Snow
I wanted to thank all of you for responding so warmly to my November
13th message [previous page], for taking
the time to write so many beautiful messages, for visiting Snow's web
site, and commenting so kindly on her,
for asking
where a small donation in her name might be made (cat and dog rescue organizations
and no-kill shelters could use a contribution in her name to help save
other creatures like Snow), and for speaking from the heart in your messages
about what you care about in life.
We planted some flowers around Snow's grave in the back yard, and look forward to them blooming next spring. Each day we go out to give thanks for her having come into our lives. Thanksgiving week I was up early and happened to see a deer standing at her grave.
Life always seems to draw different lines on a map than we think are there.
We had not planned on bringing in any more for a while but we got a call
from one of the shelters (all of which are full right now and fairly desperate).
As best as we could get the story, a very young kitten was subjected to
continuing cruelty 
(one effect of which was that his front leg was crushed
from shoulder to paw). It was left unattended for 3 weeks until finally
a neighbor intervened and it ended up with a vet who, pro bono, set its
leg. Unfortunately, it was too late and the leg failed to knit and had
to be amputated. So we have a new member of our community here. My wife
was out of town when the call came but gave me power of attorney to make
a decision about taking in the new cat; when she returned home, of course,
she fell in love with him.
I hope that all of you had a happy Thanksgiving. Your overwhelming response to my message was part of all that I was very thankful for this year.
December 2, 1999