I have a strong bond with an elderly lady where I live. She is my neighbour a few floors down and we get a long very well. I think I can even say that we understood each other as of the first time we met. There is a kind of connection between us that can hardly be described by words: we don't have to say many things. I frequently spend time with her that we do not speak at all, or even then we say very few words. It is nice to have such a bond. To be able to communicate without speech, just a brief glance and we both know what we wanted to express.

Many times I have been asked what the attraction is; how it is that its just her and I that get along so well, where as she pulls her nose up for so many others. I can not say; it is a mystery to me as well. I just know that her warm heart and devoted attention fuels my soul.

I especially like it when she shyly tries to lick my face. She knows she's not supposed to, but tries to anyway, because she feels so strongly about my petting hands. Dora truly is a beautiful, lovely fourteen year old shaferdog. And I bet you were fooled, right until the last paragraph. Got you barking up the wrong tree there, didn't I?

I live in an apartment building with an elevator. A handy invention that allows you to move vertically between floors with little effort. So I use it frequently and leave the stairs where it is, gathering dust. Our family has three dogs and they have to be walked every morning. On a school day, my son has that responsibility and otherwise my wife. My son has holidays at the moment, so he shifted his day-night rhythm by almost a full eight hours and my wife came down yesterday with a severe backache. That left me to lead the hounds of hell towards their morning defecation.

They are fully awake, alert and happy to go out whereas I was at the brink of being awake, but not quite there yet. The four of us stepped in the elevator and I managed to locate and press the ground floor button upon which the vertical movement started. It stopped as well, as scheduled.

Now our apartment is on the third floor. On the first floor, a lovely lady lives with her two dogs Dora and Jerry. Beautiful, loving creatures that resent my dogs intensely, as they do them. She also had planned to take the elevator to walk her dogs. The elevator door opens, and me and my dogs walk out, expecting to be at the ground floor. Alas, we walk right into Dora, Jerry and their owner who start a maniacal barking, joined by my three lovelies. A few human curses thrown in, three quick and frantic grabs and I had my dogs back in the elevator, whereas Dora and Jerry were held close to their owner in the corner of the opposite room. I was fully awake now. As was the entire block.

I returned home without a hitch, and when I walked to the parking garage to fetch my bike, going to work, I came across my neighbour lady. Just one look made us burst in laughter :) One hell of a way to start the early Tuesday morning.