This Somber Holiday

It's Memorial Day. The kick off to summer, a long weekend, time to plant the tomato plants. And lest we forget, a time to remember all the heroes, alive and gone, of America's wars.


I still can vividly remember a day in June, 1967; I was eleven, playing outdoors with my neighborhood friend, Janet, when her mother came outside, crying, and told my friend that her cousin Billy had been killed in Viet Nam. He was in a tank that was hit by enemy fire and exploded. He was 20 years old.


Viet Nam: My husband's father, from a farming family in northwestern Rhode Island was there at the same time, a Sea Bee. He survived, but struggled when he returned and died young, probably at least in part to exposure to Agent Orange. My cousin, Frank, now 70, also exposed at Agent Orange, who did two tours as a chopper medic. He's living in Florida, happily retired and enjoying frequent cruises and jaunts in his RV with his wife. He won't fly again, ever. He is an American hero but doesn't like to talk about his days in Nam.


My Dad is a Korean Conflict veteran. He's still alive, but his name is already on the WWII Memorial in his home town, where he still lives, still married to the woman, my mother, who waited for him to return. Like Frank, he doesn't talk about the time he spent overseas, either. He is part of "the greatest generation" memorialized on that monument. We've asked him if he would like to participate in the Memorial Day tributes; he always declines.


Last night, my husband talked on the phone with our young neighbor, the age of my oldest daughter. He was in Iraq; he went there thinking he would be working as a plumber, his civilian occupation, and found himself holding a gun in combat instead of a plumber's wrench. And he is struggling. I heard my husband say "thank you for your service, sir" before he hung up the phone.


This weekend, have fun. Be safe. And remember all our heroes. They are usually almost invisible, trying to just have a good life like we all want, sometimes succeeding and other times needing a helping hand, an acknowledgement, a kind word.

Cat Owners' Corner: The Gift

I've always owned pets, cats and dogs, and for awhile, horses. Currently, we have two cats and a dog, but this post is devoted to Oki -- "Orange KItty". Oki is a rangy old cat who came our way via my youngest daughter, who reported that this skinny stray was hanging around her then-boyfriend's house and his parents were planning on taking the cat "for a ride in the country". Needless to say, I inherited another pet. That was about ten years ago. And we didn't know how old the kitty was then. Oki has earned his place as "best cat ever".


About a year ago now, Oki had a major health scare and a very expensive week long stay at a premier animal hospital. After that, Oki had to lose about ten pounds and is down from 22  to 14 pounds but is now an insulin-dependent diabetic kitty, requiring injections morning and evening. We also learned that Oki -- who we thought was a "she" -- is a "he", a neutered male. I guess our local vet never looked that closely and neither did we. It has been an adjustment calling Oki "he" and "him"! But that did explain HIS randy behavior around our petite female cat, neutered or not!


Frequently troubled by insomnia, I was particularly displeased last night when Oki jumped on the bed, meowing loudly and persistently. I think it was around 4 a.m. Diabetic cats get hungry and I kept trying to push Oki off the bed or at least quiet down so I could get just a little more shut-eye. Finally, the cat decided laying on my bladder would be comfy and I gave up on any more sleep. Being extremely near-sighted, I grabbed my eyeglasses from the nightstand and headed for the kitchen and coffee.


About ten minutes later, my husband was cursing and muttering....as he walked out of the bedroom holding a very fat and very dead mouse in a Kleenex. Eeeeeeeeeeew!!!!!!!! The carcass was laid neatly between us......an apparent gift from the fearless hunter.


So today I am washing a lot of bed linen. Now, when you own an old house with a fieldstone foundation, you need cats but......next time, Oki, could you just leave the vermin next to the bed? Or near your feed bowl? I don't think this incident is going to help my sleep problems!