Pedro and the Old Man

I found two new friends online this past week = one was a mere baby and one was an "old man".

I fell in love with both of them after hearing their stories, in the platonic sense, and it was through them, I think I have found my calling.

In this time of chaos and uncertainty in this country and my own questions about my role in this world, it finally dawned on me the answer was maybe right in front of me.

Through the friendship I have attained with Pedro and the "old man" named Garfield, I have found a purpose in life.

Ever since BabyDoo died back in July, my world has been shattered and still feels like it is tiny little pieces laying on the trailer floor and will always be that way, but a sliver of hope emerged from the ruins and I hope I am capable of making a difference this late in my life.

My body and spirit are weak right now and my motivation is challenging. My life has taken a toll on me, but my voice and my words are still strong, at least in my mind.

This is Pedro =

Pedro is a young fur baby right now in residence at a high-kill shelter. He was adopted and then returned to the shelter because he didn't get along with the older cat already in the home, so I came to his aid and it was going to be a one-time thing for me, sponsoring him and paying for his adoption and vetting fees, but it turned into a cause. I pray my efforts save his precious life.

I then found out about the "old man" at the same shelter = didn't know his name at the time I heard his story, but found out later his name is Garfield. He is a senior citizen fur baby, with no teeth and some serious medical issues. He was in danger of being put to sleep because of his age and his medical conditions. I came to his rescue and offered to sponsor him, too. As of tonight, Friday, November 11, 2016, he has been treated for some of his problems, but his prognosis is not good. He is loved and his life matters, no matter how much longer he has here before he crosses the Rainbow Bridge. Apparently no one wanted him and that's why he was put in the shelter, as a stray to await his fate. I hope he does not die there.

This is  Garfield =

It leads me to a brief story about myself and I don't know if my readers can connect the dots, but here goes . . . in 1965, when I was 20 years old, I was sent on a Greyhound bus, with other young men, to Ashland, KY to be drafted into the military. I passed all the physical exams and all other tests they put me through, but was not allowed to serve because of my sexual orientation . . . in other words, I was "unwanted" because of who I was. I was cast aside like a stray who didn't matter and at times, I still feel that way.

The elderly in this country, whether you are a human or a stray cat or dog, you are dismissed as a soul who doesn't matter to the rest of the world. This world apparently has no place for us "strays".

I am thankful I live in a country where I can live my life as I choose and I thank the people who fight for my freedom every day for this privilege. I thank the people who once scorned me. But I have no thanks to the people who have no conscience and no soul who abandon the animals of this world to be left to their own survival. I am proud to be an American but I am not proud of the Americans who can be so callous and inhumane. Their actions leave me to the point of being speechless, because I can think of no words to describe them.

On this day, I put a flag in my window and am trying to move forward in a positive way, but it's a difficult step to take, not knowing where my life is going to take me. But I do know this = I will be the voice of those souls who cannot speak, whether it is a homeless person or a homeless animal looking for a forever place to lay their head, I will speak for them, loudly I will speak and use the words known to me to relay my message to everyone around me.

I know realistically, that all of these souls cannot be saved, but I will do my part to make a difference in their lives, no matter how small it may be. I hope the ones out there who are looking for their forever home, I pray that God surrounds them with His love until their journey is complete, whether it is on this Earth living their life or crossing the Rainbow Bridge, where they go when their struggles are over.

Nineteen years ago tomorrow, November 12, 1997, I held my beloved Benjamin in my arms as he crossed the Rainbow Bridge. His spirit lives to this day, in my heart and will be there until I cross that bridge.

This is Benjamin =

He was a stray when I rescued him in 1981, he was one of the unwanted souls in this world and he was near death when I rescued him, drove eight hours from Kentucky back to Georgia and took him to a vet who saved his life. He was a month shy of his 17th birthday when I had to end his struggles.

Ironically, today I got a statement from the hospital I was in on July 9th of this year and it stated I was "near death" when I was admitted to the ER. The doctors at the hospital saved my life, but I am still weakened from the bout with pneumonia and don't know if I will ever completely heal. I am weak in body and in spirit tonight, but I hope my new cause can give me some sort of motivation to do good things with the time I have left in this physical world.

Me and Pedro = me and Garfield = me and BabyDoo = me and Benjamin = linked together by similar circumstances in this chaotic and cruel world. But all five of us have lived in an America that gives us freedom and privileges. The people who don't respect the differences of their fellow human beings and don't respect the lives of the "strays" of this world, do not have the right to stand up for this flag and for what it stands for = and they are the ones we must fear, 

Which one do you align yourself with?

This ?

or This?