{"id":11864,"date":"2024-08-01T22:48:22","date_gmt":"2024-08-02T02:48:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/?p=11864"},"modified":"2026-01-27T22:52:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T03:52:09","slug":"aug-1-2024-fate-and-the-cat-with-six-legs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/?p=11864","title":{"rendered":"Aug 1, 2024 \u2014 The Cat with Six Legs"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was 2 AM<\/span>. I was too trou\u00adbled to sleep. It had been a dis\u00adheart\u00aden\u00ading day.<\/span>
\nThe phone rang. I picked it up.<\/span>
\nBefore I could even say \u201chel\u00adlo,\u201d a voice made a slow, men\u00adac\u00ading chant:<\/span>
\n\u201cMeeeeee\u00adowwww. Meeeeeee\u00adowwww. Meeeeoooowwwww.\u201d<\/span>
\nMy blood ran cold.<\/span><\/p>\n

I have no inten\u00adtion of man\u00adu\u00adfac\u00adtur\u00ading melo\u00addra\u00adma. What I intend to recount will not be exag\u00adger\u00adat\u00aded, nor will it be undu\u00adly min\u00adi\u00admized. I will, of course, describe how I felt about the events. I will leave the read\u00ader to judge events by their own lights.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reg\u00adu\u00adlar read\u00aders and cor\u00adre\u00adspon\u00addents will have noticed that I have pub\u00adlished noth\u00ading in more than sev\u00aden months, and that even my metic\u00adu\u00adlous\u00adly kept read\u00ading, lis\u00adten\u00ading and view\u00ading logs have been either late or entire\u00adly absent. I will be the first to admit that the last few years have been a rough time for me, that my ener\u00adgy has been deplet\u00aded, my spir\u00adit strained, and my peren\u00adni\u00adal opti\u00admism chal\u00adlenged. But, fear not. The Rook and Bish\u00adop still pro\u00adtect the King.<\/span><\/p>\n

It began with a can\u00adcer diag\u00adno\u00adsis, which of course was fright\u00aden\u00ading. But I soon found myself in com\u00adpe\u00adtent hands. The can\u00adcer was a com\u00admon one, it had been caught ear\u00adly enough, and the nec\u00ades\u00adsary dai\u00adly radi\u00ada\u00adtion treat\u00adment and med\u00adica\u00adtion were applied prompt\u00adly. I did not find this any strain on my fun\u00adda\u00admen\u00adtal\u00adly pos\u00adi\u00adtive atti\u00adtude. As it stands today, my oncol\u00ado\u00adgist con\u00adsid\u00aders the can\u00adcer effec\u00adtive\u00adly defeat\u00aded. Unfor\u00adtu\u00adnate\u00adly, I devel\u00adoped anoth\u00ader ail\u00adment either trig\u00adgered by, or at least coin\u00adci\u00addent with the radi\u00ada\u00adtion treat\u00adment. It has two very dis\u00adtinct char\u00adac\u00adter\u00adis\u00adtics, name\u00adly, that it is no threat to my life, but it is extreme\u00adly painful. And so, for the last two years, my life has been dom\u00adi\u00adnat\u00aded by pain, and my mobil\u00adi\u00adty has been severe\u00adly lim\u00adit\u00aded. There is no need to go into med\u00adical details. Suf\u00adfice it to say that much of my time has been dom\u00adi\u00adnat\u00aded by phys\u00adi\u00adcal pain, rang\u00ading from being irri\u00adtat\u00ading to being ago\u00adniz\u00ading \u2015 and some\u00adtimes the sort of sen\u00adsa\u00adtion you would get if you put your hand on a hot stove ele\u00adment. It\u2019s com\u00ading and going is unpre\u00addictable, but it is rarely absent. Pain has become so nor\u00admal to me, that I actu\u00adal\u00adly have trou\u00adble remem\u00adber\u00ading what it was like to live with\u00adout it.<\/span><\/p>\n

I am some\u00adone who has built his life around walk\u00ading. Most of my great\u00adest times of plea\u00adsure have been hikes in wild coun\u00adtry, explor\u00ading places on foot, scram\u00adbling over ancient archae\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal sites or just ami\u00adably strolling in pleas\u00adant land\u00adscapes. Yet for the last two years, I\u2019ve been more or less trapped in my apart\u00adment and denied such plea\u00adsures. Some\u00adtimes I\u2019ve been able to walk around nor\u00admal\u00adly for a few hours, but more often just ten or fif\u00adteen min\u00adutes of walk\u00ading has trig\u00adgered extreme pain, and I have been forced to sit still in a fixed pose until it dies down enough for my brain to func\u00adtion nor\u00admal\u00adly. Walk\u00ading, when it\u2019s been pos\u00adsi\u00adble, has been loaded with new dan\u00adgers. My sense of bal\u00adance has been affect\u00aded, and I have had six sud\u00adden and painful falls, where sen\u00adsa\u00adtion sud\u00adden\u00adly van\u00adished from my legs and I was thrown onto con\u00adcrete pave\u00adment instan\u00adta\u00adneous\u00adly. On two occa\u00adsions, this result\u00aded in some bleed\u00ading cuts and alarm\u00ading bruis\u00ades, and on one occa\u00adsion it result\u00aded in a shat\u00adtered right elbow, requir\u00ading imme\u00addi\u00adate surgery. The surgery was, as I expect\u00aded, top notch, and I cur\u00adrent\u00adly have about 90% use of my right arm. One humor\u00adous side\u00adbar: When I was being dri\u00adven by ambu\u00adlance to the emer\u00adgency room, the para\u00admedics asked me why I appeared so cheer\u00adful and wasn\u2019t weep\u00ading or scream\u00ading. In truth, I had become so used to extreme pain that a shat\u00adtered elbow didn\u2019t feel par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly alarm\u00ading. I had suf\u00adfered more intense\u00adly the pre\u00advi\u00adous evening just sit\u00adting at home. The ambu\u00adlance jour\u00adney was more or less a lark, and I enjoyed their com\u00adpa\u00adny. Para\u00admedics are my kind of people.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, the last two years have not been uni\u00adform\u00adly mis\u00ader\u00adable. Much of the time, the pain has been tol\u00ader\u00ada\u00adble, and occa\u00adsion\u00adal\u00adly entire\u00adly absent. On the very street where my elbow would lat\u00ader be pul\u00adver\u00adized, I was sip\u00adping cof\u00adfee and read\u00ading Gogol in one of my favourite cafes. There, I received a phone call inform\u00ading me that I had won the Dal\u00adton Camp Award. This is a quite pres\u00adti\u00adgious nation\u00adal award for jour\u00adnal\u00adis\u00adtic belles-let\u00adtres. <\/i> I<\/span>t was accom\u00adpa\u00adnied by a sculpt\u00aded medal\u00adlion by a glob\u00adal\u00adly renowned artist, as well as some media inter\u00adviews. Con\u00adgrat\u00adu\u00adla\u00adto\u00adry let\u00adters arrived from a nation\u00adal\u00adly cel\u00ade\u00adbrat\u00aded colum\u00adnist, some his\u00adto\u00adri\u00adans, and a fed\u00ader\u00adal gov\u00adern\u00adment min\u00adis\u00adter. My writ\u00ading is nor\u00admal\u00adly con\u00adfined to a small, spe\u00adcial\u00adized com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty of schol\u00adars, and such recog\u00adni\u00adtion was pre\u00advi\u00adous\u00adly unknown to me. It was very grat\u00adi\u00adfy\u00ading. More\u00adover, my life has exposed me to enough of the suf\u00adfer\u00ading of oth\u00aders to put my own into per\u00adspec\u00adtive. While the last two years have been chal\u00adleng\u00ading, I\u2019ve known many peo\u00adple who have endured much worse. I\u2019ve wit\u00adnessed, dur\u00ading my var\u00adi\u00adous adven\u00adtures, suf\u00adfer\u00ading inflict\u00aded on inno\u00adcent peo\u00adple that would reduce any of my com\u00adplaints to triv\u00adi\u00adal\u00adi\u00adty. It\u2019s those very expe\u00adri\u00adences that impose upon me the respon\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty of reject\u00ading depres\u00adsion and self-pity. But, these cir\u00adcum\u00adstances, espe\u00adcial\u00adly when I\u2019ve spent most of my life in good health, did require some but\u00adtress\u00ading of morale.<\/span><\/p>\n

Such but\u00adtress\u00ading was plen\u00adti\u00adful. I have a small, but superb coterie of friends. They have all been splen\u00addid. I have not lacked for help when need\u00aded. But con\u00adsid\u00ader\u00adable emo\u00adtion\u00adal sup\u00adport came from an addi\u00adtion\u00adal quar\u00adter: my two cats, Thomp\u00adson and Macken\u00adzie. If the dis\u00adgust\u00ading lit\u00adtle creep known as J. D. Vance showed up in my pres\u00adence, you can only imag\u00adine the tongue lash\u00ading I would sub\u00adject him to, let alone his par\u00adty col\u00adleague who boast\u00aded of exe\u00adcut\u00ading her pup\u00adpy in a grav\u00adel pit. It is Macken\u00adzie, the gin\u00adger cat, who plays the lead role in the dra\u00adma I am here recounting.<\/span><\/p>\n

Macken\u00adzie was always the less adven\u00adtur\u00adous of the two cats, who are from the same lit\u00adter. A bit chub\u00adbier, more timid, but warm\u00adly affec\u00adtion\u00adate and equipped with a lawn mow\u00ader purr. I learned in the begin\u00adning that he dis\u00adliked being touched in the bel\u00adly, so I avoid\u00aded doing that. There was a rea\u00adson for that, which I did not yet under\u00adstand. Thomp\u00adson, by con\u00adtrast, could soak up an infi\u00adnite amount of pet\u00adting, rough-hous\u00ading and bel\u00adly tick\u00adles. Both cats were good com\u00adpa\u00adny as I sat for\u00adlorn\u00adly try\u00ading to wish away light\u00adning-like jolts of pain, or strug\u00adgled to fall asleep. Last sum\u00admer, tragedy struck Macken\u00adzie. He went total\u00adly blind, began to have dif\u00adfi\u00adcul\u00adty walk\u00ading, and lost weight and bulk. At first, he respond\u00aded to this sud\u00adden calami\u00adty with pan\u00adic and ter\u00adror, lash\u00ading out with his paw at any\u00adthing that approached him and creep\u00ading around after sounds to fight the demons he imag\u00adined to be tor\u00adment\u00ading him. He was suf\u00adfer\u00ading from a rare afflic\u00adtion called poly\u00admelia<\/em>, which appar\u00adent\u00adly occurs to one cat in a mil\u00adlion, and can also occur in humans in rare instances. Macken\u00adzie had six legs.<\/strong> At first the extra pair of legs were tiny and buried invis\u00adi\u00adbly in his bel\u00adly fur, but by the time he became blind they had begun to grow, and one of them grew big enough to sport sharp claws. The blind\u00adness, the dif\u00adfi\u00adcul\u00adty walk\u00ading, the shat\u00adter\u00ading effect on his mind, and the dra\u00admat\u00adic loss of weight were all part of an attack on the struc\u00adture of his body, as these unwant\u00aded limbs grew out of him. There was noth\u00ading that could be done for him direct\u00adly, oth\u00ader than to hope that his con\u00addi\u00adtion would sta\u00adbi\u00adlize and that he would be able to adjust psy\u00adcho\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly to his con\u00addi\u00adtion. He and Thomp\u00adson were close pals, rarely sep\u00ada\u00adrate. But in his fear and fury, Macken\u00adzie attacked Thomp\u00adson, and their broth\u00ader\u00adly bond was broken. <\/span><\/p>\n

My nur\u00adtur\u00ading instincts kicked in. Though I had to suf\u00adfer some nasty scratch\u00ades, I lav\u00adished affec\u00adtion on Macken\u00adzie. As time passed, he calmed down. Even\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adly, he respond\u00aded pos\u00adi\u00adtive\u00adly to my min\u00adis\u00adtra\u00adtions. The fear and anger abat\u00aded, and he became extreme\u00adly affec\u00adtion\u00adate, snug\u00adgling up to me to sleep, and fol\u00adlow\u00ading me around. Slow\u00adly, the two cats regained trust in each oth\u00ader. But Macken\u00adzie had clear\u00adly suf\u00adfered brain dam\u00adage. He was often con\u00adfused, and some\u00adtimes would walk for min\u00adutes in tight cir\u00adcles. He would obses\u00adsive\u00adly try to push him\u00adself into tight cor\u00adners. He no longer purred. He was a half of his for\u00admer self.<\/span><\/p>\n

This hap\u00adpened dur\u00ading the worst of my own strug\u00adgles with pain, when it was more intense and more dev\u00adas\u00adtat\u00ading to me than it is now. Under such cir\u00adcum\u00adstances, the ther\u00ada\u00adpeu\u00adtic effect of car\u00ading for anoth\u00ader crea\u00adture, allow\u00ading me to step out\u00adside myself, was cru\u00adcial to my own abil\u00adi\u00adty to accept ongo\u00ading pain. I think I would have been much more cow\u00adard\u00adly, and much more mis\u00ader\u00adable and self-pity\u00ading if it weren\u2019t for the exam\u00adple of this brave lit\u00adtle blind cat strug\u00adgling with an incom\u00adpre\u00adhen\u00adsi\u00adble assault on his body and mind.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once Macken\u00adzie had over\u00adcome the worst of his chal\u00adlenges, he became able to join Thomp\u00adson in what had pre\u00advi\u00adous\u00adly been their prin\u00adci\u00adple source of fun. They both loved to hang out in the cor\u00adri\u00addor, just out\u00adside my apart\u00adment door. I live in a hun\u00addred-year-old apart\u00adment build\u00ading. I know all the ten\u00adants on my floor, and all of them are famil\u00adiar with both cats. Most of these neigh\u00adbours not only tol\u00ader\u00adat\u00aded the two cats, but enjoyed feed\u00ading them treats and pet\u00adting them. The four dogs on the floor were all friends with them, even includ\u00ading the big clum\u00adsy dog belong\u00ading to the artist next door. As Macken\u00adzie gained some weight and lost his ter\u00adror, he found some\u00adthing of his old self by sit\u00adting by my door, and was fine with being pet\u00adted by any\u00adone. He would not, how\u00adev\u00ader, ven\u00adture far from the door.<\/span><\/p>\n

Such was the sit\u00adu\u00ada\u00adtion on the evening of June 29. Toron\u00adto Pride was in full swing, and I live on the edge of Toronto\u2019s Gay Vil\u00adlage. I was swamped with work, how\u00adev\u00ader, since I could only do seri\u00adous work when I was with\u00adin brief win\u00addows of min\u00adi\u00admal pain. I let Thomp\u00adson and Macken\u00adzie hang out in the cor\u00adri\u00addor while I attend\u00aded to some cor\u00adre\u00adspon\u00addence with an archae\u00adol\u00ado\u00adgist in Europe. Usu\u00adal\u00adly, I would check on them every few min\u00adutes, but in this case, I remained at the com\u00adput\u00ader for more time than usu\u00adal. There was no con\u00adceiv\u00adable dan\u00adger to either cat, both being well known to every ten\u00adant on the floor, and pro\u00adtect\u00aded from the world beyond the build\u00ading by three con\u00adsec\u00adu\u00adtive heavy spring-dri\u00adven doors and a stair\u00adcase. So when I did check up on them, and I saw only Thomp\u00adson in the cor\u00adri\u00addor, I assumed that Macken\u00adzie had come back into the apart\u00adment and set\u00adtled down in one of his many hid\u00ading spots. I had not had a chance to see the huge Pride fes\u00adtiv\u00adi\u00adties on Church Street yet, and I was not in pain, so I fig\u00adured I could ven\u00adture out to enjoy the fun, and if the pain start\u00aded up, I would only have two blocks to walk home. Deal\u00ading with such cal\u00adcu\u00adla\u00adtions had become rou\u00adtine. So I called Thomp\u00adson in, locked the apart\u00adment door behind me, and ven\u00adtured out for a stroll. I was gone an hour before the pain start\u00aded to build, as it usu\u00adal\u00adly does, and slinked home with the plan of tak\u00ading a mar\u00adi\u00adjua\u00adna gum\u00admy and min\u00adi\u00admiz\u00ading move\u00adment. When I got home, Thomp\u00adson was right at the door, behav\u00ading odd\u00adly. He greet\u00aded me with a strange sound\u00ading meow even before I could open the door, and when I did, he dashed out, look\u00ading anx\u00adious and per\u00adplexed. I looked around for Macken\u00adzie. Some\u00adtimes he would hide in very obscure places, reg\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly find\u00ading new ones to chal\u00adlenge me. But as I searched more and more thor\u00adough\u00adly, it became obvi\u00adous that some\u00adthing was very wrong.<\/span><\/p>\n

That evening, I more or less dis\u00adas\u00adsem\u00adbled the apart\u00adment. I searched every cor\u00adner of the three sto\u00adry build\u00ading, and out\u00adside it. Macken\u00adzie was nowhere to be found. Even\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adly, I had to con\u00adclude that the impos\u00adsi\u00adble had hap\u00adpened: he had some\u00adhow got\u00adten out\u00adside. That this could have hap\u00adpened acci\u00adden\u00adtal\u00adly was incon\u00adceiv\u00adable. He could not have got\u00adten through even the first door, no mat\u00adter how dis\u00adtract\u00aded some pass\u00ading ten\u00adant might have been. Macken\u00adzie could only move at a slow pace, was total\u00adly blind, and he was phys\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly weak. That he could get unseen through three doors, includ\u00ading the locked out\u00ader door, was patent\u00adly impos\u00adsi\u00adble. It would have been phys\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly impos\u00adsi\u00adble for him to go down a stair\u00adcase. There was no way of escap\u00ading the con\u00adclu\u00adsion that some\u00adbody had pur\u00adpose\u00adly snatched him, gone through all three doors and chucked him out\u00adside on the street! If some\u00adone had attempt\u00aded to do that with Thomp\u00adson, there would have been a ruckus, and Thomp\u00adson would have made mince\u00admeat of any stranger try\u00ading to grab him. But lit\u00adtle, harm\u00adless, blind Macken\u00adzie would have been easy to grab and would have been inca\u00adpable of struggling.<\/span><\/p>\n

By the next morn\u00ading, I was plas\u00adter\u00ading the neigh\u00adbour\u00adhood with posters. They described Macken\u00adzie, explain\u00ading his blind\u00adness and fragili\u00adty, and gave my phone num\u00adber for any\u00adone to call. I made enquiries every\u00adwhere I could think of. Every pet food store and vet\u00aderi\u00adnary office was alert\u00aded. The ani\u00admal shel\u00adters were closed for the hol\u00adi\u00adday week\u00adend, but I kept an eye on every new entry on their web\u00adsite until they were sched\u00aduled to reopen their phone lines.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adly, infor\u00adma\u00adtion came. The street in front of my build\u00ading had been busy with par\u00adty-goers head\u00ading to and from the fes\u00adtiv\u00adi\u00adties in the vil\u00adlage. Macken\u00adzie had been seen, appar\u00adent\u00adly injured, and col\u00adlect\u00aded by strangers. He some\u00adhow wound up in an ani\u00admal shel\u00adter in far\u00adaway Eto\u00adbi\u00adcoke. When their phone line final\u00adly opened, I was giv\u00aden the news I dread\u00aded. I was not told the extent of Mackenzie\u2019s injuries, so I\u2019m not sure how much that played a role in his fate. What I did quick\u00adly learn was that the shel\u00adter had mis\u00adin\u00adter\u00adpret\u00aded his scrawni\u00adness and blind\u00adness for extreme dehy\u00addra\u00adtion. In truth, he was well fed and con\u00adtent when he was snatched away. They assumed from his appear\u00adance that he had been aban\u00addoned for a great deal of time. They decid\u00aded to put him to sleep. This was done short\u00adly before I was able to call them.<\/span><\/p>\n

As you can imag\u00adine, Mackenzie\u2019s cru\u00adel death was dis\u00adturb\u00ading to me. But it was not near\u00adly as dis\u00adturb\u00ading as what hap\u00adpened at 2 AM<\/span>, the fol\u00adlow\u00ading night.<\/span><\/p>\n

The phone rang. I picked it up.<\/span><\/p>\n

A voice made a slow, men\u00adac\u00ading chant:<\/span>
\n\u201cMeeeeee\u00adowwww. Meeeeeee\u00adowwww. Meeeeoooowwwww.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mackenzie\u2019s mur\u00adder\u00ader was call\u00ading me to gloat. I knew instinc\u00adtive\u00adly that I must not react. Who\u00adev\u00ader this psy\u00adchopath was, he would clear\u00adly want me to react. I knew bet\u00adter. I know a thing or two about psy\u00adchopaths. I would not give him the plea\u00adsure. The mee\u00adow\u00ading con\u00adtin\u00adued for a bit, stopped, and the phone went dead. So far, the num\u00adber I was called with defies tracing. <\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve lived in my build\u00ading for a cou\u00adple of decades. I\u2019m a famil\u00adiar fig\u00adure, and the two cats were famil\u00adiar fig\u00adures. I know every\u00adone on the floor, and remain on good terms with every\u00adbody. The only per\u00adson\u00adal con\u00adflict I had expe\u00adri\u00adenced in the build\u00ading was three years before, with a man who had briefly been the build\u00ading man\u00adag\u00ader. Short\u00adly after being hired, this man had start\u00aded aggres\u00adsive\u00adly berat\u00ading ten\u00adants, and even threat\u00aden\u00ading sev\u00ader\u00adal of them. I was one of the ten\u00adants that he crude\u00adly threat\u00adened. He was pret\u00adty obvi\u00adous\u00adly unsta\u00adble. Short\u00adly after threat\u00aden\u00ading me (\u201cIf you cross me, you\u2019ll see what hap\u00adpens to you!\u201d) he was fired by the man\u00adage\u00adment. When I men\u00adtioned what had hap\u00adpened to the new build\u00ading man\u00adag\u00ader, he asked me to pro\u00advide a writ\u00adten state\u00adment about being threat\u00adened. I pre\u00adsume the own\u00aders want\u00aded doc\u00adu\u00admen\u00adta\u00adtion so that the thug could not con\u00adtest his fir\u00ading. This inci\u00addent didn\u2019t even come to my mind until more than a week after Mackenzie\u2019s death. After all, it had tak\u00aden place years before, and I didn\u2019t even remem\u00adber the man\u2019s name, nor would I even rec\u00adog\u00adnize him by sight. My inter\u00adac\u00adtion with him had been brief. Yet, he is the only sus\u00adpect that I can think of. He could eas\u00adi\u00adly have kept build\u00ading keys, and any\u00adone famil\u00adiar with the build\u00adings could eas\u00adi\u00adly enough get in with\u00adout them. How\u00adev\u00ader, he is long gone. This pre\u00adsumes hold\u00ading a grudge for years, and act\u00ading on an oppor\u00adtu\u00adni\u00adty to grab Macken\u00adzie. The hypo\u00adthet\u00adi\u00adcal case against him is not strong. The only pos\u00adi\u00adtive side of this the\u00ado\u00adry is that it would elim\u00adi\u00adnate the pos\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty that there is an unknown psy\u00adchopath in the build\u00ading now who has some\u00adthing against me. <\/span><\/p>\n

My par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar his\u00adtor\u00adi\u00adcal stud\u00adies have made me famil\u00adiar with all sorts of man\u00adi\u00adfes\u00adta\u00adtions of human evil. I know far more about wars, purges, riots, lynch\u00adings, pogroms, slav\u00adery, secret police, con\u00adcen\u00adtra\u00adtion camps, geno\u00adcides and gen\u00ader\u00adal nas\u00adti\u00adness than most peo\u00adple would be able to absorb with\u00adout great dis\u00adtress. It\u2019s the sub\u00adject mat\u00adter of my aca\u00add\u00ade\u00adm\u00adic inquiries and my exper\u00adtise. But it has been many years since I\u2019ve wit\u00adnessed any\u00adthing along these lines as per\u00adson\u00adal expe\u00adri\u00adence. For many years, my exis\u00adtence has been over\u00adwhelm\u00ading\u00adly peace\u00adful and with\u00adout fear or dan\u00adger \u2014 the base state of the com\u00adfort\u00adable Cana\u00addi\u00adan. Even the nas\u00adti\u00adest of our politi\u00adcians don\u2019t shoot pup\u00adpies in grav\u00adel pits, or urge lunatic fol\u00adlow\u00aders to storm the Par\u00adlia\u00adment Build\u00adings. Our lunatics, when we have them, are usu\u00adal\u00adly not equipped with AR-15s. I live in what is con\u00adsid\u00adered the \u201cinner city\u201d of the country\u2019s biggest metrop\u00ado\u00adlis, sur\u00adround\u00aded by night clubs, bars, and mar\u00adi\u00adjua\u00adna shops, in a mul\u00adti\u00adcul\u00adtur\u00adal hive of immi\u00adgrants, in the cheap\u00adest old build\u00ading in the country\u2019s most crowd\u00aded dis\u00adtrict. Yet I live in one of the safest places in the world, and while I occa\u00adsion\u00adal\u00adly run across some\u00adone sketchy, I nor\u00admal\u00adly expect every pass\u00ading stranger to be sen\u00adsi\u00adble and kind. But I know that this is an excep\u00adtion\u00adal place and an excep\u00adtion\u00adal time. <\/span><\/p>\n

Per\u00adhaps it\u2019s of val\u00adue to me to con\u00adfront again the vis\u00adcer\u00adal real\u00adi\u00adty of evil. It\u2019s been a long time for me, only mem\u00ado\u00adries of younger and more fool\u00adish, risk-tak\u00ading days. Now I was again forced to expe\u00adri\u00adence it direct\u00adly instead of in the books and doc\u00adu\u00adments I nor\u00admal\u00adly swim among. It was not hard for me to pic\u00adture the help\u00adless ter\u00adror that Macken\u00adzie expe\u00adri\u00adenced in his last hours. Macken\u00adzie was not anyone\u2019s idea of a cute and appeal\u00ading pet. He was lots of work to care for. He was capa\u00adble of lit\u00adtle that would enter\u00adtain me, like his hap\u00adpy and ram\u00adbunc\u00adtious broth\u00ader. He was at best only half of what he had been before, dimin\u00adished in mind and body. He clung to me for com\u00adfort. In his vul\u00adner\u00ada\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty, he gave me strength, and despite his fear and con\u00adfu\u00adsion, he had courage that put me to shame. I owe him. He was the most inno\u00adcent, blame\u00adless lit\u00adtle crea\u00adture con\u00adceiv\u00adable. He was full of love. And, objec\u00adtive\u00adly, he was worth a mil\u00adlion times more than the sadis\u00adtic cretin who mur\u00addered him. I will waste no sym\u00adpa\u00adthy on that sort. Nor will I be despondent.<\/span><\/p>\n

Because. Because.<\/span><\/p>\n

Because the cretins win if you let them crush your hap\u00adpi\u00adness. You may some\u00adtimes find me in pain, but as long as I can muster the strength of lit\u00adtle Macken\u00adzie, I will res\u00adolute\u00adly refuse to be unhappy.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>

Macken\u00adzie in hap\u00adpi\u00ader times.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was 2 AM<\/span>. I was too trou\u00adbled to sleep. It had been a dis\u00adheart\u00aden\u00ading day. The phone rang. I picked it up. Before I could even say \u201chel\u00adlo,\u201d a voice made a slow, men\u00adac\u00ading chant: \u201cMeeeeee\u00adowwww. Meeeeeee\u00adowwww. Meeeeoooowwwww.\u201d My blood ran cold. I have no \u2026<\/p>\n

Read more \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,1542],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-blog","category-ac-blog-2024"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11864"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11874,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11864\/revisions\/11874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}