[Magdalen] Hope for joy

[James Oppenheimer-Crawford]

My wife has lunch regularly with a lady who is a writer and poet, and is
what you might call a free spirit.
She was dealing with her failing mother for some time, and her mother very
recently died.
She told Christine that the two of them had talked about death, and it was
agreed that whoever died first would come back to the other as an orange
cat.

The lady was surprised and delighted as she returned home one day to find a
beautiful orange cat sitting on the steps of her house.  The cat allowed
her to pet it, but when she went to pet its tummy, the cat would not allow
it.
She said she knew it was her mother, because in life, her mother would not
pet cats on their tummy.

I don't think anyone knows how it works, but it would seem that our friend
got the sign she was looking for, and we are happy for her, and we also
take hope in this event.

James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
*“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy