My Second Steemiversary! - Haiku - And an acknowledgment that I am, in so many ways, incredibly blessed

in #naturalmedicine5 years ago (edited)

20191002_165715  Bear boy on the back porch railing.jpg

Today it is my
Second Steemiversary
Is it possible???

Okay, I started this post several days ago, so it is a tad behind the times. ;-)

November 16th and 17th were sort of a one-two punch, as the 16th marked my second Steemiversary (!!!) which, frankly, doesn't even seem possible.

Yet, while it doesn't seem nearly that long, at the same time, it has become a regular part of my life, and so many Steemians are now among my favorite people.

Then November 17th is the birthday of my lovely Bear boy, my beautiful and wise black cat, who has been my lovely companion and my familiar from a mere four months of age. He helped me survive my divorce, and let me know each and every day that the small stuff really is just small stuff, and that everything is made better by holding a purring kitty in my arms.

Of course, the 17th is also the birthday of Stacy, my step-daughter-in-law (is that a thing?), who is married to Marek's son; and of Jeff Buckley, one of my favorite musicians, whose debut album, "Grace," was an astonishing and eclectic tour-de-force, unique among the debut albums with which I'm familiar.

I've written about it before and highly recommend the album.

At this point, I consider myself to be ridiculously blessed, as three weeks ago I wasn't even sure that Bear was going to make it to his birthday, yet today he is stronger, healthier, happier and feistier than he's been in a long time.

And of course, having regained his strength and wiriness, giving him his meds has become a serious pain in the butt, but I'll take that over him ailing any day.

And, so on Sunday he turned fifteen years old, and I gave him a special treat of the remainder of the rare prime rib I had for dinner a few nights earlier. I hadn't had prime rib in ages, but set a portion aside for Bear, which Marek noted as my being a good kitty mom. ;-)

But as a close friend said yesterday, she's never had a cat that even made it to fifteen years of age, so if it takes a bit of prime rib to fan his will to live and love, I'm all for it.

And, as the vet confirmed, Bear is in remarkably good health for his age, and has the demeanor of a much-younger cat. Good news all the way around.

November 19th was more poignant, as it marked the birthday of our wonderful friend Brian, whom we recently lost to complications from cancer, and miss greatly.

He was one of those people with whom we immediately connected, as did most of the people who knew him well, and he regularly gathered his friends around him, which was just a part of who he was.

When I first met him, he was partnered with a close friend of mine, and I felt like I'd reconnected with my long-lost brother. I trusted him instantly, because I knew I could, and in all the years I knew him, he always proved worthy of that trust. He was a bit of an odd duck, as am I, but he was always a very good and decent guy.

Years later, when Marek first met him, he too felt like he had reconnected with his long-lost brother. Seriously. He described it exactly as I had from the beginning.

Brian grew up on Weedon Island, in St. Petersburg, Florida, which is known for its wealth of Native American artifacts, left by the earliest human inhabitants of the Tampa Bay area, which came to the area in two major waves, beginning some twelve to fourteen thousand years ago. Weedon Island is now a cultural preserve.

Brian began collecting the artifacts as a kid, continued for the rest of his life, learned as much as he possibly could, and became enough of a self-taught expert that he regularly gave talks to everyone from local Fossil and Artifact clubs to colleges and universities.

Brian also opened and operated a fossil and artifact business, that he initially ran from his home for many years, and later on the St. Petersburg Pier, called "Lost in Time," a name I particularly loved.

He collected fossils, minerals and Native American artifacts from all over Florida and the Southeast, including from a lovely piece of land he owned in north Florida on the Santa Fe River, where we joined him to go camping a few times.

My only real regret, other than not seeing him when I went to Florida earlier this year, is that he never saw our place in Tennessee. This was originally Cherokee country, there are artifacts of all kinds all over this area, and he would have absolutely loved this place. And our river doesn't have alligators.

Rest in Peace, Brian. I have no doubt we'll catch up with you once again, one of these days.

For more information on Weedon Island and its history, this book is a wonderful resource, which Brian helped to make a reality. He is credited in the preface, though his last name is misspelled; he spelled it Evensen.

The photo of Bear on our back porch railing was taken by me last month with my Samsung Note 8 phone.

I'm sorry to say that, although I know I have many photos of Brian, at our home in Florida and his, I can't access any of them at the moment. I'll do my best to add one later.

#family #earthtribe #tribevibes #naturalmedicine #tribegloballove #poetsunited #isleofwrite #tarc #yah #ecotrain #smg #ghsc #spunkeemonkee #thirtydayhaikuchallenge #teamgood #steemsugars #teamgirlpowa #womenofsteemit #steemusa #qurator #steemitbasicincome #bethechange #chooselove #photography #beauty #love #culture #peacemaking #peacemaker #friendship, #warmth #self-respect #respect #allowing #animals #community #unity #love #loss #mourning

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Happy Steemiversary. !tip I am glad your beautiful black cat is doing better.

Thanks, Beth . . . he definitely had me scared there for a while!

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Beautiful way to celebrate your Steemiversary with such a loving tribute, @crescendoofpeace!

Happy 2 year steemiversary.gif

@tipu curate

Thanks very much, @traciyork! ;-)




giphy is supported by witness untersatz!

Aw. Happy Steemiversary! And warmth for the memory of your friend, and may your cat live well yet! Gawd I love Grace. That album still gives me shivers.

You and me both, @riverflows. It really is a thing of beauty. What an amazing talent he was.

Oh, and by the way, with all the impeachment news obliterating news of anything else, did you hear that the US House of Representatives actually passed legislation, House Bill 3884: The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act. It passed by a 2 to 1 majority on Wednesday.

"The MORE Act removes the marijuana plant from the federal Controlled Substances Act, thereby enabling states to enact their own cannabis regulations free from undue federal interference. The vote marks the first time that members of Congress have ever voted to federally deschedule cannabis."

https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/471521-wednesdays-marijuana-legalization-vote-was-truly-historic-heres-why

It's about freaking time. And trust me, if Mitch McConnell tries to leave this bill on his desk for months on end, his office will be stormed until he signs the damned thing.

We the People are sick to death of a do-nothing government stalemated by a bunch of cowardly sycophants.

Love and loss. It doesn't get better. xo

The real things in life. What makes it all worthwhile. ;-)

Woot woot! Glad Bear is doing well now and Happy Steemiversary!

@alliedforces curate 2

Thanks, Witty!
Glad he'll be sticking by me for a while yet. ;-)

You got some love from a member of @thealliance family!
Keep up the great work and join us in The Castle sometime!
The #spreadlovenotwar curation campaign is under the guidance of witnesses @enginewitty and @untersatz.
Current VP: 79.19%

Your friend Brian - what a loss! I wonder what'll become of all his fossils, minerals and Native American artifacts. Glad to hear the vet confirmed, Bear is in remarkably good health for his age - *phew!
Your posts are so packed with details and insights, I can never comment on them all, but thank you, and ditto your appreciation for the people of Steemit. You're in the top one percent! (Or is it the top 0.0001%)?

I'm guessing that Brian's collections went to his daughter and grandkids, but I hope that at least some will be kept together as a collection, and/or lent to one of the local museums.

I do hope they don't just sell it all off for nothing. He spent a lifetime in the pursuit.

Bear is still gaining weight, still fighting taking his meds, but purring every time I touch him, which makes it all worthwhile. ;-)

And thanks, Carol, I feel the same way about you. Love you, lady. ;-)

I love you more!
Just kidding.
Glad your Bear is still on the mend, and hoping Brian's collections remain intact, and that if a museum gets any of his stuff, they take good care of it. I'm told museums can be terribe about letting things collect dust in some dim cabinet....

Yeah, museums are bad about that, mostly because they typically have limited display space.

And I'm over the moon that Bear is doing so well. Life is wonderful.
;-)