It’s Time to Quiet the Silence

So, yesterday Mike and Judy celebrated Valentine’s day. Never mind that the actual day is tomorrow. They celebrated by having a catered meal prepared and delivered by Instead of Flowers, and gifted to them by their good friend, Julie. Judy got out the good table linen and china, and they had dinner by candlelight. They exchanged sweet cards, and the cats gave them cards as well. You may wonder why they celebrated 2 days ahead of time. It all started about a week before Christmas. Mike was scheduled to be in the hospital on Christmas day, so along with Michelle, we celebrated both Christmas and Chanukah week early with a nice meal and exchange of gifts. Next, because he was still in the hospital on New Year’s Day we were unable to have our traditional Hoppin’ John meal, so this was enjoyed 2 or 3 weeks ago. It only seemed right to round things out with an off-calendar Valentine’s Day celebration. A word of advice, though, Mike: You would be wise to hit your wedding anniversary and Judy’s birthday on the nose.

Mike continues to tire easily, but otherwise seems to have no ill effects from his Big Chemo, other than some moderate hair loss. He sees Dr. B. next week, and hopes for a plan to resume more normal activities, including work. He continues to walk every day, a mile or more, and wants to start hitting golf balls when the weather is more permissive. We have had a warm, wet winter, although it did snow steadily for 2 hours Saturday morning. Mike and Judy went out at 2PM for a walk in the snow, but it had almost all melted already. I must admit I enjoyed myself quite a bit in the snow, as typically we get only 1 snowfall per year; and I had started to despair of seeing snow this year. We already are seeing daffodils, and many early flowering shrubs and trees are in bloom. In fact, as I look out the window as I write this I can see the buds on our Japanese Magnolia starting to open. And whenever I go outside I can tell the birds are in love, as they sing their own Valentine’s day tunes to their mates.

So, Mike has entered my blog, “Georgia Cat Speaks!” in the Cat Writers Association Annual Contest, under the category of: Blog, Entertainment and Humor. It would be fun if we win. They announce the winners this summer. I will let you know.

In other writing news, Mike has written the forward to a recently published book called  “#Quieting the Silence: Personal Stories” The book is published by the Blue Dove Foundation, an organization that was created to address the awareness of issues of mental illness and substance abuse in the Jewish community and beyond. Especially with regard to substance abuse there has been communal denial within the Jewish world about the fact that Jews are just as vulnerable to this classification of diseases as any other group of people. “#Quieting the Silence: Personal Stories” contains the personal stories of 20 individuals who courageously share their stories in the interest of helping others who may need help in dealing with their own mental illness, substance abuse, or that of a loved one. It  also contains some resources for people who wish to learn more about these issues, and for how to find help. Anyone who is interested can order the book on Amazon. The Amazon ISBN Number is 9781077509443. For more information visit www.quietthesilence.org or www.TheBlueDoveFoundation.org.

And finally, this is the last I think we will hear from Donald Donck and the Fowl Party. I was down at the Donkle’s pond this morning when I ran into Waldo, now former spokesgoose for the party. He said Donald was disgusted with the raising of only 37 cents from the bottoms of the neighborhood ponds, and he has left Happy Meadows for parts unknown. He didn’t say what his plans were, but I don’t think he will be missed all that much. It won’t be long at all before people and the 4-leggeds and winged ones will be saying Donald Who? Otherwise, not much to report from Happy Meadows. I hope the season of love is kind to all of you. Until next time, be well, be safe, pray for world peace and whatever else moves you; and, so long from Happy Meadows!

Author: Black Magic

Black Magic is a handsome, charming, and self-absorbed cat who lives with Mike and Judy Gordon in Marietta, Georgia. He is about 7 years old, and he will remind you at every opportunity that his grandfather was Black Jack, that famous cat who wrote his own autobiography. Black Magic has a great many opinions, and despite his natural feline arrogance, he seems to be genuinely spiritual. But the reader can decide for him/herself. View all posts by Black Magic