Anyone who is or has been a parent, grandparent, uncle, or aunt has some experience with the “terrible two’s,” the developmental period when toddlers begin to gain independence and learn new skills (like throwing dishes).  One of the byproducts of this burgeoning independence is the use of the answer “no” to virtually any question asked.  While this may be annoying, is it necessarily a bad thing?

Contrariness or negativity has many positive features to recommend it.  First of all, the “positive” is largely defined by its “negative.”  Good is defined by bad, happiness by sadness, wealth by poverty, and so forth.  Secondly, an idea, concept, or position that is contrary to another is often simply another way to perceive a problem, a minority opinion if you will.

Often branded as naysayers, contrarians have made no small contributions to the advancement of the world and civilization.   Just consider where the world of today might be without the telephone, thought by the mainstream to be “an unnecessary electrical device” at the time of its creation in the late 1800′s, or absent the contributions of unconventional thinkers like Albert Einstein.

In fact, most of the world’s greatest ideas and accomplishments owe their very existence to those who were the subject of ridicule, persecution, or worse at the hands of those in the majority or of those possessing “conventional wisdom.”  In this regard, much of human progress can be traced back to the fierce independence of an individual or distinct minority with the fortitude to express an unpopular idea or way of thinking.

So, the next time your toddler, or for that matter anyone, says “no” to convention, consider the alternative carefully, for that individual may ultimately spawn a counterrevolution that may change the way society thinks and behaves.  What is today a contrarian position may tomorrow become mainstream.

In the original version of the movie True Grit, a teenage tomboy, Mattie Ross (played by Kim Darby), is determined to avenge the murder of her beloved father.  Learning that the murderer has fled into Indian Territory where only a marshal can pursue him, she recruits the marshal with the toughest reputation in the old West, Reuben J. “Rooster” Cogburn (played by John Wayne) to help her.  Together with a Texas Ranger, La Boeuf (played by Glen Campbell), they set out on an odyssey during which each of these seekers will learn about the others and, in the process, discover something about themselves.

As the title suggests, the plot of this film is about grit, the determination or indomitable spirit that propels one to overcome obstacles, even those seeming improbable or impossible.  Mattie chooses Marshall Cogburn because he has “true grit,” and they are joined on their adventure by another, perhaps equally determined to achieve his goal.  Yet, in the final analysis, young Mattie may have displayed more grit than either of her older male colleagues.

Life, it turns out, is really an individual voyage of self-discovery.  While most of us will not engage in a quest like that of Mattie, each of us will, at some point in our lives, be compelled to summon the grit that we require to surmount a challenge as well as overcome our own fears and other psychological obstacles.

As students, most of us dreaded taking a test or exam.  Perhaps, it was not so much the taking of the exam as the effort entailed in studying for it that was the cause of our anxieties.  Or perhaps, it was the fear of being judged unworthy by our teacher or professor.  Or, maybe, it was the pressure we felt to compete against our peers.  Whatever the reason, test-taking anxiety is a normal part of the life of a student.  Nevertheless, without exams to measure understanding of the subject matter studied, I do not believe that students would learn or retain as much as they do.

In life, we are all students all the time, whether or not we consider ourselves as such.  With age, we may have met many challenges, but there are always new challenges to face – physical, social, emotional, psychological, etc.  And, regardless of our age, most of us face life’s challenges with a good deal of apprehension, if not outright trepidation.  And yet, it is through adversity that we grow.  With each new challenge faced, we tap into a reservoir of strength and resources that we did not know we possessed.

The film concludes with Mattie at her ranch recovering from the wounds received during her ordeal (you’ll have to watch the movie for all the details). Rooster visits her, and she shows him the cemetery where her father is buried.  Since he has no family, she offers him a place in her family’s plot beside her after his death. He departs and quips while leaving, “come and see a fat old man sometime!”

As in the movie, we do not always come through our personal ordeals unscarred.  Yet, the denouements of our own personal stories of challenges overcome provide us perspectives that may never have been revealed to us absent our trials.  And, if we are fortunate enough to have had companions on these journeys, the bonds forged with these one-time strangers are often lifelong and unbreakable.

Target, the mega-department store, plans to open its doors at 11 PM on Thursday, November 24th.  In case you don’t have a calendar handy, that day happens to be Thanksgiving, the one day of the year when most Americans gather to celebrate the fact that we are Americans enjoying American freedoms — even in this rotten economy.   In a bid to beat their retail competitors who, for the past few years, have opened for businesses at 2, 3, and 4 AM on Black Friday, Target has trumped them.  But they are not the only Big Box retailer to do so.  Wal-Mart and Toys R Us are opening, respectively, one and two hours earlier, and the list of early-birds-catching worms retailers does not end there.

This may be great news for those hard pressed in this economy to create a loving (read: present-laden) Christmas or Chanukah for their families.  All these folks need to do, in order to reap the greatest savings and trample their own competition, is cue up in front of the stores at, say, 6 or 7 PM on Thanksgiving, when most other folks are just sitting down to warm pumpkin pie, a little music, a little football, and some good conversation.  All the shoppers have to do is huddle deeply into their parkas, sip hot cocoa sparingly from their thermoses, and dance in place, watching the stars come up in the deep bowl of the sky.

Once the stores’ doors are flung wide, the ensuing scene will rival that of Charlton Heston’s classic Moses parting the Red Sea for the Israelites.  Surging throngs will rush to grab and propel shopping carts down aisles normally dark and dormant at that forlorn hour.  They will propel them like drunken drivers, heedless of their fellow commuters.  Half asleep and tryptophan’d to the gills, they will make hasty decisions concerning their purchases.

They’ll battle with their fellow shoppers to snatch up the hottest toys, electronics, cologne, fashion accessories, CDs, and a thousand other presents and stocking stuffers (actually, more than a thousand, if we count SKUs and not product classifications).  They’ll wait on long lines, contending with pissed off cashiers who have every right to be pissed off.

Then these savvy shoppers will speed home, unload their booty in their garages, and slap police tape over their garage doors, admonishing their loved ones not to step a foot inside and spoil the surprises.

As dawn breaks on Friday morn, spilling its roseate rays upon nearly-naked trees, warming the cold Earth, as geese take wing, honking and heading South, these smart shoppers will fall into bed, numb, exhausted, nursing Excedrin Headache Number 99.  Their Circadian rhythms will be out of whack and they’ll be testy with their family members the rest of the day, for those family members refused to buy- in to the Black Friday madness.

Those family members and indeed, those neighbors who remained ’round their own Thanksgiving tables, will rise late, enjoying the warm memories of the day before, their hands wrapped ’round steaming mugs of coffee and leftover pumpkin pie.  They’ll crack open a book or call or friend to catch up or even meet that friend for lunch.  Some will haul the Christmas and Chanukah decorations down from the attic.  At a leisurely pace and aided by small sips of eggnog, they will begin to adorn their homes in preparation for the next major holiday.

With the utmost of tenderness, they will slip cherished, heirloom baubles from their tissue paper nests.  And as each bauble is hung upon the tree, or as each Menorah is taken out and lovingly polished, these folks will feel as if Thanksgiving has extended itself one more day — one more day to feel grateful, one more day to feel human.

So, who wins here, and who loses?  In the wise words of Shirley MacLaine, “Perspective is everything.”  Indeed, it is.

When the Big Box retailers lure you away from your loved ones on Thanksgiving Eve with promises of amazing savings, you may want to look twice at what you are actually saving, and what you are losing.

Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Chanukah are not just about the great food and the great presents.  They are not about giving your kids what they demand without a clue as how hard you busted your ass to buy those things, just so that your kids can “fit in.”  It’s not about buying your mother-in-law an exquisite present, and thus making her look bad, because she still buys you crap for Christmas, ‘though you’ve been a part of her extended family for 20 years.

America’s fall and winter holidays are about keeping certain days sacred, because those days allow us to slow down, think, and enjoy what is good in our lives — despite the rotten economy.  If you still have a roof over your head and food on your table, if your health is relatively sound, as is the health of your loved ones, and if your brain functions in a critical thinking manner, you are blessed.  If your heart functions in a way that is compassionate to others, and if you put that compassion into action, you are rich beyond measure.

If you doubt me, try it.

Rush into Target on Black Friday, or Best Buy, Macy’s, Toys R Us, et cetera.  Empty your pockets, wear yourself out, get angry at other people doing the exact same things that you are doing.  And then watch what happens to those presents you bought a week, a month, or more down the road.  Watch the worth attached to them by their recipients, by the way that those gifts are viewed and treated.

And then, sometime between Black Friday, Chanukah, and Christmas, reach out to your loved ones with a piece of yourself, rather than a wrapped present.  Reach out to a stranger in need to lend a hand or even a few bucks or an unexpected meal.  And then tell me what made you, and everyone around you, happier.

Like the Industrial Revolution, the dawning of the Digital Age has radically transformed human behavior and life.  Entire industries have fallen by the wayside, only to be replaced by new commercial opportunities.  Friends, family members, and complete strangers share thoughts, feelings, opinions, and photographs.  Information, in varying degrees of accuracy, rests in the virtually infinite repository of the Worldwide Web.  Commercial and social networks and movements are born, stagnate, and fade away.

As was the case with fire, the wheel, the written word, the printing press, the horseless carriage, telephone, radio, television, and other technological breakthroughs, the Worldwide Web, or in the vernacular – Internet, has irrevocably altered the landscape of our globe, providing new vistas to its inhabitants.  Job seekers can scour the world for opportunities, as can individuals for friends, lovers, and spouses.  People and businesses can partner with others so inclined regardless of location.  In a digital world, time zones, oceans, nations, and continents meld into a unified digital planet.  Real estate is replaced by domains and physical addresses by URL’s.

The virtual world of the Internet co-exists, seamlessly intertwines, and sometimes impinges upon its physical counterpart.  Traditional “brick and mortar” businesses, loathe to forego any revenue opportunity, build commercial Web presences.  Web-based enterprises procure product and partner with traditional business entities, as well as affiliate with other digital content purveyors.  Family members, friends, and acquaintances correspond via email, chat, and instant message each other.  Social and professional networking sites permit individuals to reacquaint themselves with old contacts and develop new ones.  Some sites create virtual worlds in which you can build and live a virtual existence, an avatar substituting as your corporal presence within the virtual world.  A number of enterprising individuals have even found ways to earn money in the physical world from their virtual lives. 

As people spend more time in the virtual world, it is reasonable to conclude that they will spend less in the physical one.  One might, therefore, infer that the maturation of the Digital Age may produce isolationism among the world’s populace, that most people will abide within a cocoon of their own choosing facilitated by the Internet.  While a virtual existence may be appealing to many during trying periods in their lives, it can never replace life in the physical world.  Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press heralded the spread of information from the learned few to the masses.  Yet, it did not precipitate any large-scale flight by the burgeoning population of readers into the relative fantasy of literature.  Rather, it propagated information and knowledge to society at large and contributed to the overthrow of tyranny and institution of republican forms of government.

The Internet can do the same, but on an exponentially larger scale.  Unlike the printing press whose means of production were controlled by those with money and influence, the Internet provides anyone with a virtually free platform from which to inform, educate, and promote.  Absent the control exercised by monied interests over the content of the print and broadcast media, an individual can utilize the Internet to give voice to his thoughts, opinions, and philosophies to a worldwide audience.

Of course, the ability to reach an audience on the Internet is not a matter of certitude, for the Internet is very much like an enormous stadium packed to its rafters with the entire population of the world all speaking at once.  To be recognized and heard over the din, one must have a message that is meaningful to at least a small segment of the virtual world community.

And yet, it is the very scope and seeming chaos of the Internet from which its own unique order is established.  Search engines and other types of content aggregators scour the Internet and catalog information, providing a reference source for the individual reader and rewarding more frequently viewed content via higher relative placement in search results.  Through such filters, content is indexed and categorized.

Popularity, however, is no guarantee of value.  Yet, ideas with merit, like water, always seem to seek their own levels, inevitably achieving their desired destinations.  Like pearls of rare beauty, meaningful concepts propagated on the Internet are discovered and touted by their discoverers to kindred souls seeking such knowledge and substance.  Thus, even the lone intellect whose ideas can expand the knowledge base and facilitate the advancement of civilization finds a voice and a welcoming audience on the Internet.

In the free flow of ideas in a worldwide dialogue lies an opportunity never before presented to the common man: the chance to contribute intellectual capital, or even take the lead in the creation of a new world order.  In the digital world, we can establish relationships and present thoughts and perspectives as relative equals, liberated from distinctions based upon wealth, social standing, or physical appearance.  As the digital world displaces the artificial barriers of nations and the differences occasioned by race, culture, and gender, we will come, incrementally but inevitably, to the realization that we all inhabit the same small planet and that what we share in common far outweighs our individual differences.  For the inhabits of a world torn by sectarian-engendered strife, this digital union represents a beacon of hope for the advancement of civilization and betterment of mankind.

As Hurricane Irene struck New Jersey, hundreds of thousands of residents lost electrical power.  While the loss of power was a significant inconvenience for all, it represented a more significant threat to property for some.  I fell into that latter category.

At the outset, I’ll admit that I did not take the forecasts and media barrage about the Hurricane seriously enough.  I believed that its impact would be primarily felt in shore areas, with significantly less impact to inland residents of New Jersey and other Eastern Seaboard states.

As the Hurricane made its ascent up the East Coast, Central Jerseyans began to feel its effects on Saturday afternoon.  As afternoon wore into evening, bands of rain – often torrential – blanketed the area.  Winds, although nowhere near hurricane force, picked up and frequently gusted to tropical storm force.

Living in a heavily wooded area, I knew that toppled trees and limbs were likely to disrupt power due to downed lines.  What I did not count on was the number of uprooted and fallen trees and the widespread nature of the damage, even in significantly less heavily wooded areas.

Here’s where my story begins.  I made dinner, relaxed Saturday evening, and went to bed about midnight.  At 1:30 AM, I was awakened by what appeared to me as a popping sound.  Sure enough, power had ceased in my neighborhood.

Grabbing a flashlight (the height of my preparation for the storm), I looked around the house and peered outside to see if any trees had fallen on my property.  Everything seemed to be alright until I got to the basement.  There, I found that water was already beginning to rise in the area of my sump pump.  Now, I should mention that I do not have battery backup on my pump, nor do I own a generator.  In either of those cases, my concern would have abated.

I immediately began bailing water into a utility sink in my basement.  After thirty minutes, I could see that this would be a long night of bailing and also that bailing alone would not stem the tide of the rising water.  My washer and dryer are elevated on blocks and my furnace and water heater are at the highest point of my basement.  So, I reasoned if I could keep the water level to less than six inches in the area of the pump, I would survive the storm with relatively little damage in the basement area.

Fifteen minutes later, I headed upstairs for a short break, when I noticed headlights outside my next-door neighbor’s home.  Looking out the door, I could see that it was municipal truck and that my neighbor (a municipal employee) was pulling something from the truck into his garage.  A short time later, I heard the sound of a generator coming from the garage.

Hoping that I might enlist some assistance with my basement water problems, I made the 100 foot trek toward my neighbor and his municipal truck.  Not prepared to ask pointblank for assistance, I asked him if, in his travel through the town, he had seen any power company (JCP&L) trucks in the area and casually mentioned that my basement was beginning to fill with water.  He indicated that he hadn’t and that his basement already had six inches of water.

I returned home and bailed until about 11:30 AM (with a couple of bathroom breaks and about a 45 minute nap thrown in).  At the point of exhaustion and still listening to the droning of that generator sitting just 100 feet from my dormant sump pump, I summoned the gumption to walk over, knock on the door, and pop the question (no, not that one, the other one).

He informed me that the generator (which I believe to be township property) had just three sockets and just enough juice to power his sump pump, refrigerator, and freezer.  I suggested that if I could just plug in for 15 minutes, I could probably dramatically reduce the amount of water in my basement.  Unfazed, he indicated that he had to go to handle some municipal business.

Returning to my home with the prospect of destruction of the entire contents of my basement including furnace, water heater, washer, dryer, and other items, I thought of Jesus’ proclamation in the book of Matthew.  When asked the greatest commandment, He answered:

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

But, what does it truly mean to love thy neighbor?  I have always considered my neighbor to have been good to me.  He has never refused to lend a hand when asked.  This refusal, when I was in the most desperate of circumstances, seemed to me to be out of character.  Or, was it that these unusual circumstances brought out my neighbor’s true character?

I had plenty of time to ponder these issues as I continued bailing water from my basement.  As the afternoon wound down, I noticed that I was actually making some headway in my efforts.  Apparently, God had intervened in my favor and the addition of new water had stopped or slowed to a trickle.  Taking a much needed nap for over an hour, I returned to find that not much had changed.  And, that was good news!

Still intent on finding a way to get my sump pump working if only for a short while, I was on my driveway when my neighbor pulled up in the municipal truck and jumped out – this time wearing waders.  He apologized for his demeanor of earlier in the day and indicated that he had been under enormous pressure, what with the water rising in his basement and his need to save the food in his refrigerator and freezer.  Having said that, he left to attend to municipal business with still no offer of assistance.

I have to admit that I thought to myself how hollow his words appeared to me.  Perhaps I’m wrong, but I thought that unplugging the freezer for 30 or 40 minutes and permitting me to plug in my sump pump would have had absolutely no impact on my neighbor, but done a world of good for me.

At this point, that’s all water under the bridge (all puns intended).  Today, I’m working and when I return home expect that my basement will have no more water than it had this morning.  And, if the power ever returns (I truly don’t understand the lethargic emergency response of my municipality and power company – an article for another day), I’ll be able to dry and clean out my basement.

But, I’m still plagued by what it means to love one’s neighbor as yourself.  Did I expect too much of my neighbor?  What kind of a neighbor have I been to others? (Remember, the Bible defines your neighbor as virtually anyone).

Perhaps someday, Jesus will explain it to me face-to-face. 

Unique in the animal kingdom is the length of time required for maturity of the human animal.  Given the cognitive abilities of man, the process of development for a fully-functioning human being is not merely physical, but also intellectual, psychological, and social.  And, as society becomes ever more civilized and highly developed, the nurturing and education of humans becomes an increasingly demanding task, commanding more time and resources.

Because of our extended periods of development, we humans, more than any other species, come to rely upon the assistance of others as an integral part of life.  Civilization could not have reached its current level of social and technological advancement without man’s abilities to study, learn, reason, communicate, and invent.  Working both independently and as members of teams, we have built a technological edifice upon the discoveries and inventiveness of our forebears and each other.  Our world today is so multifaceted, complex, and technically sophisticated that no one individual can hope to grasp all of its intricacies.  For that reason alone, we all must rely upon scores of others on a daily basis for our collective well-being and survival.

Reliance on others, however, should not extend to areas in which individuals can accommodate themselves.  In a climate in which we rely so heavily upon the contributions of others, it is not surprising that some members of society delay or forego personal self-reliance at the expense of others.  These others upon whom reliance is placed may be friends, family members, or society at large.

In America today, it is not unusual to witness adults residing with and supported by their parents well into their twenties, thirties, and beyond.  Far more common is the scenario in which businesses or careers are secured or conferred upon adult children, regardless of qualifications or talents, by parents, other relatives, or friends.  Not uncommon and yet, highly controversial are sundry public employment and assistance programs.

In each of these scenarios, there may be valid reasons or extenuating circumstances for delayed or foregone self-reliance.  Nonetheless, in many cases, there is no viable rationale.  Unlike other members of the animal kingdom, we humans can avoid responsibility and self-reliance by choice, provided there are others willing and able to carry our burdens.

Of course, if we rely on others for our sustenance or livelihood, we may not achieve the lifestyles we desire.  Under these circumstances, if our lives fall short of our expectations, we will have achieved what we deserve, with no one to blame but ourselves.  In the United States of the early nineteenth century, “paddle your own boat” was a popular expression extolling the virtue of self-reliance.  For a better, more fulfilling life, start paddling. 

“And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face into the earth.” (1 Samuel 17:49)

With those words, the Hebrew prophet Samuel created perhaps the earliest written account of a victory against long odds by an underdog.  The story of David and Goliath comes to my mind each time I witness a so-called “upset” in the world of sports or someone is reported to have overcome a seemingly insurmountable obstacle in life.

Although most often I have no personal stake in the story of the team or individual overcoming adversity, I nonetheless derive a vicarious sense of satisfaction from their achievements.  And the question is “Why?”  Why is it that I and probably most people are pleased to see a victorious underdog and, conversely, a humbled favorite?

Examining my own conscience, I believe that I can identify many layers to the emotions that I experience at the sight or thought of a victorious underdog.  First, I believe that I must admit a sense of jealousy as a motivation.  It is only human to be envious of success.  And, this envy is often fueled by a perception of haughtiness on the part of those who are successful.  In this regard, viewing the proud humbled provides satisfaction to the many.

Secondly, there is a degree of egalitarianism involved.  At least in America, we have come to believe that “all men are created equal.”  As an outgrowth of this principle, there seems an imbalance when one person or group wins or holds a significant advantage over another on a consistent basis.  Defeat of the favorite or advantaged, therefore, “evens the score.”

The third motive at play, I believe, is one of simple variety.  Situations in which the weak overcome the powerful do not occur very frequently.  The vicarious thrill of victory when long odds are overcome satisfies our own longings for stimulation and alleviates the boredom that accompanies the normal course of events.

Most importantly, however, I believe that we all identify with the underdog.  None of us are the top-dogs in every phase of our lives.  We all have weaknesses and insecurities.  And, viewing the success of those not expected to succeed gives us hope that we too will achieve even in circumstances in which the odds are stacked against us.

Cast your mind back to the happiest time in your life and be honest with yourself.  Did that blissful time take place during in the days when life was simpler and kinder, or was it when you hit a jackpot in Atlantic City?  An unexpected windfall can create happiness, but that pleasure is temporary.  When the money runs out, you are back to where you started, financially and emotionally.  You are, as Frank Sinatra sang, “riding high in April and shot down in May.”

However, true happiness can last a lifetime, dependent upon the way you live, view, and even reminisce back upon your life.

As children, my brothers and I led carefree lives thanks to our parents and other close family members.  We grew up innocent of the world around us, not understanding or even anticipating that the joy we experienced as children would one day change.  Perhaps ignorance is bliss!

Consider Santa Claus, a beloved character that actually had his roots in reality.  But somewhere along the line, the true story of a man who was generous to children at Christmas was embroidered into a jolly, larger-than-life figure in a red suit commanding a team of eight flying reindeer.  As a child, you were taught that Santa and his elves toiled all year long in their toyshop at North Pole to make you and other good children happy.  You were told that that Santa drove his sleigh around the world, parked it on your roof, and slid down the chimney to deposit your presents beneath the tree as you slept peacefully on Christmas Eve.  Later, harsh reality hit when you discovered that your parents had bought those gifts, not Santa.  Once the myth was exposed, you lost the innocent joy and excitement of the holiday.

Like the belief in Santa Claus, everything in life has a beginning and an end.  Well, almost everything.

If we are blessed, we find happiness in many forms, from childhood to adolescence to adulthood.  If we are blessed, we find love and rewarding careers.  We marry, have children, and welcome grandchildren.  We form friendships and enjoy the arts, sports, and the giving of charity to others.  To be truly happy, we must have these things that are all linked by love: love of others, love of work we find fulfilling, love of entertaining and uplifting pursuits.

Money is secondary.  Yes, it makes life easier.  But to have money and not have love is a hollow, sad existence.  The Beatles put it best when they sang, “Money can’t buy me love.” 

Sometimes you wish email were never invented, don’t you?  Well, I do and I know I’m not alone.  I am constantly bombarded by ads, political messages, dumb, lengthy “forwards” from people with nothing better to do, and even pornography!  But, every once in a while, an email arrives that really touches me and makes me remember anew the real values in life.

Such was the case with the email that I’d recently received from a good friend.  He’d asked me to pass it along to my friends via email.  But, after reading the story, I’d decided that it really deserved a much broader audience.  Ergo, it’s positioning as a featured article on writeonnewjersey.com.

Here is the story.

A little girl had been shopping with her mom in Wal-Mart.  About six years old, she was a beautiful, red-haired, freckled faced girl, the image of innocence.  I spied her as I stood, with a group of other shoppers, beneath the store’s awning just outside the entrance to Wal-Mart.  It was pouring: the kind of rain that gushes over top of the rain gutters and blurs your vision if you’re driving.

Some of us waited patiently for the downpour to let up, while others were irritated because nature had interrupted their busy schedules.  I am always mesmerized by rainfall.  I get lost in the sounds and sights of the heavens, washing away the dirt and dust of the world.   That day, memories of my childhood flooded me as the rain flooded the store’s parking lot; memories of running and splashing through puddles were a welcome reprieve from the worries of the day.

Over the pounding of the rain, the little girl spoke.  Her voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance in which I’d found myself.  “Mom,” the child said, “let’s run through the rain.”

“What?!?” her mother replied.

“Let’s run through the rain,” the child repeated reasonably.

“No, honey,” said her mother.  “We’ll wait until it slows down a bit.”

The child waited a minute until she once again urged, “Let’s run through the rain!”

By then, everyone within earshot was listening to the little girl’s pleas as well as her mother’s logical response: “We’ll get soaked if we do.”  But the little girl tugged at her mother’s arm and observed, “That’s not what you said this morning.”

Perplexed, her mother asked, “This morning?  When did I say that we could run through the rain and not get wet?”

“Don’t you remember?” the child replied.  “When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, “If God can get us through this, He can get us through anything!”

At that point, while the young mother pondered the situation, the only sound to be heard was the rain beating on the awning.  After a long moment, the mother must have realized that her child’s insistence represented a moment of affirmation, a moment when innocent trust could be nurtured into faith.

Suddenly, the mother spoke up.  “Honey, you are absolutely right.  If God lets us get wet, I guess he figured we needed a washing!”

Then off they ran, smiling and laughing as they dodged cars and splashed through puddles until they reached their car.  And yes, they got soaked.  They were followed by a few of us who screamed and laughed like children playing in the rain, all the way to our cars.

And yes.  I also guessed that God felt I’d needed a washing too!

I cannot claim to be the author of this story; only the messenger. But, the Good Book says, “To everything, there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.”  Though it all — the sunny times of our lives and intense downfalls — God brings us small yet monumental signs to light the path of our ever-twisting journey on this Earth. And sometimes those signs spring from the mouths of babes, who are somehow wiser than we older folk. 

What is it about the domestic cat that so enthralls us?   Does our fascination lie in the understanding that the term “domestic cat” is a dichotomy?

 The wise civilization of ancient Egyptians harnessed the value of cats as natural hunters.  Loosened upon the granaries, cats made quick work of rodents carrying disease to the Egyptians’ food supply and offerings to their gods. The hard working kitties were deified as well as welcomed into Egyptian homes as cherished pets.  When a cat passed into the afterlife, each human family member shaved his or her eyebrows as a sign of mourning.  And, if one killed a cat, even accidentally, the penalty was death.  But, as beloved as these creatures were in ancient Egypt, they were never truly domesticated.  Four thousand years later, cats still resist full domestication.  And for this, we love them.

Well.  Some of us love them.

Down through the ages, cats have been the companions of writers, artists, and philosophers, and the bane of those with small minds (i.e., the “witch” hunters of 17th century Salem, Massachusetts).  The creative souls among us admire the cat’s indomitable spirit, the unwillingness to snap to attention and salute (or sit up and beg) at the prospect of a treat or a good scratching behind the ears.  A cat will not come when called, unless she wants to.  A cat will not speak — not even a normally chatty Siamese — unless she has something to say.  She will turn up her nose at morsels she deigns inferior.  And she will fix you with an inscrutable and inexorable stare that would make Mr. Spock and indeed, the entire Vulcan race, proud.  Golden, green, or blue of eye, it matters not.  We are as transfixed by the scintillating orbs of the tiny feline as we are by the challenge in them, and what lies even deeper there. 

Cats have been accused of suffering from laziness.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Don’t be fooled by the kitty slumbering in apparent serenity in the one sunny spot on the carpet, for she sleeps with one eye open.  Cats spend most of the day sleeping because they can.   As they have evolved into one of the most successful predatory species on the planet, they don’t need to expend their energy chasing down meals, as we paltry humans are beholden to chase down jobs and paychecks.  The space between a cat’s two upper incisor teeth, in fact, corresponds directly to the space on the nape of her most prolific prey, allowing for a most efficient kill.  Shakespeare may have written about a murder of crows, but a cat can slay crows, mice, voles, rabbits, and many other types of prey with ease.

 She hunts silently, unless she is denied direct access to her prey, as are many housecats that hunt from behind screened doors.  At such times, the cat will chatter excitedly in mimicry of the death bite.  She is an excellent nocturnal hunter, as her vision in dim light is clearer than that of humans, her hearing  has been clocked as six times better that ours, and her keen sense of smell, by which she senses her prey, has yet to be quantified. There are considerably more vertebrae in a cat’s spine than in a human’s, a genetic marvel that allows her to leap completely across dining room tables (the equivalent of a human leaping across an Olympic size swimming pool) and twist her body to land on her feet when falling from a height.

But a cat is not simply a precision killing machine.  She is a fierce guardian of her offspring, and yet, she is exceptionally gentle with them.  Without rancor, she will allow her kittens to nip, bat, scratch her body, even as she sleeps, and crawl all over her as if she were a piece of living real estate.  She will cart her young away from potential harm and hide the babies as Scrooge socked away his money, before the three spirits visited him on Christmas Eve.  A cat will even put herself between her kittens and an aggressor, to protect them.

If confronted with an orphaned animal not of her species, she will, more often than not, mother that animal, going as far as nursing it if possible.  There are stories on record by noted animal behaviorists who have witnessed cats killing mice and then mothering the orphaned babies!

And perhaps this is the true crux of the cat’s dichotomy, and our attraction to her.  Perhaps, in the cat, we see ourselves: we see the best and worst of mankind.