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Owen
September 21, 2012, 9:00 am by Staff Reports
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Somehow, I don’t think Jesus kept to-do lists. Jesus brought a message of love in this moment - incredible tsunami level love washing over us, from our birth to our death.
And this brings us back to whimsy. Whimsy is that sweetness that unanticipated sweetness that knocks us out of our routine and into pure delight.
Owen was a Leonardo da Vinci of whimsy. When I pointed at him and said, "Speak!” he would go "Meow.”
In 1999, when he joined us, he was an ugly little thing - a dog had eaten off his whiskers, but my wife insisted that we adopt him. We had to name him "Owen” because right there on his forehead was an "O” and a "W.”
He was also clumsy in a very un-catlike manner, as he would often stumble and fall over. But, he always got up with no shame on his face. He just couldn’t believe that he was a cat.
The attempt to train him to use the toilet (yes - this can be done) did not go well. But he did acclimate well to long distance car trips and would accompany us inside the courthouses around the state and even into the passenger compartment of an airline.
All the while, he was cheerful and sweet and loving. In 13 years, he never once forgot his role to distract us from our linear lives. He never forgot his job as a Whimsy Dispenser.
I shot this photo about 30 minutes before he met his demise. Neither he nor I knew that he would soon be surprised to be looking into the eyes of a coyote.
What a privilege to get to spend time with a quirky loving being that was so much more evolved than I am. He was my guru of whimsy.
-Stan Peyton
220 South Main St., Burnet, TX 78611 - Phone: (512)756-6136