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Monday, July 7, 2008

My heroine was wearing tan

She was wearing a tan dress and had stopped her brown car at the edge of the Newark expressway, just east of the bike-trail bridge from which I watched her about 9 a.m. today.

She got out of her car and carefully made her way to the far side of the roadway. I thought at first - a hubcap, maybe?

It was, instead, a little unmoving animal, perhaps a kitten or a puppy.

I watched her go over and look down for a second or two, then get back across two lanes of high-speed traffic, enter her car, and drive away.

In that beautiful moment I saw another heroine of mine from many years ago, taking dangerous risks for the well-being of animals.

Pat Riley, who founded the local humane society, was just that kind of person. She fought off traffic, politicians, and a lot of mean people for the betterment of dogs, cats, and any animal that needed her.

Thank God for Pat Riley, and for that lady wearing tan - women who have the guts to do what the rest of us avoid.

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