GERTIE CARDEN circa 1982 - OCTOBER 25, 2006
Gertie died yesterday. I received the news a day late as I was out yesterday and the announcement was on my office voicemail. Gertie was my daughter's elderly dog. I guess that made her my grand-doggie.

Judging from her attitude, Gertie was once quite the looker. Melissa provided an assortment of outfits for her. Her favorite was a sassy blue jean skirt paired with a pink 'foxy lady' tank. She would sashay about with all the in your face kind of confidence you'd expect from Madonna or Prince. Happily for Gertie, her cloudy eyes failed years ago and she was unaware of the off-putting condition that caused her skin to hang in great folds and wrinkles from her mid-section and down. She didn't seem bothered by the odd configuration of the remaining 3 teeth that jutted out strangely from a severe under bite. She went to her grave believing that she was as breath taking as ever. I’m glad for this.

Gertie had many endearing qualities. For one, she was a brave lady. Even though she weighed less than 20 pounds, I am here to testify that nobody but nobody was going to put one over on the Gert. Big dogs or little, her space was her space and she did not mind letting this be known.

Another quality was her positive attitude. She lived in my household for quite a while and was always upbeat and happy. She never seemed to mind or be daunted by the frequent change of layout in my home even though that meant she had to endure many bumps while learning her way.

I loved her sweet little habit of helping you lift her. Just as you began to hoist her up she would do a little jump with her hind legs as if she were rising of her own volition.

When Missy first met her, she had long since been dumped at the vet where Melissa worked. I suppose her previous owners no longer found her charming, believing that a pet is something one can just use up and throw away. The vet didn’t want to put her down, but who would ever adopt this old, unattractive, blind and toothless dog...

Melissa would. Because of Melissa, this little dog got several pampered years at the end of her life. And she deserved them.

Thanks, Melissa. I’m so glad there are people like you out there.

Thanks, Gertie. You knew how to live. Thanks for showing me.

I’m sorry I rearranged the furniture so much. I’m sorry I didn’t know to hug you goodbye last time you came to visit. I miss you already.

STAYING UP WHILE DEALING WITH PAIN

This morning I was in line in the cafeteria and a guy in front of me dropped some change. He is kind of a strange guy.. terrible complexion, overweight and always alone. I don’t know him or even know his name. He walks with an odd limp and I suspect he has an artificial leg. He was trying to pick up his change and he was having a hard time and couldn’t see where it all was. I just jumped down and said, ‘Oh, I see it’, and got it for him. I dropped a dime in his hand and gave him a smile and a warm 'You're welcome', to his thank you.

This is a man who probably doesn’t receive an abundance of acts of kindness. He seemed so grateful at my retrieving the dime. It made me not hurt for a minute and I realized - there's your prozac.

Make an effort. It's not altruistic, it's selfish. It just feels good.