optimism/pessimism/realism

First, look how cute these two are:



Now to the topic of the title. My building has three doormen. One is G, a cheerful guy who always looks on the bright side, is unfailingly friendly, kind and polite to everyone who comes in. Another is J, business-like, practical, not prone to make much small talk (which is perfect for me, because I am awful at small talk). And then there is T. I call him "auntie" (not to his face, of course). He is like a clucking hen who always sees doom. Two years ago Mabel had emergency surgery (she swallowed a piece of one of her chew toys and it got stuck at the opening of her small intestine). She came through it wonderfully, but she was definitely not quite herself for a month or so. Every time I took her out for a walk T would say things (in his heavily accented English) like "Oh she no look good. She no look good." I wanted to scream at him to shut up. Of course she no look good. She had her abdomen and intestine cut open, and a piece of her intestine was removed because it was on the verge of infection. The whole episode was traumatic, but each day she did better, and it was clear she would make a full recovery. His chanting "she no look good" just made me feel awful, although I know he meant well. But he is such a pessimist that he always says just the thing to make me feel like shit.