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Celebrating Life - Yoda
Yoda
One beautiful Florida evening, nineteen years ago, I returned home from a hard day's work and when I pulled into our driveway my wife, Pat, walked out to greet me as she always did. These moments were always very special for me, but this day she had a pleasant surprise. In the palm of her hand was a black and white kitten. Needless to say I fell in love with him right away. Pat said that the kitten was given to her by one of our neighbors who already had several cats. Our neighbor said that they were looking for someone who would give him a good home.
We already had a great cat named Gambit and that's what I called him "The Great Gambit." Needless to say, we loved Gambit very much. Pat and Gambit came into my life when we met in Annapolis, Md. After Pat and I married, we lived on the second floor of an old apartment building and whenever we would return home from being out-and-about, we would always see Gambit sitting in our window and we would wave to him and call his name as we approached the building.
Gambit was very special. After we moved out of Annapolis and into the country, Gambit would see my car pull into the driveway and would always dash down the sidewalk to greet me. When I would open my car door he would leap inside and I would love on him for several minutes. He would follow me whenever I would go to the mailbox and every so often along the way, I would stop and pet him. I remember that we had a huge tree in our back yard and when we would call him to come in we could hear him climbing down the tree from far above. We never saw exactly how far up he was, but it had to be very close to the top. He would join Pat and me on our pier during the summer months and the three of us would enjoy the quiet time together.
We moved from the country in Maryland to Florida and were having a great time, and now, Gambit had a younger brother. We decided to name the new kitten "Yoda." Every night I would hold this small kitten on my chest and I would get a kick out of watching his eyes. His eyes would always get very wide whenever something captured his undivided attention. Like all kittens he was very playful and I've always said that he looks like Sylvester, the cartoon character, and acts like Sylvester.
But as life goes on, the inevitable will happen. The day came when Gambit had to be put to sleep. The cancer had spread so that his suffering had taken away any semblance of a quality life. Pat and I took Gambit on his final journey and when we returned home I found I couldn't enter our house. I just sat outside on our porch, but as usual, Pat always knew the right thing to do. She brought me our cell phone and told me to call my brother. After talking with him for several minutes, I was, at last, able face going inside. It was difficult seeing Gambit's food bowl. I turned away, went over to my chair and almost immediately Yoda jumped up in my lap and never left my side.
Yoda has never left our side. He seems to have a special gift for knowing when you need a friend the most. Once, when one of Pat's birds died, Yoda stayed by her side for days. He has what all best friends seem to have, the uncanny ability to know when to be there for you at just the right time.
Some of Yoda's favorite games are the shower curtain game where he leaps into the bathtub and I play hide and seek with him between the curtains. However, I have the right to playfully rub is stomach while I repeatedly ask him, "What is the meaning of this," while he tries to grab my hand with his mouth. He loves to ambush me when I am putting on my shoes thinking that my shoelaces are one of his toys. Which, I concede, they are. He loves to get a running start and leap up on my desk and I'll ask him again, "What is the meaning of this." He has always brought joy and companionship into our lives and gave us the unconditional love pets are so famous for.
But cancer struck our lives again. This time, it was really bad, I lost my wife to colon cancer. She suffered with the decease for five years and there was no one stronger or braver. I used to tell her all of the time that she was my whole world and she would say to be careful you never know what life can bring. To say the least, I was devastated. She was and always will be the love of my life. My family and friends rushed to the rescue and have always been there for me, but, like always, Yoda has never left my side. We are inseparable. He is what keeps me going every day. Every time I see him we play our games or just sit around together. He still shows off those big eyes when something captures his interest and goes for the shower curtains whenever I go into the bathroom.
But Yoda is sick now. He has an inflammatory bowel disease that may some day turn into cancer. He is getting the best treatment possible from an extraordinary human being, Dr. Tristan Weinkle. For now, he gets a daily dose of Prednisone which he accepts reluctantly. After I give it to him he immediately jumps off of the bathroom counter and zooms into the bedroom. We still play our games and do the same things we've always done, but I know that someday harsh reality will strike again and one of the great experiences of my life will join the love of my life.
My wife and Gambit left me with a lot of wonderful memories and Yoda is giving me incredible times that I will never forget. I recently had my job eliminated, but I'll be fine; however, as I watch what is happening to so many good people who have done nothing more than try to earn a living, as I watch the news and hear about corruption and greed, when human life seems to mean nothing to those who take it without any feeling, when I experience those moments when I miss Pat the most, I have Yoda, a true friend who gives me unconditional love and makes me laugh.
