Pappa Hardy's Musings on Life.

I recently learned something at a bank branch staff meeting (a truly odd event) that made me think about the two animals that have lived in my house recently, and have passed away. They are buried in the ground near a rock wall in our back yard.

According to some Jewish tradition (if I have this correct), rather than bring flowers to a grave site, they bring small pebbles which are placed there. These rocks symbolize the intent to always (like a rock is steadfast and immovable) that we shall always remember the deceased who has passed on.

I guess the two animals of which I speak (TB and Snowball) will always hold a special place in our hearts in our family, not because they necessarily were super animals, but because in their own way they showed love to this family, and we likewise, with rock steady steadfastness, shall have a place in our hearts for them. They were special to us, and I don’t think I will ever forget them.

At least once a day I walk out to the garage. Whether it is to check the garage door to make sure it is shut, or to make sure the light is off, or just to make sure everything is OK, I have the same type of experience. I expect to hear a loud meow of the garage’s inhabitant, either demanding food, a litter box change, or just wanting to be let out for a while. I keep hearing our departed cat. I suffer again every time I go to the garage. Perhaps I will never go to the garage again for a while. The car needs to be moved out to another location.

Who in the heck is HIF? Well, he was our cat Snowball. I named him HIF because he reminded me so much of an Emperor, of the Lord of the Universe. I called him HIF because that means his Imperial Furriness. He strutted around like he owned the world and this family, which of course he did.

He was always in the middle of the steps if I wanted to go out into the garage. He was always demanding that we feed him, and it had to happen before we left for work or did something much less important. After all, a cat needs to be fed in the morning so he can get a lot of sleep to digest his food before he went out for his walks in the evening.

He was always shedding or causing hair to accumulate in the garage where he lived. Why, didn’t we humans need something to keep us warm at night or to cover our clothes so they wouldn’t get dirty from dirt? Yes, he was always thinking of our welfare. The question was, whose welfare was the most important.

He was always there to greet me when I would come home from work, not because he wanted to make sure that I had a pair of slippers on my feet or my dinner cooked, or some other such nicety. No, he wanted to be fed again, or petted, or whatever needed to be done to take care of his needs.

I miss my cat. He was a good cat and I grieve for him.

Yes, I am a killer. I didn’t mean to do it. I didn’t plan on doing it. I didn’t want to do it. Nevertheless, I took another life. It wasn’t the life of a fellow human being, but it was the life of a gentle elderly cat, Snowball, a pet who my family and I loved and cherished and played with. He was an obnoxious cat as he went on in his years. If we worked in the yard, he believed, and probably rightfully so, that you had come out specifically to pet him and he was going to put his head down right where you were working and demand to be petted. Forget about planting that plant, or replacing that sprinkler head, you were supposed to be petting and talking to the cat, not that stuff which wasn’t important. When he was younger in Cheyenne, he believed that he was completely invisible, that he could easily hide in Bonnie’s flowers, even though they might be several bright colors and he had crushed them and was a dirty white color.

Snowball was very old for a cat. We adopted him (I should really say he adopted us) in June of 1991 not long after he came into this world as a new and energetic kitten. His special friend was another cat in his litter, a litter born across the street in Cheyenne that lived in the garage/home of Tom and Kathy Rowe, their three children Matt, Sarah, and Lori, and of course the cats. They played, slept in our garage or the Rowes garage, and had a good time. We ended up adopting two cats from the Rowes (dear friends).

He was at various times called That Darn Cat, HIF (aka His Imperial Furiness), Emperor of the Universe, Snowball the Great, and other far too many numerous special names. Gordon felt he was his son. Chris felt that he was one of HIF’s minions (or was it the other way around). To Julie he was kitty, to Brian, who loves all life in whatever form it may be, he was a friend. Michael cared for Snowball too. In his later years, if he got left outside he would cry until we let him back in the garage. He was our cat, and he owned as Robert Heinlien used to say, he allowed us exist to serve him and he owned us.

All of us loved the cat, Julie, Brian, Michael, Gordon, Mom, and of course Chris. I loved him too, even if he was constantly in my way as I was trying to leave in the mornings to go to work. After all, he needed to be fed, and please do it right now. As he was getting older, his kidneys were failing, we thought he might have diabetes as he was having trouble with them, but he could still eat, even if it was soft cat food. He was no longer able or willing to defend his turf (our garage) and I soon came to get hostile with a neighborhood cat that I referred to as “the Evil Grey Cat” who was always trying to get in and eat his food.

He had cat friends. We had a cat named Nermal, a Maine Kohn (sorry for the spelling) who could live anywhere up high. Snowball loved to taunt our dog TB, to chase him, to let him know who was boss. There wasn’t a dog in the neighborhood that knew Snowball that didn’t respect his territory. We had lots of fun with our beloved dog and wonderful have Siamese cat.

As he got older he was getting sicker. The family moved from our home in Cheyenne and he alternately took up a home at Grandma Cox’s in Pleasant Grove until 5 years ago when we finally made a new family home here in Payson. He became more of a home cat, and as he got older he was moving slower, and perhaps that was his undoing today. I only less than a week ago had a heart operation, so I just went to Sacrament meeting today and the Bishop was gracious enough to allow me to go home after the one meeting. Being his counselor I felt I was letting him down. However, I have also been tired and while I am just 57 I don’t feel like moving very fast either just right now. He usually would get up and move when I pulled the car into the garage. Today he didn’t move fast enough.

I guess what really makes me sad was that I had to make the decision to put him down. He was really hurting, and while we might have been able to heal him through surgeries and other medical interventions, he would have been in pain a lot, and his quality of life would have been so limited. It is not often that I can’t control my emotions but today I was hysterical, and I felt so bad. We gave him a proper burial, right near the spot where we laid to rest our beloved pup TB, and today in paradise they are chasing each other. I blessed his final resting place that it would be kept safe from predators or animals that would dig it up.

Yes, I can kill. It was an accident. Heaven forbid that I would, or anyone would ever want to purposely take another life. It is only in the hands of the great creator, our Lord and Savior, to give life and to restore life and to take life. For him, our Creator, I am grateful and it is in him that I have hope that I will be forgiven for this thing that I have accidently done today. I hope my family will forgive me.

That sounds like the name of a movie. Isn’t there a movie with Jimmy Stewart in called “It’s A Wonderful Life”. Well, I had our old cat, Snowball, come out and pester me while I was mowing the lawn today. He is getting really old for a cat, like 18 years old. He has arthritis so bad that he can’t sit down on his hind end like a normal cat. Despite that, he grovels for every and any opportunity to be petted by his subjects. He is so skinny he can hardly move around the yard, and he doesn’t like to move, unless someone is petting him. He hates to leave the safety of the garage, but he does have the energy to go get a pet. He is quite a cat.

Well, I don’t know if I spelled the name above correctly, but I had an interesting (for Payson) experience tonight. I was driving home from a meeting in downtown when I saw a deer crossing the road in front of me. That wouldn’t be a surprise, except it was 600 East and I was driving home from work.

Last night, we had seen 6 deer up on the ridge, foraging for food. This has been a very rough winter for the wild game, and they have moved down into the city looking for those tasty morsels of food that the floor of the valleys may still have. It has been a rough winter, and this is something that normally you would see here.

Todays star of the day is Brian.  Brian is married to a wonderful girl named Crystal.  The first time I met Crystal was when I was a substitute in mom’s high school health occ classes.  Crystal and Brian love each other and make a real good couple.

Brian has always been a hard worker.  In fact, Brian sometimes would work so hard on school that it would make him sick.  He is deteremined and he is always pushing ahead to do his best.  He is such a hard worker and I am so proud of him for that trait.

Brian also has great empathy.  Just like mom is one that never had a baby or young child not like her, Brian has a special empathy and relationship with animals.  While TB was my dog, he in reality was the best friend to Brian, and Brian was TB’s best friend.  Brian has a special love and respect for all life, whether it was animal or human.  He is an advocate for those who others may believe are not equal to man.

Brian is our family member of the day because he is such a wonderful young man. He is so thoughtful, considerate, intelligent, hard working, and follows through on everything.  Mom and I love this child of ours so much.

            I recently passed by a swamp.  I had never seen a real swamp until I took a trip to Hammond, Louisiana.  Hammond is located to the north of New Orleans very near to Lake Pontchartrain.  It is 45 feet above sea level, where New Orleans is 17 feet below sea level.  The swamp was impressive.  There was mile after mile after mile of water and swamp trees.  I didn’t see any alligators or other such animals, but you could tell that there was an abundance of plant life.  It was amazing how much of the land was surrounded by water, and how man made structures like a freeway was built right through the middle of it.

            Man doesn’t like to be prohibited from doing what he would like to do.  That includes not being able to cross swamps.  It was truly a swamp thing.

I echo Brian’s sentiments about TB. We miss him.

We have two members of our family that I have not discussed up to this point. The first is our long term resident and Ruler of the Universe, HIF (His Imperial Furriness, aka Snowball). Snowball is still a little paranoid about living at this house, but he seems to be more comfortable about the house and the garage. I was coming home the other night and as I turned the corner I could see the garage light was on in the garage with the garage door wide opened. As I watched, the two large next door neighbors dogs went running in the garage. Before I could even do anything, I saw the two dogs running quickly back out of the garage, followed by one enraged pussy cat. HIF does not allow any one bad animal to trespass in his domain.

We also have a new member. He has been called Shadowfax by Dad and Gandalf the Gray by Michael. While the jury is out regarding the naming of our new cockatiel, we are grateful to our son Brian for sharing him with us. He made the trip to Utah safely, and while he is still adjusting to his new home, we think he will work out just fine. Our animals round out our home.