I wrote a column for this week, but I had the newspapers pull it at the last minute. I knew it would be too painful for our daughter, Kelly, who lost her husband, Justin Fontaine, on March 30, 2022. Instead, here is a link to the “All Access” on-line magazine that published a tribute to Justin…
Fern Ridge-Tribune News
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
March 24, 2022
By Pat Edwards
This morning, as I try to figure out what I can write about, I’ve decided that it would be fun to tell you a little about a subject I’ve been trying to work in for quite some time. As most everyone knows, for Jim and me, our family is the main focus of our world. Many of you know our daughters and son, our grandchildren and even our great-grands. Each of them have their own homes and live their various, busy lives in ways that make us proud. Since we have been “empty-nesters” for some time now, we’ve turned more and more to our “furry kids” to help fill our lives. Unfortunately, their life spans aren’t long enough. Each time we have had to say goodbye to any of them, it has been heartbreaking. Each one is special and as much a part of our family in their own time and place as our human kids. I’d like to introduce three of our current ones to you today.
Jo-Jo, aka Joey
We’ve had Jo-Jo the longest… I usually just call him Joey. His mama and another female cat had been dumped at our store over 14 years ago. Both were pregnant, so we caught them and kept them in the old tavern building where they delivered and raised their kittens. We took the mamas in to have them spayed after the kittens were weaned and found homes for them all. Jo-Jo came home with us.
Toby
We adopted Toby from a rescue in San Diego, California. He’s a small blue heeler with a big attitude. He arrived in Eugene in a crowded dog carrier sitting precariously at the very back and top of an enclosed van where he had been for the two-day trip. He was scared and very quiet on that morning as he was unloaded from that van. I was very quiet, too, and I remember my eyes were red and swollen, for, very early that same morning, I had returned from the vet’s office where I had been forced to say goodbye to my beautiful, sweet Shortie dog who was to be Toby’s brother. We had not planned it that way… it just happened. So, Toby and I immediately bonded in our fright and sorrow.
BB… Can you believe his daddy is a blond Labradoodle? 🙂
BB came into our lives as part of a local rescue. His mother and litter of puppies had been found running down Siuslaw River Road. We found the owners and they willingly turned the puppies over to a nearby rescue group. We fell in love with BB and he, Toby and Joey have become “brothers.” We have two other female feline members of the family, but I’ll have to tell about Oreo and Xena in another column sometime.
Toby, BB and Joey are quite the challenging group. Each one is very possessive of me, especially. They love Jim, too, but Toby has set himself up as my protector and he would like to keep others (people and animals) away from me whenever possible. BB, who looks like a black Irish Setter with brindle accents, is usually submissive, but wants, and sometimes demands, his attention, too. And, the older Joey gets, the more determined he is to not be left out when he feels attention is needed… which is often.
One morning I was sitting at the breakfast table reading the paper and all three were gathered around. They don’t beg for food… they each just want to be the ones getting the attention on each side of my chair. All of a sudden, BB and Toby got into one of their very rare fights. It sounded real, but they’ve never hurt each other in any way. I got up to break it up when all of a sudden there was a flying hairball with clawed feet splayed out, pouncing on top of the melee. Joey had had enough of their childishness and decided to end the fight himself. Toby, whose back was blanketed by a very angry cat, yelped and disengaged from BB. I grabbed Joey and threw him outside so the dogs wouldn’t turn on him, and told the other two “kids” to stop it immediately.
They soon settled down and when I let Joey back in the house, he immediately walked over to Toby and nuzzled up against him. Toby, in turn licked Joey’s ear tenderly.
It so reminds me of what it was like raising our own kids so long ago. Being family has always meant we love each other, but arguments and fights are inevitable. It’s ok—and expected—to fight amongst ourselves, but if you really want to feel the fangs, just let someone from outside the family circle hurt one of us. I love it! If only we could all be one big family!
Fern Ridge-Tribune News
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
March 17, 2022
By Pat Edwards
Today, as I sit down to write this week’s column, I notice the date—March 17—St. Patrick’s Day. This has never been a major celebration at our house, but it does bring back some memories of panicking when I realized I hadn’t worn green to work at my job at the UO. I’d scramble to make sure I had some piece of green jewelry or dig through my desk drawers to find something that was any shade of green to wear in order to uphold my Irish heritage. Oh, I don’t remember that it was taken very seriously at work, either, but it was tradition, after all!
In recent years, I’d bring home a slab of corned beef and a big head of cabbage and fix them with boiled potatoes sometime during the week, but not always on St. Patty’s Day. I never had the desire to drink green beer or pinch anyone not wearing green, but I considered it a fun, happy, holiday, regardless.
This year, however, I may or may not take the corned beef from the freezer. Right now, fun or joy seems selfish. When I think of the millions of women and children of Ukraine who have been forced out of their homes as refugees, leaving their men behind to fight for their homeland, not knowing what they will find upon their return—if they are ever able to return—and those who remained behind because they refused to leave or were not able to. They are standing their ground to defend what is rightfully theirs, but their supplies of food and water are running out as their cities are surrounded by the military forces of an unhinged Russian president. And because Vladimir Putin has reminded the world that he figuratively has his finger on the button that could release nuclear warheads, the U.S. and NATO are not able to help the people of Ukraine for fear of launching World War III.
Here at home, our political rhetoric has quieted, but there are still those wanting to point fingers and complain about the high price of gasoline when it should be a time when we need to come together, as we have so many times before, with a common goal and love of our own country in times of extreme peril.
The other day, as I was scrolling through Facebook, I noticed that a friend had shared a beautiful watercolor painting of the blue and yellow Ukraine flag surrounded by sunflowers. The message above it was just as beautiful, I felt. It was obviously written from the heart and it spoke everything that I have been feeling in a simple message. I want to share it with you here:
“Instead of complaining about the cost of things and knowing it’ll get worse, here’s a different mindset… I crawled into a warm bed last night and I know where I’m sleeping tonight. There is a roof over my head and the house is warm. The fridge and cupboards have food. My pups are safe, fed and happy. I turn on the tap and have clean water. I am blessed. If I have to make fewer trips, walk a bit further, so be it. We are luckier than most people that we share this world with.”
Let’s put aside our complaints, join hands and pray that somehow, in some way, our world can soon be put to rights again with the threat of nuclear war calmed, and so the people of Ukraine can once again return home to their damaged nation in order to begin picking up the pieces and restoring it in peace.
All Things Lorane 