Jackson Free Press

A coworker of time was standing at her window looking over the head of the stone Eudora Welty who looks just past the statues of William Faulkner and Richard Wright on the corner of Lamar and Capitol streets. It occurred to her that the traffic should not be stopped at a green light, so she studied the scene more carefully.

Five dogs of various sizes and color were running up the middle of Capitol Street in the middle of the day, and the cars had all stopped for them. It was a good thing that Eudora, William and Richard had all witnessed this act of Mississippi hospitality toward man's best friends because it cried out to be preserved in writing.

People in Mississippi still pull over to the side of the road and stop as a funeral procession goes by. It is a sign of honor and respect for both the dead and the living. Mississippians speak to each other on elevators and follow the good rules they learned from their families.

My coworker grew up with the rule that she should always wear a girdle, no matter how thin she might be. My niece learned that she should never dance on elevated surfaces. I wonder who taught us to always stop for a pack of stray dogs on our main boulevard.

Jackson, like many cities, is working to revitalize its downtown area. Old hotels are re-opening and retail establishments are setting up shop. There is a fitness center downtown along with some great restaurants that never closed and even a good number of downtown lofts and condos. Although crowds do not yet stroll the streets at night, the dog parade has to be viewed as a sign of hope—maybe a sign of our "dogged" determination to preserve our city.

One of the challenges in bringing Jackson back is the perception that it is not safe to be in the city after dark. And the safety question is not related to bumpy streets or dangerous curves in the road.

The safety question is related to fear of things that might go bump in the night and result in a bump on the head or worse. These fears are more related to packs of stray humans than packs of stray dogs.

But maybe it was some of those same humans who stopped their cars and their busy schedules to make way for a pack of dogs on Capitol Street. Could all those same humans possibly unite in their resolve to save a city? If they do, I am sure Eudora and her statuesque friends will smile in approval as they watch us continue to write our own story, in their great tradition, but on our own.