THE WEIRS TIMES & THE COCHECO TIMES, Thursday, July 7, 2011 Formerly & Everywhere! RFD# to the gulf stream waters ANGELS AMONG US by Lorrie Baird “From the minute I met


her I saw friendship in her eyes and I knew we would be BFFs forever,” said our six-year-old granddaugh- ter.


“Bryce, ‘BFF’ does mean


‘best friends forever,’” I reminded her. “I know that,” she said


with a shrug, “me and Shyah, we’re going to be best friends forever…and ever after that.” Brycie is young, but not


too young to grasp two ba- sic truths about life: how rare it is to meet some- body and immediately see “friendship in their eyes” and when you do, how important it is to savor and nurture those friend- ships until at some point they become a deep, abid- ing love…the kind that endures not only through life, but lingers long after death. Enduring relation- ships like this are as rare as they are precious. We humans are by nature a guarded species; careful of whom we allow into our inner circle of friendship and love lest we become hurt or disappointed. Dogs, on the other hand,


are natural optimists who arbitrarily fling out love and naturally trust that it will land on a heart tuned in to the “friendship in their eyes.” And if a hu- man doesn’t respond, they don’t hold a grudge. They simply move on to the next person who might be intelligent enough to recognize how special they are. I believe that all dogs


- and more than a few cats - are born with an elevated capacity to love simply and purely…and therefore teach valuable life-lessons to we humans who are humble enough


to admit that we can learn from these angels in fur coats. I have lived with dogs


and cats for over six de- cades and have loved them all. Two of them were my angels in fur coats. The first was a stray kit-


ten I named “Freddie the Freeloader.” I was about Bryce’s age when I moved from the city to the sub- urbs and had no friends in the neighborhood un- til a little striped kitten showed up during din- ner at our window; long- ingly peering at me while I ate…that’s how he got his name. But Freddy didn’t show up to beg food; he came because I needed a friend. Freddy was a feral cat


and nobody could come near him except me. Fred- dy loved and trusted me completely. He tolerated other people…but only if he knew they were my family. When Freddy was still a kitten I dressed him up in baby clothes and paraded him through the neighborhood in a doll carriage. I met my first friend - who became my “BFF” that day because she couldn’t resist pok- ing her head in to see my baby. The “baby” pitched a hissy-spitty when she tried to touch him but nestled into my neck the minute I picked him up. She was impressed. It was the beginning of a friendship that lasted for decades.


During the short years


of Freddy’s life I taught him to sit, come, and stay like a dog…and even jump through a hoop, but he made it clear that it was beneath his dignity to “beg.” Freddy remained a semi-feral cat, but when-


made him very smart in- deed. The thing is, I never rec- ognized Mozart as an an- gel-dog until he died and left a chasm that only he could fill. You see, Mozart was head-over-heels in love with life and insisted


I have lived with dogs and cats for over six decades and have loved them all. Two of them were my angels in fur coats.


ever I called out his name I could count on him to come crashing through the woods to climb the fence and run into my arms. One day I called and Freddy didn’t come. We found him in the gar- den. Apparently he was hit by a car. His last brave effort was to try to jump the garden wall to come to me. All these years later I am still touched by the gift Freddy was to me. My second “angel in a


fur coat” came to me in the form of a homely little shelter mutt who looked like he was constructed from spare body parts. Mozart was bandy-legged, lop eared, and had a lion’s ruff of fur around his neck that made his front look like it didn’t belong on his skinny back. Oh, but the love in his eyes made Mo- zart beautiful to all who had the heart to see it. Mozart was as intelligent as he was homely, which


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that I accompany him. He would find equal and unmitigated joy jumping in snow on the coldest winter day; and jumping in the lake even before of- ficial ice-out. Mozart was so loving and benign that I affectionately nick-named him “Mozart the Chicken- hearted” until the two occasions when Mozart proved that he was will- ing to lay down his life to


protect me. Viewing life through Mo-


zart’s eyes…with his abil- ity to squeeze every drop of joy from even the most mundane days…was just one of the priceless gifts Mozart left me along with the fact that even when we lose a best friend, it’s not forever because love never dies; love, by its very nature, is a gift that remains eternal. And Mozart left me with


something else too…the ability to recognize the angel traits that he left behind in other animals. We currently live with two adorable, loving Chihua- huas. They are definitely not angels. But there is a fur-angel among us here at Twin Tamarack Camp- ground. To know her is to love her. If you have the privilege


to meet one of these an- gels in fur, you’ll know it by the love in their eyes.


3 to the New York Island by Lorrie Baird jim-lorrie@earthlink.net


19


July 7-10, 2011 Midway by


Kavanaugh Amusements


2011 2nd Annual SINGING CONTEST!


"Prove You Can Sing for Some $-Cha-Ching-$" $500 Cash Prize!


Novelty events including egg toss, pie eating,


watermelon seed spitting, etc. ...................................................... horse and oxen pulling


A GRAND PARADE • farmer olympics pig calling • 4-H events and exhibits car and truck show • 4X4 RACING


tractor pulls • musical entertainment arts and crafts • GREAT FOOD midway rides and games


GIANT BELGIAN DRAFT HORSE “ZEUS”


ON EXHIBIT ALL 4 DAYS! ........................................


Entertainment Nightly including Suzy Bogguss


Sunday, July 10th @ 3:30 p.m.!


sanctioned sheep dog trials South Hiram Rd, South Hiram, Maine


Just minutes from Rt. 16 on Rt. 25 Follow signs for Kezar Falls. Visit our website at www.ossipeevalleyfair.com for complete schedule & directions.


H e r From California... , T here...


e


From the redwood forest...


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