In fifth grade, a young girl named Irene was so utterly taunted and humiliated by other students and her teacher, she couldn’t stop crying or even look up. The only thing her classmate, Ruth Pittard, could think of to let her know she had “heard her tears” and was “with” her, was to take her hand, and hold it firmly. No words. Decades later, Ruth says, “I felt I wasn't doing enough, but I do know that what I felt from her hand was an energetic response.” “The small, stunning energy from reaching out my hand” guided Ruth “to fill a space with some kind of loving action instead of being paralyzed or turning away.” She calls it kinetic coherence that reverberates to this day. From education and community service in the extraordinary and mundane, to holding up 'LOVE' signs in the middle of town year after year, and becoming known as The Love Lady, Ruth reaches out and touches people with love. “So, no matter where or who she is now, Irene lives in me.”
