noticed a small detail that makes the story actually worth telling: the footprints where obviously from bare feet, big toe, little toes, the gap of the arch....it probably squished between his toes.