Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, September 16, 2023

11

 Mountain Views News Saturday, September 16, 2023 

CHRISTOPHER Nyerges [www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com]


JUNO, 

just a doll!

Juno is a rockstar 
mom to a staggering 
seven kittens, all of 
whom were scheduled 
for euthanasia 
on the day they were 
rescued from a kill 
shelter. However, in the last six weeks, with 
proper care, she has started to put on weight 
and her beautiful, shiny black coat has filled in. 

Despite a rough start and obvious neglect, Juno 
is desperate for hu-man interaction, and always 
greets her foster family at the door with 
lots of flops, rolls, and purrs, and she is great 
with kids. Juno would do best in a home where 
someone is around for most of the day to give 
her the attention she craves. 

Born 7/27/22. See more of her on our website's 
"Teen and Young Adult" page, at www.lifelineforpets.org.


CONSIDERING DEATH, AND THE NATURE OF LIFE

Sometimes I think about things too much. For example, I presume that 
only living people will be reading these words. Dead people do not read, 
at least I presume that they do not. My presumption is that they either 
can not read, or that they do not need to read. They exist in a different 
realm, where they were once living in a physical body, and now they are 
not, where reading newspapers is a very low priority.

I began to think about the dead partly because another friend, younger 
than me, recently died and thus entered what is an unknown and mysterious 
realm – to the living.

The living do not dwell upon or think about death very much. The living assume that 
they are immortal – and many believe that – except that they are clearly not. Death comes 
as a rude awakening to the living who fully believed they were important and would live 
for-ever. Something happens to the dead, but what? Most skeptical people say that it cannot 
be known, and some aver that nothing happens after death. Whatever it is, that’s not 
where I’m going with this commentary.

Death can come suddenly, even if you’ve convinced yourself that you’re a very important 
person with a meaningful life with a lot of things you want to accomplish.

Life is a gift. I think it was the drunken poet Bukowski who wisely said that we’d all treat 
others so much better if we lived our life with the realization that we will die, and will not 
live forever. This moment is our only treasure. 

I had just “cleaned” my sink with an unceremonious wipe, killing perhaps a hundred ants. 
Ants! Living beings going about their business of living off my scraps. I generally think 
of them as a nuisance, not as the highly organized race of workaholics that they are. Did 
I just wipe out hundreds of life ambitions, hopes, and aspirations? Do ants possess hopes 
and aspirations? I don’t know. I cannot know, really. But it’s possible that they do.

As I stood there, sponge in hand, my mind quickly reviewed the war in Ukraine with 
now over 200,000 individuals killed on each side. Real people whose lives have now been 
snuffed out, with no more aspirations or hopes this time around. It’s can be hard to feel 
empathy because it’s so far away, yet it’s so very real.

I feel that there is little I can do, though I have made donations to the Ukraine underdog, 
the country which Russia covets and somehow hopes to win via wanton destruction and 
violence. Man’s inhumanity to man. Would things be different if men like Putin read the 
works of Bukowski, and took his words to heart?

Will our inhumanity continue forever? Will our animalistic desires to conquer ever end? 
Can those desires be transmuted? I wonder.

A teacher once told us students to listen up. He said to think about everyone we know 
and love. OK? Everyone of these people 
will die. Pets too. He continued with a very 
long and sobering lesson about death. He 
drove home the point that we do not live 
forever, and that we should quit procrastinating 
whatever it is that we regard as our 
Real Work. 

We reside only in the moment of Now, and 
it is up to each of us to live the life that we 
ex-pect of the world, and ourselves. You’ve 
heard it before: Be here now. Be the change 
that you wish to see in the world.

Pet of the Week

 
Frosty is so excited that he just can’t hide it- International 
Rabbit Day is September 23! In honor of that landmark 
holiday, Frosty and all other critters at Pasadena Humane 
can be adopted for FREE during the “Hop Into Fall” 
adoption event- Saturday, 9/23 from 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. No 
adoption appointment is necessary.

 Frosty is a sweet eight-month-old bunny who is very 
outgoing and adventurous. He happily greets people who 
visit by hopping over to get pets.

 Frosty has been in a home and appears to be litter box 
trained. He’s also a big fan of treats, so he’ll likely bond very 
quickly with whomever is giving him something yummy. 

This adorable little guy is very handsome and soft and will 
give you lots of love!

The normal adoption fee for rabbits is only $5.

 New adopters will receive a complimentary health-and-
wellness exam from VCA Animal Hospitals, as well as a 
goody bag filled with information about how to care for your 
pet. 

 View photos of adoptable pets and schedule an adoption appointment at pasadenahumane.
org. Adoptions are by appointment only, and new adoption appointments are available 
every Sunday and Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. 

 Pets may not be available for adoption and cannot be held for potential adopters by 
phone calls or email.


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Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com