Maybe They Aren't All Supposed to Go With You

Those were some harsh words to hear when Eileen Lock, a clairvoyant astrologer, said them to me during a reading.  "Such nonsense!" I replied.

We were talking about my then impending move to a new home.  I was thinking through the move of all of my animals, including my feral cats.

During the week of my move, I set out the trap in hopes of catching Graysin and Lynxie, my two cats who live in the hay shed.  Lynxie just stopped coming for breakfast and dinner--at least not when I was there.  And we had just got to the point of my being able to pet him and scratch his ears.

So one balmy fall night, I was sitting below Graysin as she looked down on me from her grass perch.  We were just talking.  Easy going cat and human conversation.  She was relaxed, calm and interested.  Then I asked her, "Graysin, do you want to come live with me in my new home?"  Her response was unmistakable.  A categorical no.  I almost felt embarrassed to have asked her such a question.

After catching the neighbor bully cat, Jorge caught Graysin and confusing her with the neighbor bully cat, released her.  Then another cat, one I have never seen before checked in to the cat hotel.  Another catch and release.

Just as I was thinking I would disassemble the crate I had set up, Jorge called me to say he had another cat.  This time, he checked the right ear to see that it had been tipped by Bend Spay and Neuter when I brought him in for a feral fixing.  And Rayito arrived.

I was so happy to see him.  I had held him twice when he was a baby because he had fallen out of the eaves where Momma Twin kept her little ones safe.  As he grew, he would come out whenever I was feeding.  He was so intrigued by the goats.  As they browsed, he would follow them.  Unlike the other cats, he was half white, so I would catch his feline movements out of the corner of my eye.  When I called his name, he would stop and sit.

Rayito was here for four days.  It was almost immediately apparent that he did not belong here.  I thought bringing him here and taking care of him was in his best interest; I would keep him safe.  It didn't feel right.  Rayito would be safer and happier back on his 40 acres where he grew up, where his mother and brother, uncle and grandmother live.  Safer where he had established hiding places from nocturnal predators and the chase of the dogs.  He would be safer where he was confident.  I accepted on Saturday that this is not Rayito's home.

Today, he went back to his stomping grounds.  I wished him well, expressed my apologies for the misjudgment on my part, and sent him off with a piece of my heart.  That was probably the hardest thing I've done recently.  I may never see him or my other kitties again.  As sad as that is, I accept that maybe Eileen was right.

...The Great

I was playing the five videos I had unknowingly uploaded onto my ipod. They are of Yo-Yo Ma recording holiday songs with other artists. As I watched two videos in particular, I was so moved by the greatness of the musicians. It got me thinking...who or what do I think is just great? I mean, stand-out, gotta admire, can't deny their contribution despite politics, personal preferences or otherwise. But just pretty great.

My incomplete list will begin with Mr. Ma:

Yo-Yo Ma
James Taylor
Ayn Rand
Tiger Woods
Tim Russert
The Dictionary

Buddha
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Ken Burns
Eleanor Roosevelt

Albert Einstein
Cribbage
Ella Fitzgerald
Miles Davis

Frederic Chopin
Confucius
Meditation
Mother Teresa
Frances Perkins

Johann Sebastian Bach
Oscar Wilde
Albert Einstein
Maps

Dreaming in another language
Being in touch with my godmother
Dalai Lama
Blue Moon
Laughter of a Child
Heat

Check it out. Let your mind wander while you create your list and feel the inspiration. It's pretty cool.