Karma

The bathroom is as finished as it can be -until next weekend. As I removed the blue painting tape I examined "the lines" again, so hoping there was a way to fudge the brown trim and make it look good. The lines are even worse than I originally thought. It even looks as if 2 different widths of molding was used and if the trim is brown one's eye will be drawn towards that fact.

Life...

Life is not always what we wish it was. Life is not always what we hoped it would be. Life is often not what we would want or like. Much as we would wish the lines in our life to be aligned they are often so terribly out of place -irrevocably so.

And then...

As I made a mad dash to get some last minute groceries-the old reliable 24 hour place no longer exists and the local market closes by 10p.m.-I spot a cat and a young woman on the sidewalk by the train overpass. The cat is worn, tired and possibly sick. The woman reminds me of a younger version of myself. She has found this cat, disoriented, and brought it here to eat and drink -she saw another cat at this well known local stray cat hang out (and feeding spot) and brought it food earlier and upon seeing this cat, brought it here too. She is mulling over the cat's condition and weather she should take it home with her. Today has been very hot and the cat does look the worse for the wear. It seems happy to be picked up, held, spoken to and pet. It sits cradled in her arms like a rag doll and it's eyes are, as one famous writer once wrote, as big as tea cups. We talk vets-we share the same man and go to the nearby pet food store. She is a dog person. I clue her in to what she might want to do-keep the cat in the bathroom for the night in a bed of old clothes . Best to keep the cat and her dog separate until she knows if the cat has fleas . She lifts him up to carry him home and I ask her if she needs help -her arms full with the water bowl, cat food can and limp cat but she is fine. I wish her good luck & tell her she is doing a very good thing. She thanks me and I watch as she walks around the corner and out of sight. I hope this story has a good ending. In a way, it already has. A homeless cat has found a home-even if for one night.

I turn to head home, in my heart saying a little prayer of thank you for those rare but important times when the lines do indeed align.

postscript: As the above happened I thought of Fred of "One Bark At A Time". He lost his lovely Stella last week and ,for the moment, has taken a step back from his blog. I came to Fred's wonderful blog about shelter dogs, his dogs Rocky & Stella and life -just a few months ago. A local dog was in harm's way and as I read the different threads to that story I somehow came across "One Bark At A Time". If you love animals (and life) his blog is wonderful reading and his photos are amazing. They capture the essence of each dog and make you wish you had the ability to take each and every one home. Fred has , with his work at the shelter and his blogging -accomplished what I wish we all would do more-make this world a better place for all who inhabit it. You can find Fred , Stella and Rocky here.