Thursday and Friday 12/29 and 12/30
With Dawn now back in Wisconsin, things pretty much settle back into the routine I have established for myself this past month or so. Leisurely breakfast, followed by a shift at the animal shelter, followed by a workout at the gym, followed by dinner, then a little TV or Interneting, then to bed where I do a little reading before falling asleep.
My last two shifts at the animal shelter go quickly, and I show many cats and kittens, with hopefully most (or all) of them ending in successful adoptions. Reflecting on my 37 hours of service given to these folks during December, the most touching story to me is the one of “Smiegel,” (pronounced SMEE-gle) the grey tabby born with a deformed right leg. I do not know how the shelter came up with that name, but that’s what they named him. Under most circumstances, Smiegel surely would have been doomed … abandoned or neglected by its mother, or euthanized (humanely or otherwise) by an uncaring or impatient owner. Smiegel’s hind leg is so horribly deformed that the kitten lets it it dangle and does not even try to walk on it, hobbling instead on three legs. The leg sticks out and forward to such a degree that when the kitty lays down, it looks as though it has three front paws. But the shelter saw potential, and kept it in its cage, next to his sister, nursed it and fed it. Smiegel and his sister were constant companions for the short time they were together (they were not adopted as a pair, unfortunately), and when one was taken out of its cage to be shown, it wasn’t 30 seconds before the other one would start crying for its sibling. What happened to the mother kiitty, I do not know. I only know that little Smiegel had personality plus. He loved to play, and to be held, and to purr with gusto. His “handicap” did not stop him from climbing the door to his cage, meowing for attention, using his litter, eating, or drinking. In his own eyes, Smiegel was perfectly normal. He will hobble rather clumsily for a while, but quickly learn to walk and perhaps even trot on three legs. Smiegel was adopted on January 28 by a loving family. If he becomes part of a kitty herd, I have little doubt the other kitties will see nothing “wrong” with him. If they do pester him, it won’t be for long, for I have no doubt Smiegel will take no shit. Soon, he will be just another kitty. He will not be teased or be called mean names. We all have much to learn from Smiegel.
I turned in my volunteer badge after my shift on Friday, sliding it under the office door of Patsy Porter, the volunteer coordinator. I will send her an email later to tell her how much I enjoyed helping them out this past December.
For better or worse, I feel the Disney pass has played itself out, and I attempt no further visits to the parks. The local news is running stories about how all the major parks (Disney and Universal) are filled to capacity this year to the point where they are turning people away. This even makes the national news. Little wonder the traffic on Interstate 4 has been so horrendous this past week. So I decide to call it a season. In all, I figure I got 22 visits out of that $532 annual pass. At basically $100 per visit when you include parking, I got $2,200 worth of visits at one-fourth the price. You have to like that!
Instead, I concentrate on my workouts at the gym, and cleaning up as many leftovers in the fridge as I can in preparation for my departure to Fort Myers on Sunday. What time I have left these past couple of days, I spend reading, watching what little TV is on that interests me, and surfing the ‘Net. Expenses have been minimal these past couple of days, about 65 cents each day for a can of soda in the break room at the animal shelter.
Bruce
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