Hard Hat at the Cleaners

PERCY:  The weather is warming and I'm getting antsy.  I think next time you dogs take Jan for a walk, I want to go along.

MERCI:  You know you'll have to wear a harness and leash to help keep Jan from wandering off, don't you?

PERCY:  Well, if I have to, but I think she should be old enough to find her own way home by now.  It must be so nice to see different scenery.  Pretty scenery.  Not the same drab view day after day.

MERCI: I don't know about pretty scenery.  This is a recent example of what we see daily on our walking route.

PERCI:  You're joking.  It looks like a ... a ...

MERCI:  A junk pile?  See the crane on the right?  There used to be a building there.  Actually, there used to be buildings all over the Martha Mill property but they are being demolished.

PERCY:  I think I'll pass on walking with you.  My hard hat is at the dry cleaners.

MERCI:  I've never seen you with a hard hat.

PERCY:   (*mumbles* And you won't see me in one now, if I can help it.)  How can you dogs walk Jan by that mess?  What if a building falls on you?  You'd be squashed.

MERCI:  That's why Buddy and I hang back and let Jan lead the way.  Jan is taller than we are. If anything falls on her, she might come through a little shorter but she'll survive.  You know how hard-headed she is.

PERCY:  It sounds like you have a good plan, but I have always heard you should never go near a constructions site  -

MERCI:  In this case, a demolition site.

PERCY:  Okay, you should never go near a demolition site without a hard hat. I think I'll wait for mine to come back from the dry cleaners.