Krystyna

My husband and I - and our two dogs - go to a seaside dog park almost every day. You meet people. Chat. Rarely do we know anyone's proper name except for "Fido's Mother" or "Sparky's Dad". But somehow we learned one man's name and soon learned that he is battling with brain cancer. He is "Rooster's Dad" and Rooster is a husky-type wolfish looking pup.

When my husband came home from the park yesterday afternoon and asked if I had extra jam because Rooster's Dad mentioned he liked it, I said sure. And then my eyes fell on some left over fabric. I started cutting and sewing and quilting and today it was done. We brought it to the park with a permanent marker and asked people to sign it and pray. At first they were a little confused, but then they really filled up a little muslin square on the back. The amazing thing was that as each person came to sign it, he or she got quiet and touched the quilt tenderly. You could tell they were praying.

Rooster's Dad, aka Roberto, wasn't there today, but his girl friend was. She had tears in her eyes when she saw it. She told us that they had just moved here from the city a couple of years ago and Roberto complained that he had no friends here but, she said, the dog park saved his sanity. It was a place where he was sociable, where he was happy.

I don't really know Rooster's Dad, but it doesn't matter. Prayer and kindness cross all boundaries and this little quilt brought all of us closer together.