I am proud to tell you that I won. The only problem was that while he went in to tell the Queen that I could really run fast, I was leaning against the side of the garage having a near-death experience. I limped and had a green tinge to my coloring for about three days. Eventually he conned his mother into buying the fancy tennis shoes. I don't really know whether he conned her or she was afraid to let me race him again.
Time marches on and time is cruel.
I've gone from the fastest kid in school to the lumbering, red-faced, slowpoke chasing a short dog down the street and losing. Sunday afternoon the neighborhood was treated to another round of excitement, but this time it wasn't my houseguest runaway pup and me. I have written before that Ottawa seems to be lacking in street signs at many of its intersections. A critic told me at the time that most residents know where they are and it isn't a problem. The occasional accident happens when someone not familiar with the intersection makes a mistake.