A guy living by himself needed serious surgery

on his eye.  His wife was working out-of-state

in a bad economy.

 

His son was a senior in college and could help

on weekends.  His daughter practiced the law

somewhere else.

 

He had a dog, a new dog, a really big puppy —

dogs as companions not being insignificant for

the healing process.  The

 

dog is a Newfoundland. The  guy with the bad eye

walked up the street and asked an acquaintance for

a ride to the physician to get the lowdown.

 

He did and it would mean two months on

his face at night and his head kept down

during the day – no reading,

 

and this guy, a teacher, loved to read, but

he could walk the dog everyday which

was a big plus.

On one of those days, the neighbor who took

and still takes the patient to physician’s appoint-

ments, stopped by and happened

 

to notice the decal of a kayaker on the rear window

of the guy’s truck.  The neighbor had a “Life is

Good” ball cap with the image

 

of a kayaker on it and this same guy, the acquaintance/

neighbor on his way to friendship had a rawhide

bone given as a gift for his

 

own dog but his dog didn’t want it, so he

washed the cap in the recommended way

on the top shelf of the

 

dish washer, quick dried it in the clothes

dryer, grabbed the rawhide, walked down

the street with his used, but

 

clean gifts, knocked on the door and said

here’s a bone for your big, boned puppy.

I saw the sticker in your

 

truck’s window and I thought maybe you

would like a cap with the image of a happy

kayaker on it.

 

I washed the ball cap in the new and improved

method.  They hugged.  The friend walked

down the driveway and

 

the patient, who had been a minister before

being a high school physics and chemistry

teacher, raised the cap in his hand

 

and said thanks for keeping me in your

prayers.  The Newfoundland shook his

head with the bone in his mouth.

 

The acquaintance/neighbor/friend looked

back, said, you bet, thanks and walked

a few doors back home.