Saving Sneakers

We got Sneakers when he was three months old.  He was a cute little black and white kitten.  We decided to call him Snickers, but because of his white paws and sneaky personality, we called him Sneakers.

When we first got him he was terrified.  He would go near anyone.  I tried to warm up to him by giving him tuna fish but he wouldn't be coaxed.  One morning when I woke up and Sneakers was at the foot of my bed staring at me.  When he noticed I was awake, he meowed at me.  That's when we became good friends.

When he was six months old, he started wanting to go outside a lot.  We thought he might be looking for a girlfriend, so we had him fixed.  He was upset at me for doing that and cried for two days.

He was also mad at me when I pulled out from underneath a car.  He was covered with grease.  He needed a shower, but he didn't want one.  Judy held on to him in the bath tub while I washed him with shampoo.  He was one upset cat.  Judy and I still have battle scars.

Sneakers was an unsual cat.  He liked to eat fruit, spaghetti sauce and taco's were his favorite, next to yogurt.  He was a friendly cat.  He made friends with other cats.  When I would walk to the coke machine, Sneakers and about three other cats followed.

One night Sneakers had been out for a long time and it was getting late.  We were beginning to worry.  When I opened the front door, I could hear Sneakers crying.  Sneakers had a cry that was his alone.  I couldn't see him anywhere.  Judy pointed at the roof.  Sneakers was on the roof crying because he couldn't get down.

A teenage boy said that he could climb up there and get our cat.  At that time, he was one year old.  The teenager was able to climb on the roof, but couldn't catch Sneakers.  It was getting late so we decided to go to bed, hoping that Sneakers could find his way home.

The next morning he was still on the roof.  We called the fire department.  They said it was too cangerous to send a man up there to rescue a cat.

I walked around the building trying to figure how he got up there was a big tree that was close enough to the roof that a cat could jump from onto the roof.  The branches on the tree we to thin to hold a cat jumping from the roof.

Animal services were no help.  They said they didn't have the equipment to catch a cat in that situation.

Our apartment didn't accept pets.  Judy got an idea to call the landlord and tell him about there being a cat on the roof  crying and keeping her awake.
They told her there was nothing they could do.

It had been three days and four nights.  Sneakers was still up there.  It was the middle of June and very hot, especially on the roof.  We worried about Sneakers burning his paws or worse his life.

I couldn't stand to hear him cry.  I tried to climb up their on the hand rail, but I couldn't.  One of neighbors noticed what was happening  and suggested we put some food and water on the roof.  I thought it was a good idea so I filled his dishes.  The neighbor stood on the handrail, putting the dishes on the roof.

I had to get him down. I got a chair, a wooden box and two cushions off the couch then piled them on top of each other.so that I could stand on them to rescue Sneakers .  As Sneakers started drinking the water, I told my neighbor to grab him.  He grabbed him and handed him to me.  I let my kitty jump out of my hands on to the stairs.  He ran straight into our apartment, to the bedroom and under the bed.  All the neighbors were cheering.  In a couple of minutes Sneakers came out from under the bed.
He was nudging my leg as if to say, "THANK YOU!"

Home Again

I was a baby in my father's arms.

While rocking me

He sang,

"I'll Take You Home again,

Kathleen."

Through each of my struggles

He took me home

and will again.

Our whole family will be there.

Together for eternity.

Hurting

When something hurts

We impatiently wait for an end

knowing that pain does end.
.
We often endure for

What seems like an eternity.

Meanwhile we rely on each other

and use our words as aspirin.

Depression vs Sadness

Being sad is not the same as being depressed.

While depressed, I put up a fight.

While sad I just don't care.

Images of Sneakers

I see him
stretched out on the bed,
sitting in the chair,
standing on my lap,
nudging my arm with his nose,
greeting me
when I walk in the room
and complaining when
I leave him alone.

My kitty,
My baby
is gone.

Being Aunt Kathy

To Marlene's children
My working in a candy facroy
was a wonderous, magical fantasy,
Promisisng them bundles of sweets.

Bill's oldest daughter at age four
looked forward to
playing with my house clock,
sent to me by her father
as a soldier in Germany.

I watched Yvonne's children grow
during their cross country trips
each August.
Growing so enthusiastically.

Jan's boys gave me
my most needed gift.
Knowing my umperfections
they gave me the gift of
acceptance and love.

Slipping Away

One hundred two years old,

She waits wondering when

She will slip away.

I wonder if it is like insomnia

Wondering when it will happen,

When you will slip away

Into sleep.

In an Old Body

I reached old age to fast

Though my body is

wrinkled and stiff

and my memory is leaving

I am the same person inside.

I do not ask you

to gaze into my hollow eyes

looking to see what's there.

It's me, Kathy

I'm still here.

Deadly Agreement

This is from the book I am working on.  It is about a mental health center, ITU(Intensive Treatment Unit) located in Midvale, Utah during the 1980's



While stting in the office at ITU, I noticed one of the residnets was reading the Bible.  She looked very nervous and drugged.  One of the staff members noticed and asked her if there was something wrong.  The girl, Carmen denied it and kept frantically reading the Bible.  She was mumbling about dying and heaven.  "Are you thinking about hurting yourself?" the worker inquired.  Carmen continued to mumble and made little sense.  When they dragged the information out of her they found out that she and another resident, Becky had decided to kill themselves together.  "Where's Becky?"the crisis worker demanded.  "Did you take some pills?" "Yes" Carmen admitted.  "Again they demanded, "Where's Becky?" "She's up in her room." Carmen confessed.  The crisis workers ran up the stairs to Becky's room.  They found Becky unconscious and called the paramedics.  Becky almost died that night.  The doctors had to open her chest to get her heart started.

I got to know Becky in later years.  I'm thankful that she was around so that I could know her.  She later married and had children who would not have been abole to enjoy her if  the doctors hadn't  revived her that night.

As for Carmen, "How would you like to carry that around.?"