September 13, 2004
Death & Royalty Checks
On the way to and from work last friday, I looked for and did not find that memorial some people made to that young man killed last month. I wondered if an angry parent took it down, upset that it was marked with beer and cigarettes. Or maybe it was the owner of that property -- not wanting a memorial on his/her property. On the way to work this morning, however, I saw it. It's still there. Still decorated similarly. Maybe the speed with which I passed it on Friday kept me from seeing it.
On Sunday, coming home from church, my wife exclaimed and then caught herself so as not to alarm our kids. Tommy, our beloved neighborhood stray cat (the one pictured on this blog earlier this month) was on the side of the road. I volunteered for the the unenviable task of moving his dead body. I did this discreetly, as not wanting our innocent children to have to face it. Protecting them. Maybe they'll find out soon enough, but I wasn't going to force it on them (like I did with my cat, Mary). In an unusual move of anthropomorphism, I showed my cat the corpse, so that she could, perhaps, know what happened to the cat she used to chase out of our yard. She looked pretty shocked when she saw the body inside that Hefty bag. We'll miss his friendly manners and companionship.
And, on another unrelated note: I got my first royalty check for the book Rock Stars on God today. It was very modest, but it is a privilege to have a book out and whatnot. I'm thankful for that.
2 blogs (my pastor referred to them as "B-logs" yesterday. Does he know something I don't? Or is it the other way around? Or both?) in one day...go figure!
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at September 13, 2004 01:36 PM