Every morning I emerge from the fourth floor of Stephen Epler, groggy from almost sleeping through my alarm, hungry and hopelessly awaiting dozens of collegial topics to hit me in the face. I take the stairs to the lobby and join the school of fish I call Portland State.
Through rain or shine, I stomp my way past ‘The Meetro’ only to pass a short span of open green grass. Dozens of college kids alike take this path down to the Park Blocks, and it wasn’t till recently that I noticed that almost every morning a friendly man walks his two jack russel terriers around this small grassy area. Every day I see one terrier, ripe with energy, chasing a bright green tennis ball across the little field. The second terrier, calm and polite, patiently wags his tail next to his owner. The little brown spots on each of their faces reveal two incredibly handsome dogs with two different personalities.
Day after day, the college hustle and bustle passes the man and his dogs, only to walk away a bit cheerier than what they were originally.
One day I decided to finally talk to this man and thank him for bringing his lovely dogs to the park. They never cease to leave a smile on my face, and I didn’t realize until recently how much it brightened my mornings.
After talking with him, I finally learned one of the true purposes to his consistent early dog walking. It is not only his love for his animals (though we both agreed that animals are a special gift given to humans), but to strike a smile on people’s faces in the morning. He sees the anxious, stressed, and worried college kids each day and brings his playful dogs to the park to change their mood. Who would have guessed that this man purposely walks his dogs near campus, simply to make a stranger’s morning?
Simple acts of kindness truly make my day, and I deeply appreciate how PSU has made it possible to meet people like this.
“I know your feet must be tired because you’ve been running through my mind all DAY.”
“Apart from being sexy, what do you do for a living?”
“Baby, if you were words on a page, you’d be what they call fine print.”
“Did the sun come out or did you just smile at me?”
“Baby, you must be a broom, cause you just swept me off my feet.”
“Hi, I’m Mr. Right. Someone said you were looking for me.”
“Do you believe in love at first sight or do I need to walk by again?”
“Is that a mirror in your pocket? Because I can see myself in your pants.”
“Was your dad a baker? ‘cause you’ve got the nicest set of buns i’ve ever seen”
“Hey baby you’re so fine you make me stutter, wha-wha-what’s your name?”
“Are you accepting applications for your fan club?”
“Is your name Summer? ‘Cause you are HOT!”
“Remember me? Oh, that’s right, I’ve met you only in my dreams.”
“(Look at his / her shirt label) When they say, “What are you doing?”, you say, “Checking to see if you were made in heaven.””
“What’s a nice girl like you doing in a dirty mind like mine?”
Hope that brightened your day LOL
Haley, thanks for EXISTING! You’re so cute and attractive. I like your personality too 🙂 you’re being kind just by being alive lol–Eliot Chang
What a great article. Dogs bring so much joy and happiness to our lives and it was really cool that you wrote about the man in the park with his jack russells. And it’s nice hearth at he is responsible and keeping them on a leash. I take my dog, whirly (you can see him on our website modeling the dog clothing I make at http://www.whirlydogsupplies.com), walking around Portland and meet so many wonderful people like you who have nice things to say.