Alex

A simple story about Alex. Alex was a cat. But not just any cat....

   There are some things in life that we take for granted, forgetting how special they are until they are gone. Family….friends, whether they are two legged or four, losing them is painful. From that point on there isn’t a place, sight, sound, or smell, that doesn’t seem to trigger a memory of the one that has been taken from us. We remember those last moments, days, weeks, etc…. and hold them dear if they were good or ache with regret if they weren’t. We wonder if there was anything we could have done that would have made a difference? Did we do everything we could to try to save them? And why oh why didn‘t we see it coming?  And in those final moments when we are holding them close or simply touching them with our hand, we hope and pray that they know we are there. That in some small way it breaks through their fear to bring them comfort. That the last memory they have of this life is that we loved them. They will be ingrained in our memory and on our heart forever. And we will know that they have played a part in our life that can not be replaced.

    That is why I am sitting here writing tonight. Alex died Friday. He was a cat, my cat. Alex came to us Thanksgiving Day, from Seattle via the trunk of Josh’s (A friend of my son Nick) car. He delivered Al with a toss through the door and as he ran for his car, yelled back over his shoulder that he was sorry about the trunk but the cat was crazy. We didn’t see the cat again until a day later when my foster granddaughter began to scream that there was a cat swimming in her bath water. Sure enough there was Alex, cat paddling as if it was his own private swimming pool.

   From the beginning Alex was unpredictable and in his own little feline brain, decidedly the boss. Al would shoot through the house like a streak of black lightening testing gravity, tempting fate, and permanently leaving evidence of his existence engraved in every table top as he ricocheted from place to place.  Of course polishing the tables to a shiny gloss not only made them look better it also provided some impromptu entertainment. Velocity + Lemon Pledge = one surprised flying cat. Did you know a flying cat can travel a fair distance before touching ground as long as a wall doesn’t get in the way? They can.

    To many people the death of a cat is considered just one less waste of fur taking up the comfy end of the couch, I don’t see it that way. I feel that our “pets” come to us for a reason. I believe that it’s a God thing. I believe that He not only has people that He brings into our lives, but also other creatures what ever they may be - Dogs, horses, birds…cats. Childhood memories are filled with adventures that have taken place with our four legged counterparts. We made them our fall guys when we broke something, our undercover eaters of the food we didn’t want to eat at dinner, they were the only ones who understood when we were in trouble, they always listened, they never complained, they never told one secret we shared with them, they were our best friend when no one else would be. As adults the story is much the same. It is a reciprocal relationship, we love them and care for them and they do the same for us. Actually they do more. Even when we yell at them or are unkind, they forgive us and show us a devotion we don’t deserve.

    My house feels empty tonight. I didn’t realize how strong Alex’s presence was until it was gone. Now there’s a void. I expect to see my big black baby every time I turn around, but he’s not there. I know he’s gone, I watched him die, I felt him leave, I held him, and I cried, but still…. 

Reviews

[Arsenic Nemesis]

Wow, this is really one powerful piece. A healthy cocktail of emotions and very true ones of how we feel about our animal companions. It is very upsetting when one passes away, and all the memories in which we share with them will never disappear. This is an amazing bit of writing, very emotional and touching. Well done here, mortal~