It was late June and school had already ended. I would be a junior the upcoming school year. I walked outside to start my daily routine. The sun immediately hit my face and warmed my whole body. I descended down the front steps and onto the side way, my flip flops squeaking with each step.
I walked to the end of my street and turned left onto the main road. Ever since I entered high school I spent my summer days volunteering at the local animal shelter and then visiting my friends.
You could say that my friends were different than most. Not because they liked different things or were involved in different things, but because they were older than me…much older. They were also residences of the nursing home in town.
I stopped walking and entered the little brown building for my first event of the day. My job is to help out at the shelter with the animals that are seeking owners. I opened the door and was immediately greeted by a yellow lab that smelled of shampoo. It must have been washing time. I took the dogs into the backyard of the shelter and played with them in the freshly cut green grass. They loved it when they could be wild and free.
Some hours later, I left the shelter in time to meet my friends. I knew exactly where to find them since they had been going there every summer for 10 years. They meet underneath the giant brown oak tree in front of their apartments. They sit there everyday and reminisce on their childhood. They may have not known each other when they were younger, but they sure do have a lot in common.
I walked down the street approaching the usual spot. I could see Olga and Gladius sitting around Phil and then Martha sitting off to the side. She loves to bring her own comfortable chair to sit on instead of the wooden bench built into the tree already.
Phil was not the only male amongst the group. There was Walter, the retired Vietnam veteran. He has since passed but will never be forgotten among the group. The group even dedicated the bench in his name.
I walked to the end of my street and turned left onto the main road. Ever since I entered high school I spent my summer days volunteering at the local animal shelter and then visiting my friends.
You could say that my friends were different than most. Not because they liked different things or were involved in different things, but because they were older than me…much older. They were also residences of the nursing home in town.
I stopped walking and entered the little brown building for my first event of the day. My job is to help out at the shelter with the animals that are seeking owners. I opened the door and was immediately greeted by a yellow lab that smelled of shampoo. It must have been washing time. I took the dogs into the backyard of the shelter and played with them in the freshly cut green grass. They loved it when they could be wild and free.
Some hours later, I left the shelter in time to meet my friends. I knew exactly where to find them since they had been going there every summer for 10 years. They meet underneath the giant brown oak tree in front of their apartments. They sit there everyday and reminisce on their childhood. They may have not known each other when they were younger, but they sure do have a lot in common.
I walked down the street approaching the usual spot. I could see Olga and Gladius sitting around Phil and then Martha sitting off to the side. She loves to bring her own comfortable chair to sit on instead of the wooden bench built into the tree already.
Phil was not the only male amongst the group. There was Walter, the retired Vietnam veteran. He has since passed but will never be forgotten among the group. The group even dedicated the bench in his name.
As I sit and listen to the stoires of my friends, I take one thing away each time: to never take friendship for granted. I see the group and what they have become. Olga and Gladius have become more dependent on each other. In a way, this is good.
They know that with out each other their lives would be boring. They would probraly end up sitting at home watching television. This gathering everyday allows them to enjoy the fresh summer air and spend time with each other. Friendship is crucial in the last years of their lives. They don't want to leave this life knowing no one cared for them.
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