Freedom. I wouldn't have been able to write for this prompt a mere four days ago. Since then, I have learned a lot about freedom. I have had quite a lovely taste of it in a very unexpected place. And even more unexpectedly, I learned about freedom from my dog.
That's right, from my dog, and the many hundreds of dogs we were together with just yesterday morning.
Now where did we encounter hundreds of dogs? I know this is probably the stuff nightmares are made of for some of us. My eldest daughter is one of those. A few years ago she was walking, on leash, one of her friend's dogs, when the dog was attacked and gravely harmed by another dog on a leash. There is probably no way I will be able to entice her to accompany me and my pooch when next we are all together in Brooklyn, NY, just a few weeks from now, to come with me to a place and I now know is teeming with love.
Lots of folks might think of anything BUT freedom and love when they think of New York City. I know people who avoid the place altogether, thinking they would encounter nothing but strife and squalor, juxtaposed with luxury and wealth. But lemme tell ya, there's a place in New York City where everyone, and everything, is vibrantly alive, healthy and gloriously happy. There are folks from all socio-economic categories, all colors and persuasions, Republicans and Democrats. It's a heaven of sorts, paradise. And it's all because of the freedom that has been provided for dogs.
It's a good thing Galen has a brother whose work I also read, because, as in the way of most really good things, my answer to Taraz' simple question "how was your weekend?" brought my answer to Galen's query to mind. Here's part of a comment that I left on one of his posts
In fact, I did have a great weekend. I went to my old haunts, Brooklyn NY.
The BEST thing about the trip was very unexpected. I'd heard that the neighborhood, Park Slope, was a great neighborhood for dogs. Indeed there are a great many dogs on the sidewalks (and pregnant women, another thing Park Slope is known for), and they are all well-behaved, and friendly on leash. I noted these things, because where I live, dogs are poorly behaved and it's hard to walk my dog on leash because many of the dogs can be aggressive. There's no dog park here, so I have always thought the problem is that the dogs have nowhere to socialize, to sort out what good and bad behaviors are for themselves.
Park Slope borders a gorgeous 526 acre park, Prospect Park. Dogs are allowed off leash in the entire park from 9pm to 1am, then again from 5am to 9am! I took my pooch there, not knowing what to expect, and what we found was dog heaven! Hundreds of dogs in sight, whichever way we looked. There may have been thousands in the park at one time. All off leash. I spent nearly four hours there over the weekend and did not see one single altercation between dogs. Not one. They've even got little ponds they can swim in! The people are all happy, friendly, and oddly healthy looking, and the dogs are ecstatically happy! My Hazel has not socialized much (I take her to dog parks everywhere we go, but there is not one anywhere near where we live) and I was worried, but she did great. She could pick and choose which other dogs to hang out with. It was quite amazing to watch her choose. Makes me think humans could make better choices, more personal choices, regarding whose company they want to keep.
The dogs were allowed to behave as dogs, no restrictions. They could go wherever they wanted to go, relate to whomever or whatever they wanted to relate to. Of course, their humans were on hand with food and water, and paying close attention to where their pets were. But for the most part, the dogs themselves determined where they went, which other dogs they associated with, and how to express their delight in all things.
The humans, too, seemed inordinately happy and healthy. The five women I walked with the second day, walk with their dogs every single day that it isn't raining or blizzarding for nearly two hours! I got the feeling that most of the people there did the same. There was no hurrying, no dog fights, and no people fights. There was no strife at all, just unbounded joy for the canines and the humans alike.
Here's a panoramic view of a few acres of the park on a Thursday, a much lighter day for dogs in the park than was Friday. Unfortunately or fortunately, I did not take any photos on Friday, our second romp in the park, and Friday was a much busier day. Double the dogs you see in these shots to get a feel for a Friday in the park. You will have to imagine the ponds full of frolicking dogs, the balls and frisbees being flung, the love in the air.
Two hours of this, and I was blissfully happy.
This is my entry to 
Explain what freedom means to you in 300+ words - you must use images that you photographed personally.
