I should be horse whipped for what I am about to attempt! Those two little people there are complete and absolute Saints and I am going to attempt to tell you why without even knowing half of what this man and woman have done for the betterment of this fair city where I reside.
I first met Doug Gale and his lovely wife Dorothy while I was attending Christ Congregational Church in Belmont. Belmont is a subdivision of Pueblo, Colorado. I think that was about 6 or 7 years ago. As I recall he was pushing participation in the Crop Walk which is a fundraiser designed to restock food pantry's and such. I did not pay very much attention to Doug and Dorothy other then to make a note that here was two old people that I should be nice to.
Then I began to notice that Doug and Dorothy were turning up at a lot of places that I frequented. Peace rallies, Political rallies, various fundraisers, church functions and then I ran into them at SRDA delivering Meals on Wheels, Martin Luther King functions, the Ghandi Peace Garden. Lord those people were every where! I do not remember what I was working on that caused me to need to drop things off at Doug and Dorothy's house, but it was then that I began to see just what a force these two were in Pueblo. These people worked with any thing that had to do with old people, young people, civil rights, animal rights, gay or straight, military and they even turned up down in Peppersauce Bottoms when we were sandbagging to keep the torrential rains out of those homes. My God the man is next in line to God as far as I am concerned! And by his side is his lovely wife Dorothy.
Anyone who has ever met Doug and Dorothy will realize that while Dorothy is his beloved wife, he is in turn her caregiver. Doug is on our Pastoral Relations Committee at the First Congregational Church and is quick to note to all that it is Doug and Dorothy. Always Doug and Dorothy. The only time Doug does not have Dorothy by the hand is when he has duties that take him aside and then he makes sure their daughter is there to hold her hand. He thinks we should hold hands in church when we pray. His reasoning is he always has Dorothy, but there might be some people who have no one and this would give human contact.
What can I say about this couple? How can I make you understand that while I can not even tell you how many people these two have helped feed and clothe, given peace and respite , given hope and comfort, and never complained that it was an inconvenience to give any one a hand up. No dog goes unpetted and there is always a smile on the face of this little fellow and a twinkle in his eye. I must admit that as I have come to know Doug and Dorothy better, I find myself trying to immolate Doug.
I think it finally dawned on me at the Peace Flotilla this year. This man has organized schools, city fathers, churches, and I do not know what all to get the biggest crowd ever to launch the floats. And the daughter held her mother's hand so Doug was free to mix with little kids, men in suits, women with flowers and a dog or two that ran past.
I pray for these 2 people every day and I pray for this woman on this computer that she can be just a little like Doug and Dorothy. I pray that I can gain half their goodness, a fraction of their faith and just tiny drop of the compassion that these two people are filled with for the whole human race.
