Chapter 13: Dog Therapy
One mild fourth Saturday of October 2022, I met up with my childhood friends Sarah, James, and Henri, along with some of my other best friends Alex Russo, Justin Evans, Max Greenwald, Carly Shay, and Spencer Puckett, as well as Carly's stepdad, Freddie Benson, at the Cathedral of Learning in Oakland for Dog Therapy. "Hi, guys!" I greeted my friends. "Hi, Angel!" Sarah greeted back. While jamming out to Kate Bush and Lizzo, we participated in Childhood Chat in which Nicole Ellis discussed staying comfy in 7th grade in downtown Pittsburgh, Emily Grey discussed doing makeovers in kindergarten in East Liberty, Hannah Mifflin discussed dancing to music in 4th grade in the North Side, Brianna Shokoko discussed sleeping with her new stuffed animal her junior year at Chatham University in Oakland, Emma Wallace discussed eating doughnuts for breakfast her freshman year at Carnegie Mellon University in Shadyside, and Madison Dayley discussed doing pranks just 2 summers ago in the South Side. "It's hard to think of Heinz Field as Acrisure Stadium now, huh?" James stated. "Do people think Heinz ketchup and football do not go together, or what?" Henri asked. "I know, right?" James asked. "Hopefully, tickets will be easier to find because when we couldn't get tickets to a football game, we were forced to play our own game of football in the backyard." "It looks like Hannah is excited for another sleepover at the Carnegie Science Center for her birthday next year," Sarah stated. "I like when we were able to surprise her last summer with a sleepover at the Carnegie Science Center." "Other sleepovers that Hannah will host next year include a magic and mystery-themed sleepover in March and a carnival-themed sleepover in October," I remembered. "By the way, speaking of the South Side, I still have not found a Halloween costume for next weekend yet." "You can borrow my beach babe costume from past years," Sarah suggested. "Okay then," I replied. "What are you going to dress up as for Halloween, then?" "Princess Belle from Beauty and the Beast," Sarah replied. "We have decided on a Disney princess theme for Halloween this year. Carly is going to dress up as Pocahontas and Alex is going to dress up as Princess Jasmine." "Nice," I remarked. "We still like to do things that we liked to do when we were our female clients' age, like braiding hair and painting nails. I am sure that our female clients still do that just like we did as preteen and teenage girls." We played with several nice dogs that the University of Pittsburgh provided in addition to touring the Cathedral of Learning. While jamming out to NSYNC and 98 Degrees, Jennifer Preager discussed having a movie marathon in 3rd grade in downtown Pittsburgh, Sophia Cleng discussed having a party with a Pittsburgh Proud theme in 1st grade in the North Side, Julia Robison discussed watching a scary movie in 7th grade in Oakland, and Natalie Bay discussed using her night light at 21 years old in the South Side. "Did you watch Disney movies?" Spencer asked. "Yeah, because who doesn't love Disney?" Mr. Benson asked. "Yes, I did," Jennifer replied. "I like Disney movies about women like Pocahontas and Mulan." "Pocahontas corresponds to the Blue Belt and Mulan corresponds to the Purple Belt," I told everyone. "That's nice," Carly remarked. "I am dressing up as Pocahontas for Halloween, but I would like to be anyone other than Valerie, who was a real person from Natrona Heights." "I know she wasn't very nice," I pointed out. "Are you still writing in your journal for Halloween?" Julia asked. "Yes, I am," Alex replied. "I am writing a letter of thanks to Mr. Crumms, my band director, lyrics to a new lullaby, and things that I am grateful for," Alex explained. "I remember during band camp we had our special senior week because it was our last year of band camp," Max stated. "Who can forget his well-known phrases at the time?" Justin asked. "Nutrition group was great today," Julia stated. "You showed us how to make French toast for breakfast, tropical fruit salad for a morning snack, black bean burgers for lunch, chicken nuggets for dinner, and frosty strawberry yogurt cupcakes for dessert." "I am just trying to stay healthy," Alex pointed out. "Otherwise, why would I join the group?" We even saw a marching band practice near Phipps Conservatory. Then, we all headed home for the night. "Thanks for a great day, everyone!" I thanked my friends. "You're welcome, Angel," Sarah replied. "Good night, guys!" "Good night!"