On our dairy farm Dad took the philosophy that cats took the role of necessary beasts. They were on the side of the greater cause. The cats, half of them feral, were seen as a step beyond the nuisance beasts like racoons, rats, and pigeons. Cats were tolerated. But in Dad's ever consummate cautious life's game plan, he treated them like war-time Army buddies. "Don't get too attached to them Bub, they don't live too long on the farm."
Farm cats probably had a life expectancy of two years. A stunning difference to the 20-year life that house cats can live in today's pet culture rubric. On the farm there was a multitude of dangers, challenges, and catastrophes a cat might succumb to. For that matter, a kid could fall victim to many of the same dangers. There was countless machines that might suck you in their mechanisms if you were not paying attention. The cows literally weighed a ton....and were stupid creatures and could crush a cat...or a kid in a second and never even realize they had even done it. There was countless diseases and pneumonias lurking. There were so many cats that they were never treated by the veterinarian. Any vet expenses were saved for the bread winners....the milk cows.
Mom on the other hand, was familiar with cats in the role of pets. As a kid, she had kept some friendly cats around her house in the city. There was one favorite she often mentioned named Geraldene. On the farm each day she always made it a habit to throw out some tidbits to the beggars that loitered by the house and buildings.
Uncle Art was the surprising one when it came to cats. He always had a cat or two that lingered by his trailer. Over the years he built cat walks in many of the buildings so the cats could peruse the rafters of the barn and sheds in search of mice. In those days the grain storage areas were not the solid state fiber glass works of art one usually finds on today's farms. In our time, the oats were stored in wooden bins and the corn was put in wire mesh cribs. Rats and mice were opportunists. But the wily cats had a field day in wait.
When I was a very young boy, I remember my dad saying, "Never spank a cat Bub; they are not like a dog; their feelings will get hurt. The cat has an ego." It was a comment from someone who had witnessed the nature of cats most of his life on the farm.
To reward the beasts for their mousing work, every milking time, Dad and Uncle Art would make sure a big pan dish was always full of cows' milk. I will always remember the spot by the milk house door inside the barn where they waited patiently for that warm cream laden milk, just seconds removed from the cow.
I always had a cat or two that I kept track of as favorites. It never dawned on me that they were anything but comrades. They helped wile away the endless hours spent as an only child on a vast farm in a very rural Southern Wisconsin.
Years later, after three years of marriage and both becoming rather lonely in Dallas, Texas, along way from Wisconsin, a thought came to me. We had no children, and we both labored in the new American culture of the late 1970s and 1980s where both spouses worked and we came home to a quiet house - too quiet.
One day I said to Heide, "We better get a cat."
She thought for a second because she has asthma and allergies. But as it turned out, cats are the only thing she is not allergic too. For almost thirty years we have fostered and cared for upwards of twenty-five cats, probably more.
We always smile when we walk into someone else's house and we can tell immediately there are no kids or pets. Cats, from our experience, leave an aura in a building. Even if you can't see them, you know there is a living presence afoot.
After countless long days of disheartening moments in the course of a day over a lifetime, I often suddenly realize their is a presence sharing the sofa with me. They are stealth creatures; often you will not even notice they have taken up residence on your knee or lap. Their purr is calming and reassuring after a work-day in an all to cruel world.
Their are many regrets and heartbreaks in life. Getting to know the nuances of cats as I have while somehow managing to spend a lifetime living with them, has not been one of those regrets or heartbreaks.
Note: This blog "Jobs of Bob" Category does not list the jobs chronologically - I write about the experiences as they pop up in my memory and I often revisit an older job. Go to the Cooldadiomedia Web site and the Jobs of Bob Page for an ordered chronology.
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Army Specialist Robert Michael Rieckhoff, 26, of Kenosha, Wisconsin was killed on Thursday, March 18, 2010 in Baghdad, Iraq. His unit had been attacked by rocket-propelled grenades. He was assigned to Battery Bravo, 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), out of Fort Drum, New York. The Kenosha News via their Website related that Specialist Rieckhoff was at guard duty in a watchtower when attacked. Rieckhoff was on his second tour of duty in Iraq. He had also served in Kuwait. The paper went on to note Rieckhoff had just re-enlisted for five more years in the Army. Specialist Rieckhoff also had been promoted to sergeant which was just about to take affect. The family was quoted as saying Robert had helped train the Iraqi Army. He was due to come home in June of 2010 around the time of his 27th birthday.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel mentioned that Robert was nicknamed "Bubba" as a kid. Rieckhoff had joined the military when he was 18 years old. Robert was remembered as a practical joker and someone who could make people laugh; and, Robert also frequently reminded everyone he had sidestepped trouble by joining the military. Rieckhoff had joined the Army Reserves in 2002 after graduating from Tremper High School in Kenosha. At a later date he went on to join the Regular Army. The Journal Sentinel also said that while in the Reserves, Robert worked at a Pizza Hut in Kenosha. While in Iraq, he constantly communicated with his family by telephone and e-mail.
At the time of his death Robert Rieckhoff was survived by his children Tyler, and Katrina, of Tennessee; sisters Sheila Sartorius, Kaszaray Rieckhoff , Jolene Garwood, and Cathy Garwood; brothers Roland Garwood III and Bobby Garwood; mother Barbara Garwood; stepfather Roland Garwood; grandmother Judith Nelsen; uncle Bruce Anderson; and nieces, Alexis and Jasmine Sartorius. Specialist Robert M. Rieckhoff was the 92nd Wisconsin military service person to die in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
0 American and Coalition casualties in Libyan "Operation Odyssey Dawn" since March 2011
100,293 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,903 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,449 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1530 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
869 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
32,058 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
10,855 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
107 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
29 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
148 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
2 journalists (regional agencies) have been killed in Libya since March of 2011.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf; and, icasualties.org.
