ANNIE, THE CAT'S MEOW

I first met Annie back in February 2004 after Milan told me to let him know what I wanted for for Valentine’s Day and he promised would get it for me no matter what it was. He has often joked that he should have have put some conditions on that. But he didn’t, and so I headed straight to the Humane Society animal shelter.

It had been two long years since we had put our beloved Maine Coon cat to sleep, a big pile of what appeared to be nothing but fur, but had a huge heart hidden inside. We had named him Ollie in honor of Col. Oliver North who was our news hero at the time.

I entered the cat compound at the Humane Society. There were only two cats inside, a brown tabby who ran to the other side of the pen away from me, and a little black and white girl who came running over to me and when I picked her up, she snuggled her head under my chin and began to purr. It was love at first sight.

She was new there and they had not given her a name so I called her Annie. She was always smaller than the average cat, even when full grown, so we dubbed her Little Annie.

We knew she must have had a home somewhere before she came to the shelter because she was very loving, and appeared to have been well cared for. Even more telling,we were not able to get her to drink any water until she jumped up on Milan’s bathroom sink one day when the water was running, put her head directly under the faucet and began to drink. It was clear this was not a new experience for her.

We were told by our veterinarian two years ago when our other cat died at a very young age that Annie was probably a carrier for the feline kidney disease that killed him, and it would possibly cause her death when she became older.

And so it was that we knew the time had come these past few weeks as her behaviour changed and her litter box habits were affected.

We took her to the vet this week who confirmed there was nothing more she could do for Annie, and so once again we said good-bye to a precious famiy member.

The protective cloths spread over the sofa and chairs are now gone. The litter boxes and feeding dishes are gone. The tall climbing tower in front of my office windows is gone. But so is the soul of our house. I wonder if I will remember to open the blinds on the sunny side of my office as soon as I get up without her jumping up on her tower seat and scolding me for not opening them before I sat down.

I know not everyone will understand how an animal can mean so much to those of us who dote on them. In this world there are two kinds of people - those who have house pets and those who have sparkling clean houses all the time.

As a pastor I was often asked, especially by children, if their dog or cat would go to heaven when they died. Theologically, I never knew what to say and I really doubt that you know either. But if heaven is a perfect place of complete happiness and contentment, and we believe that it is, then it is not unreasonable to think our beloved animals will greet us there.

Rest in peace, sweet Little Annie. I will miss you most of all this winter as I remember how we would curl up together under the electric blanket for Sunday afternoon naps, and you would lay your paw on top of the control so I couldn’t turn it off. You were really the “cat’s meow” when it came to feline intelligence. You taught us all there is no such thing as a dumb animal.

Near Death Testimony from Judge Larry Winfrey

Larry Winfrey has given me permission to share this testimony. Grab a box of Kleenex and maybe a sweater for the cold chills you will get in the middle of it. "During my recent medical crisis, I was unconscious for two days. The following is what I experienced during that time. If you have the time and the inclination, I would be interested in your thought. I am pasting what I have sent to others who have inquired. Thank you! Thank you for expressing interest in hearing what happened to me during the two days of unconsciousness, it has had a profound effect upon me. Whether real or imagined, or you believe it or not makes no difference, it will all depend on your relationship with God. Nor will it affect my appreciation for you. I could not breathe! I remember thinking I was dead and that I was not ready to die. I thought of my family. I did not see any bright light or passed loved ones. I did not see any angels enveloped in a holy penumbra. What I saw was Sata

LDR column published 05.09.12 - Jess Easley

Straight From The Hart By Joan Rowden Hart Jess Easley , Lebanon Historian and StoryTeller I’ve been trying to trace a place called Railroad Pond from the early days of Lebanon. Perhaps some of you “old-timers” will have more information, but I found a reference to it in Jess Easley ’s recollections of Lebanon. Jess talked about skating on Railroad Pond when he was just a kid, and also working to cut ice on it during the cold winters that Lebanon experienced. The grocery stores which had meat markets would hire people to cut ice from the pond to put in their ice house and store for the summer. Jess was one of Milan’s favorite customers when Milan started working at the barber shop with Fred Pitts in 1968, and he quickly became one of Milan’s mentors in collecting oral memories and memorabilia of Lebanon history. Jess was born in Lebanon in January of 1891, and died here on March 1, 1983 at the age of 92 , and had a good strong mind right up to the very end, so he had many memories

Anti-semetism

Vandals knocked over and damaged at least 100 headstones at Mount Carmel Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia on February 27. The Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery in St. Louis suffered major damage when more than 200 headstones were toppled and damaged by vandals also in February. After numerous headstones were desecrated at the Waad Hakolel Cemetery in Rochester, the Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester New York stated on its Facebook post, “In the past month alone, there have been more than 180 anti-Semitic incidents nationwide. We are deeply disturbed by rising acts of anti-Semitism across the country, including bomb threats made to Jewish community centers, Jewish day schools, and synagogues.” As of February 28 this year more than 100 threats have been called in to 77 Jewish Community Centers, eight Jewish schools and several advocacy offices like the Anti-Defamation League, around the country. In his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday of last week, President Trump said

Straight From The Hart

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