Golden Girls and loose pups

I have the great fortune of belonging to a group of women who make the world go 'round. OK, maybe not the whole world, but they are responsible for raising funds for the Library by volunteering to staff the bookstore and holding bi-annual book sales. The lead volunteer is the Divine Ms. M, about whom I have had nothing but glowing words for her generosity and good impact on the community. She's the one who decided that since the Library has shown little to no interest in their volunteers since COVID, she has taken it upon herself to offer them a chance to meet, discuss what needs to be discussed, and have a good time too. I have been included, not because I in any way volunteer, but back in the day, part of my job was Volunteer Coordinator. Once a month we meet at Panera and the conversations are lively and frankly pretty astounding. 

I call us the Golden Girls because we're all retired. A couple have left the medical field after many years of service. One was a professor. Another, a teacher, and another, wonder of wonders, a school librarian. Funny how librarians cannot stay away for long. A couple of our group are heavily invested in animal rescue and I don't mean the odd catching of loose dogs. They belong to genuine rescue groups and foster multiple critters until they are adopted. In some cases, they just end up keeping them for life. In other words, so many different interests and backgrounds. Not to mention, the lunches are good too.

Now, being of a certain age range, naturally some of the discussion is around our various aches and pains. Woe betide the person who mentions some ailment and then doesn't follow the advice of one who has had said ailment and had it treated. We are expected to report back the following month with proof we are moving toward resolution. But mostly we just share ways to deal with getting older and creakier and move on. I confess to being addicted to it all. 

This month's lunch was no different. Lively conversation, some learning, and naturally some sharing of ailments. We parted feeling uplifted.

Driving home, I spotted a loose little dog. Are we seeing a pattern here? Am I manifesting loose dogs? Anyway, I pulled over and tried to tempt the dog to come to me. She wasn't having it and ran back across the street. A busy street. A woman walking her Shiba Inu called over and said that the dog lived at the house she ran to, and the people let her out all the time. I asked if they were trying to kill their dog. The woman agreed that she didn't like what they were doing either, thanked me for at least stopping and trying to help, and went on her way. As did I. It bothered me all the way home that someone could be so callously careless of their dog's life. 

It wasn't the best ending to an enjoyable outing, but that's life for you.