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HAPPINESS NEXT DOOR
Everyone Needs a Neighbor Like Ruth
Your day can turn on a dime (and a smile)
Meet Ruth.
Ruth is in her mid-80s, but you would definitely think she was mid-70s at best.
She is a gardener, a nature lover, a wonderful conversationalist and, while not a dog lover, she is a dog-tolerator.
That’s good because my dog, Teddy, loves her, and as he comes up to her, tail wagging, she will look askance, give him a small pat on the head, and then say, “Okay, that’s enough, Teddy.”
I smile, and then she reminds me, “It’s my sister who loves dogs. She was one of the first to bring Bernese Mountain dogs to our country and breed them. She hates what people have turned them into. Now, all you see are Bernedoodles.”
As a dog lover, I can attest to many, many Bernedoodles, and nary a Bernese Mountain dog in the park. Ruth and her sister are right.
I change the topic. At this moment, I seek to experience Ruth’s unabashed enthusiasm for all things green. She is a master gardener and would definitely be my phone-a-friend about some random question about nature were I on a game show.
It’s not lost on me that I can still experience her enthusiasm — an enthusiasm made all the more…
