Taking advantage of the fact that I am the oldest bulletin writer, I will digress from Rotary for an instant and share a personal thought to start the new year. I wish to share the wonders of the human animal bond. In my profession, over the years, I have had the opportunity to witness hundreds if not thousands of situations of close relationships between animals and their owners. Children growing up with the family dog, ageing couples sharing the walks with their pets, single adults having their pet as their only immediate family, and the everyday family with the dog or dogs or cats as a part of the family routine. All of these scenarios at some time involve the loss of the family pet and the grief that it causes. As difficult as this experience is, the months and years of close relationships and wonderful experiences are more than worth the unpleasantness of the loss. Our pets never have a bad day. The tail wags every day and the greeting upon returning home and the joy in their eyes is unaffected by what ever happened in the owner's world that day. The cat is always ready to climb in one's lap and get a head rub.
So, what prompted this sharing of thoughts? Some of you remember when my wife, Sue, passed away 7 1/2 years ago and I happened to be the fine master the week after she died. I had some emotional difficulty with my presentation that day. But I wanted to relate a story that occurred during her last days involving a kitten named Liberty Rose that was found injured on 4th of July, badly injured and only 5 weeks old. So I wrote the story down and passed out copies of the story at the meeting describing how this kitten was either in Sue's lap or in the pocket of her bathrobe until she passed 6 weeks later. And also spent time with her in Hospice providing constant companionship. Rosie provided the most wonderful comfort to Sue, easing her last days. Yesterday, Liberty Rose, now known as Rose Bud, passed away. And thus, another reminder to me of the wonderful times we share with our animal companions. Thankyou for listening.
First Friday, Oliver's. Will be good to see everyone again tomorrow. Peace.