Almost 10 years ago, I was sick enough to be hosptalized several times. Before the hospitalizations and after I ultimately had surgery, there were many afternoons when I didn't feel well so I just slept. One of those times, I awakened to find our cat, Pepper, settled next to me, purring away contentedly. This was not normal. He tolerated his people better than many cats, but it wasn't his habit to sleep on our bed or to even be on the bed in general. When it happened a few days later, again when I did not feel well, I realized that somehow he knew and wanted to offer his comfort. Pepper died today. We've had him for 14 years, having acquired him from some students who found him in the parking lot of a restaurant and randomly asked me if I wanted him. He was propably about 7 or 8 months old at the time. And he was cool, in that cool cat way. I thought that I would die laughing when he attempted to jump from the cedar chest to the window sill and he missed. He looked around to see if anyone caught this mishap, then coolly walked away with an attitude of, "I meant to do that!" Pepper wasn't as adventurous as Kiko, who escaped to the great outdoors at every opportunity, but occasionally, Pepper would make a foray into the backyard. Once he spent several days outside. We searched frantically, but could not find him. Several days later, he let us know he was ready to come back in; he was outside our bedroom window, meowing to let him in. He'd probably been in the backyard the whole time. Pepper was probably the most considerate cat. He would wait patiently by the bed until someone clearly stirred to let us know that his food dish needed to be refilled. We will miss Pepper. Rest in peace.

Courage

One who does not have courage cannot rightly call himself a leader. Unfortunately, that is often the case with today's political "leaders." Too often, they check the direction of the wind,consider the impact on their next campaign, and speak carefully such that plausible deniability, that is the ability to deny ever having taken a certain position, is preserved. So, President Obama might be forgiven if he avoided the contentious issue of same-sex marriage. The upcoming election will likely be close. President Obama won four years ago because of a coaliton of differnt groups turned out to support President Obama, including independents. The Independent vote are always the trophy that every presidential candidate covets, particularly in a close election. Today, President Obama showed courage in a way that I would never have expected. I'm not surprised that he does not object to same-sex marriage. I am surpised that he was willingto state his position unequivocally in an election year, where there are plenty of reasons--some legitimate, many not--to vote for the Republican nominee. President Obama might have waited until after the election. He could have deflected attention to other issues. He could have highlighted what he has done for gay rights, including ending Don't Ask/Don't Tell for the military. President Obama didn't play it safe. That says a lot about him as a man. His courage was was evident when he gave the kill order to take out Osama bin Laden. His courage was evident when he stood strong to get the Affordable Care Act passed. And President Obama has done it again. Without doubt, it is not all down-side risk for the President. He will strenghten his support among certain constituents. And, according to the news this evening, his campaign raised $1 million today. Moreover, some might say that there was little risk to begin with, given that the mose ardent opponents of gay rights aren't going to vote for Obama anyway. Regardless of my own position on same-sex marriage, I have nothing but respect for the President for coming out strong on a issue that could cost him his job.