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.

Moneymaker House on Harwood Avenue

I was so thrilled to read in last night's Lebanon Daily Record that the Laclede County Historical Society has now received title to the Moneymaker House on Harwood Avenue. I have always loved that house. As a little girl living in Old Town Lebanon on the corner of Wood & Apple Streets, and walking to school each day, I passed that house every day and always thought it was the most beautiful house in town. The large mature trees in the front yard were always so stately with their long curvy branches sweeping the ground and creating a canopy for the squirrels to have their own private playhouse during the spring and summer. In the fall, the leaves became a gorgeous array of colors gradually falling to the ground and making a carpet under the trees, eventually paving the way for the white snow which inevitably would come as winter would arrive. I loved the low branches sweeping the ground at the Moneymaker house so much that I asked Milan in the early years of our marriage to le...

All Keyed Up, Locked Out, and Alarmed - A Crazy Day in my Life

What a day! So many catastrophes, all having to do with keys. How weird is that? Got ready to go to work, running late as usual, and noticed at last minute I didn't have my car/house/shop keys. Last time I saw them was when we opened up the shop on Sunday afternoon to let MJ and my granddaughters pick out some beauty, bath and body items. Fortunately I keep an extra car key and house key in my wallet. Found the car key and drove to the store, but then realized I didn't have an extra key for the store. Called Milan from my cell phone and he opened the door from the inside and gave me an extra key he had. Middle of afternoon, I needed to go to the bank. Found my little car key in my purse, grabbed it and the small ring of Milan's keys so I could get back into the shop, walked about 2 steps to my car, unlocked the door, threw my purse in, got in and realized I had somehow lost the car key. Called Milan again from my cell phone hoping he had an ex...

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...

Straight From The Hart

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