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Musings on Little Guy

Originally published 2/26/07 on Cadet Spiff's Deep Space Log

I've often extolled the wisdom of daily newspaper comic strips, specifically the still-missed genius of Calvin and Hobbes.

In one series, young Calvin found a severely-injured raccoon. With his family's help, he tried to nurse it back to life, but the raccoon eventually died. Shortly thereafter, Calvin was discussing the meaning of the animal's death to Hobbes, saying, "Either it's mean or it's arbitrary, and either way I've got the heebie-jeebies."

I recalled that sentiment last week while I was in the back yard burying one of Anastasia's litter. Little Guy, as he'd come to be known, was the runt of the three-kitten litter, the only male and born last. He was certainly cute enough, but he didn't seem quite as developed as the other two female kittens, which led to lots of jokes about males being less developed than females, and that perhaps he was born before he was quite finished developing.

I thought about the five weeks he had with us as I turned the spade in the dirt to give him a proper burial. The dirt wasn't hard to turn; the mild winter meant that the ground never froze, and it took me less than 10 minutes to get the grave ready. I made sure to keep the grass from the top layer of soil, so I could re-cover it after I was done.

All the while I dug, I thought about seeing him being born -- this litter being the first I'd seen, not having owned cats previously. He was the first of the kittens that I saw actually run. I wondered why he had to go so quickly.

Life comes no more innocent that it did with Little Guy. Not quite five weeks old, he was wholly undeserving of his fate.

Life and nature are often cruel. Which is why, I suppose, that we should make the most of the time we have. We're all on this planet on a very tentative basis.

After tapping down the grass on top of the grave, I turned to pick up the bag we kept his body in before we buried him. A gust of wind picked it up, and it danced across the neighbor's back yard, already leaving, American Beauty-style.

I'd like to think that was Little Guy, heading off on a new adventure.

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