David McElroy

making sense of a dysfunctional culture

Her cat’s presence brings comfort to grandmother dying in hospital

By ·

This is the sweetest picture I’ve seen lately. We all know how strict hospitals can be about anything out of the ordinary, but one hospital made an exception — and it made a world of difference to a dying woman.

This picture was posted by a guy on Reddit. His grandmother is in a hospital dying, and the hospital allowed the family to bring her cat in for a visit. I think it’s pretty clear how happy both of them are to see each other.

Those who don’t have animals probably don’t understand. I didn’t grow up with cats and dogs, so I wouldn’t have understood at one time, either. But there’s a special kind of love that develops between pets and people. I know that if I were dying, I’d like to be surrounded by my furry friends.

I’m happy that this hospital allowed the cat to come visit, and I’m happy that the family shared the picture.

Note: If you’d like to meet some of my cats (many still with me and a few departed ones), you can read about Henry, Oliver, Sam, Amelia, Thomas, William, Dagny, Merlin, Charlotte, Emily, Anne, Molly and Bessie. And if you’d like, you can meet some of their canine friends over the years — Maggie, Lucy, Alex and Munchkin.

Share on Social Networks

Related Posts

Is Obama playing politics with war on terror? Of course, just as Bush did

By ·

Why does anyone seem surprised that Barack Obama is trying to score political points by going to Afghanistan on the anniversary of Osama bin Laden death? Yes, it’s disgusting, but that’s what every president does.

This partisanship looks like “leadership” when he’s on your team. For instance, Chris Matthews of MSNBC — a long-time Democratic Party partisan before moving to TV news — said he’s very proud of Obama for going to Afghanistan. Jon Stewart asked whether Republicans criticizing Obama for the trip are on crack.

To Republicans, it was obviously a matter of Obama politicizing Bin Laden’s death. The howling has been long and loud. They’ve accused Obama of “spiking the ball” and gloating for political purposes.

So who’s right? The Republicans who say he’s politicizing national security with the trip? Or the Democrats such as Stewart who fire back that the GOP criticism is crazy? The truth is that they’re both right.

Keep Reading

Share on Social Networks

Related Posts

Thugs attacking private property aren’t anarchists; they’re vandals

By ·

The people in this picture are among the Occupy rioters in Seattle on May Day. They’re breaking windows and destroying private property. (Click the picture for a bigger view.) Based on the “anarchy” logo they were plastering on the property they were destroying, I’m sure they believe they’re anarchists. They’re not. They’re just vandals and criminals.

I wrote at length earlier about the fact that those who want a government to enforce their political views aren’t really anarchists, so I won’t repeat most of that here. I only want to say that if you’re the kind of vandal who dresses in black and destroys private property, that doesn’t make you some anarchist hero. It just makes you a punk and a vandal who’s destroying things that don’t belong to you.

The coercive state is the enemy. The people in the streets Tuesday agree that the current state is the enemy, but most of them want something far worse — a new coercive state that would be even more monstrous than what we already have. They’re not anarchists. They’re Bolsheviks intent on giving the Soviet Union another try.

Share on Social Networks

Related Posts