Clancy

In memoriam...

Randy Cassingham is, amongst other things, the author of the weekly email publication This is True (more on that below). Randy's cat Clancy (pictured at right in a favorite pose) was his longtime friend and companion. Yesterday Clancy died, and Randy (of course!) put up a web page that is a tribute to Clancy. On it, he says:

Clancy was a sweet boy who liked sleeping right next to me -- or, more often in the winter, on me. When I rolled over, he'd "surf the wave" and stay right with me, and when I settled down he would too. But in recent months it was getting clear he was in distress. He has always loved to jump up into my arms (I'm tall, and the floor is a long way away, so I taught him to jump up to me rather than rely on me to bend down to pick him up). But over time, his jumps were less and less powerful -- he wasn't making it all the way to my arms. And in recent weeks, he wouldn't even make the attempt; he was simply tired and, perhaps, hurting.

Any of you who are (like us) kept by your animals will recognize and identify with the sentiment that Randy expresses. Read the whole thing!

On This is True: I first ran into this email publication over seven years ago. I subscribed for years to the free edition, but about three years ago upgraded to his "premium" edition. For that entire period I've looked forward to receiving the latest edition each week. It's very hard for this writer to imagine how Randy manages to keep up the consistent quality of this wonderful little publication, issue after issue after issue, but somehow he does it. He never fails to put a smile on my face and to make me laugh out loud (sometimes in inappropriate work situations <smile>!), and usually has some interesting points to ponder. If you're not already a subscriber to This is True, you really should at least go sign up for the free edition. Try it for a while, and I'll bet you'll want to upgrade to the premium edition!