Friday, December 2, 2016

A Safe Place in a Pillow Case


Students burning flags and hoping for safe spaces. Colleges banning flags on campus. Riots in city streets and protests in countrysides and native lands. Friends blocked on fb for opposing views. Underlying agendas everywhere a person goes; stick with the status quo or be blocked; be ostracized. Six months ago a majority of posts on fb supported or defended a liberal ideology. Currently right leaning opinions surface just before they drown. Amid this dissension many find they are suddenly a hero or a pariah.

When I was six or seven an abandoned cat came round our home in Cuba. I begged my mom to let me keep the cat. She said I could feed the cat but I had to leave it out of doors. Every day I fed that cat and was happy it chose to stay. I made up a makeshift bed with towels in a low box on top of the trash can.  After several weeks the cat had kittens in that box. What a joy seeing new life from a trusting cat previously abandoned. I again begged my mom to bring the cat indoors. Since the cat had kittens my mom said ok but the cat must stay in the bathroom.

As I slept in the room next to the bathroom I felt my pillow case moving and mewing in a melodious dance. I awoke to the soft and beautiful bodies of kittens brought to my pillow case by the mother cat in the dark of the night. I marveled the kittens weren't hurt by my head resting on the pillow. I moved over and let the kittens have their space. The mother cat slept nearby knowing and trusting all was safe in my pillow case.

In the morning I told my mother about the kittens in my pillow case. At first my mother was doubtful of the story about the cat bringing her young to my room.  My mom thought I'd brought the kittens to my bed. But my mom knew the story was too preposterous to believe I had put kittens in a pillow case. Sometimes you know, you just have to agree, the best place to be, is a safe place in a pillow case.

9 comments:

  1. The trust that mother showed you was precious.
    And yes, safe in a pillow case (or under the bed) has a very real charm at the moment.

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    1. Hi Sue, thanks, I remember the mother and the kittens but I can't remember what happened to her. I am sure we got homes for all the kittens. Under the bed or under a pillow does feel like a good place to go nowadays.

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  2. A soft place to fall...animals and humans alike need it; too often never find it. Th

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    1. Hi Lee, thanks, yes a soft and welcoming place to go. I saw short video where a baby bear cub rescued by a fireman in Tennessee was running up to him and grabbing his leg and holding on for dear life.

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  3. It is the illustration of my creed: every living thing has value.

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  4. Hi Joanne, thanks, yes it's good for us all to keep that in the forefront of our minds, every living thing.

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  5. What a wonderful touching story!

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  6. Hi Gigi, thanks, I couldn't believe it when I woke up and the kittens were in my pillow case. Ha.

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  7. What collage banned the flag on campus? I hadn't heard about that.

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