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Mountain Views-News Saturday, May 25, 2024


CHRISTOPHER Nyerges 

[Nyerges is an educator and author. He authored “Extreme Simplicity” which tells his story 
about attempting to live self-reliantly in the city. More information about his books and 
classes at www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com]

CELIE

FEMALE 
CALICO

BORN 
APPROX. 
12/13/23

In mid-December, we 
pulled this stunning 
calico off the SEAACA 
kill list, where she landed after being struck by a 
car. The incident left her with a crushed pelvis, 
road rash, and extensive degloving injuries (areas of 
missing skin and fur) throughout her hind quarters 
and tail. To say that this young lady was in a world 
of hurt would have been an understatement.

After 3 weeks in the hospital and an additional 
4 weeks of crate rest, this resilient baby is very nearly as good as new. Due to the manner in 
which her pelvis healed, she does have an ever so slightly odd gait, but that doesn't keep her from 
running and playing and climbing onto your lap. (It does, however, preclude her from jumping 
onto your kitchen counters, which for many may be a feature and not a bug.) 

If ever there was a cat who just wanted to sit in a lap and be loved, it is this sweet girl. THIS CAT 
IS AN ABSOLUTE LOVE. Despite all the trauma she has en-dured, she wants nothing more than 
to lie on her back and soak up all the belly rubs and chin scratches we can deliver.

Celie is vaccinated, microchipped, FIV/FeLV negative, and spayed, and would prefer to be an only 
cat. She is really a great cat. Her foster mom says, "She ac-tually IS okay with other cats with a 
proper introduction. but she would also be happy to be an only cat. Really loving and desperate 
for belly rubs. Able to jump on a bed no problem. I don't expect she'll ever be jumping onto 
counters, which for many is a bonus." 

Does this sound like the right cat for you? If so, please fill out an application and come meet her 
today, https://www.lifelineforpets.org/celie.html. Like her name-sake from The Color Purple, she 
is tough as nails and resilient as hell but has a heart of gold that only wants to love.


COMMENTARY FROM MEMORIAL DAY 1998 – A 
TALE ABOUT DEATH

 

An excerpt from “’Til Death Do Us Part?” a book by Christopher Nyerges, available on 
Kindle, or from www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com.

 

It was Memorial Day 1998, and I had scheduled to conduct a wild food 
outing at Pasadena’s Hahamongna Watershed Park. Since it was Memorial 
Day, my topic for a short discussion at the end of the outing was “death.” Hahamongna 
Park -- formerly called Oak Grove Park -- is the site of one of the Gabrielino Indian villages 
along the Arroyo Seco

 

It was a cool and overcast day as participants for the wild food outing gathered in the 
parking area of the park. Among the half-dozen participants who showed up for the outing 
was Martin Kruse, a bearded, burly bear of a man who looked like he’d be more at home 
in the 19th century. He introduced himself and told me that he’d long wanted to meet me. 
Martin and I chatted as the other outing participants listened, and he told me about his 
work with archery and primitive bow-making. 

 

We walked down in the flat area of the large expanse of the park, where the wet mud had 
hardened, capturing countless animal tracks. Martin told us how to differentiate between 
coyote and dog tracks. He’d obviously done a lot of tracking during his time hunting with 
a bow. 

 

I later learned from Martin’s father that this was a favorite place of Martin’s when he was 
much younger. He’d come here and spend a week or two and study nature and tracks and 
practice with his bow. 

 

After walking throughout the flat area, I led the way back to the oak trees where I would 
share my lesson. Within seconds, someone in the rear called out. Martin had fallen. I first 
thought it was a joke, and ran to him. It was no joke. His face already looked purple. The 
man who had been walking with him said he’d not tripped -- he just fell. I tried to rouse 
him, but it was quickly obvious that he was “out.” 

 

Several of us moved Martin into what we assumed would be a more comfortable position, 
and that wasn’t easy! Martin was a big guy. And then -- since I was the only one who 
knew the area -- I ran to a phone to call 911. This was before the days of ubiquitous cell 
phones. Within 10 minutes, before I even got back to the group and Martin’s flat body 
-- paramedics from the City of Pasadena were on the scene, attempting to revive him. They 
all worked like a highly-coordinated team, speaking among themselves only briefly and in 
terms we didn’t understand. They were what we call a “well-oiled machine.” They carried 
him into the ambulance and took him away. 

 

I could tell that the remainder of the outing participants were in varying degrees of shock. 
It had all been like a dream, and now Martin was gone. We discussed the merits and 
pitfalls of the modern medical system, and whether there was more we could have done to 
help Martin. We discussed whether we thought Martin would revive or not.

 

So there we stood in the cool afternoon breeze, contemplating death in the most sobering 
manner possible. I explained to everyone my death lesson -- which hardly seemed 
appropriate now. I didn’t talk everyone through the intended exercise -- I just explained a 
process that I’d done many times on Memorial Day.

 

Write a list of all those close people in your life. Then, close your eyes, and imagine getting 
a phone call telling you that they have just died. For most people, there are tears and a 
feeling of regret that they never told that person something. You write down all those 
things you wanted to say to that person. Then, since these folks are still alive, you then go 
and call them or write them or see them in person and tell them. This is a very profound 
exercise, and in many ways can be called “healing.” 

 

Each person commented how “coincidental” it was that the lecture topic that I’d chosen for 
the day, and listed on the schedule, was “Death.” We kept reflecting on Martin. At that 
moment, none of us knew yet that Martin would not recover, that he had in fact died, and 
that he died in a place he loved. Nor had we known that Martin had a heart pacer, and an 
artery to his heart that was narrow. We were aware that he’d had surgery -- probably to the 
heart -- because we opened his shirt and saw the scar. 

 

A German woman who’d been on the outing, Walti, told me that we should not feel sad. 

“It was quick,” she told me later. “What better 
place to die.” I could not help but agree with 
her. Martin’s death was apparently sudden, and 
his last memory would have been looking at the 
willows and the rushing stream and the cloudy 
sky and the sand flats of the Hahamongna 
Watershed Park. In his final moments, he was 
surrounded with friends that he’d only met that 
day, trail compadres who shared a common love 
of the outdoors, all brought together at this time 
and this place to witness his passing.


Pet of the Week

 
Arcadian is a big guy with an equally big heart. 
He’s an 80 pound lap-dog in the shape of a 
Shepherd mix. 

 Arcadian has been out with the Pasadena 
Humane Mobile Outreach team and they have 
nothing but wonderful things to say about him. 
He’s super friendly, easy to train and walks right 
next to you on a walk. He’s very quick to make 
friends with everyone who he meets.

 He will often place a gentle paw on your lap to 
prod you to give him some pets, then replace that 
with his head, then the rest of his body if you 
allow it. He just wants to be close to you!

 Arcadian also appears to be friendly with dogs- 
he has met a few at the shelter and seems to want 
to play with them. He might be a great buddy for another large dog. 

 If you’re ready for all the love you can handle, you might be ready for Arcadian!

 The adoption fee for dogs is $150. All dog adoptions include spay or neuter, microchip, 
and age-appropriate vaccines. 

Walk-in adoptions are available every day from 2:00 – 5:00. For those who prefer, adoption 
appointments are available daily from 10:30 – 1:30, and can be scheduled online. View 
photos of adoptable pets at pasadenahumane.org.

 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. 

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


TAIL TOWN CATS 
THROWS FREE, FAMILY-
FRIENDLY SUMMER 
CARNIVAL OF CATS ON 
JUNE 1

 

Cat Café, the largest nonprofit cat café 
in Southern California, has announced 
its inaugural Summer Carnival of Cats 
– a free Open House and Feline Faire 
on Saturday, June 1 from 11am - 4pm.

 As Tail Town’s official grand 
reopening as a nonprofit, the event 
offers feline fans an opportunity to 
play, party and purr with 30-40 free 
roaming rescue cats that live onsite. 
For those 21+, a paid afterparty event 
will allow ticketed guests to chill with 
the cats in the lounge from 6 - 8pm.

 During the day Tail Town will open its 
adoption lounge for guests (ages 6 and 
up) for a free visit to meet the adoptable 
rescue cats and play shortened versions 
of Tail Town’s quirky weekly events. 
Guests can gain insight into Tail 
Town Cats’ work with cat and kitten 
adoption, cat socialization and feline 
education, as well as see the new breed 
of cat café that throws out the old and 
allows direct, playful interaction for 
humans and felines.

 At Tail Town’s Feline Faire, guests 
can have fortunes read, play carnival-
style games and enjoy refreshments. A 
newly launched membership program 
will debut as well as an assortment 
of Tail Town branded merchandise 
to wear, gift, attach and display with 
catty pride.

 “To celebrate Tail Town’s nonprofit 
status we’re opening our doors during 
the day to allow the community to visit 
our lounge for free and get a glimpse 
at the amazing and loving work we do 
with cats,” said Gwendolyn Mathers, 
acting executive director of Tail Town 
Cats. “And for those that are interested, 
the Summer Carnival of Cats and 
Feline Faire will provide opportunities 
to help us raise funds and support our 
mission of housing rescue cats from 
shelters and the streets, and ultimately 
helping them all find loving homes.”

 Visitors can get a taste of Tail Town’s 
monthly activities with mini-games 
played on the hour, all surrounded 
(and disrupted) by a sea of resident 
cats. Games include Lightning Kitty 
Bingo, Cat Trivia and Cat Cornhole; 
one session of Tail Town’s tiny Meow-
N-Paint will be held where guests can 
paint their own cat portrait. Children 
can play Sift & Search, finding prizes 
in a giant (and pristine) sandbox. 
Space is limited in the lounge area, and 
games are expected to fill fast.

 For those wishing to cool down 
with the Tail Town cats after the 
festivities, a paid 21+ afterparty event 
will run from 6 - 8pm that allows 
ticketed guests to chill and enjoy 
the relaxing vibes. Attendees can 
sip cat-themed beer and hard seltzer 
provided by Brouwerij West and snack 
on refreshments from Tiny Tiki, the 
plant-based Polynesian pop-up. Space 
is limited, and Tail Town recommends 
securing afterparty tickets quickly at 
https://www.tailtowncats.com/events.

 Friends of Tail Town are providing 
generous support with goods, 
refreshments, services, funds and 
miscellaneous goodwill; they include 
Glendale’s Off the Leash, The Tarot 
Nerd, Liquid Death and the Respira 
Coffee Cart as well as Brouwerij West 
and Tiny Tiki.

 According to Mathers community 
support is seen as will be a substantial 
source of funding to help 
in Tail Town’s growth, 
and proceeds from lounge 
visits, events and space 
rental helps Tail Town 
operate and find homes 
for more kitties. With 
Tail Town functioning as 
a nonprofit, all one-time 
or recurring donations 
(including lounge and 
event visits) that are made 
though www.tailtowncats.
com are tax-deductible 
to the fullest extent of the 
law. Wishlist gifts are also 
included.

 

Tail Town Cat Café and 
Adoption Center is located 
at 1780 E. Washington 
Blvd in Pasadena, CA and is open on 
Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 
11am to 5pm (with the last entry each 
day at 4pm).

 

ABOUT TAIL TOWN CATS

Tail Town Cats works to prevent cruelty 
to animals and provide education to the 
public on animal welfare. The 503(c)(3) 
registered nonprofit public charity helps in 
offering aid in rescuing cats from situations 
of abuse, abandonment, neglect, harm or 
danger at high-kill shelters, on the streets 
and elsewhere by providing housing, foster 
care and adoption resources. Tail Town 
Cats operates the Tail Town Cat Café and 
Adoption Center in Pasadena, Calif. Over 
the past three years, Tail Town has adopted 
365 rescued cats.

 

Still curious? All things Tail Town are at 
www.tailtowncats.com and the cat café 
can be followed on Instagram, TikTok and 
Facebook for the cutest cats and latest


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