The kitten found me
Our deaths were not an option
We kept each other warm
***
Parents sent me to camp for a week. I hated it. Five mile hikes in the rain and 40 degree weather at night, my lame sleeping bag let me not sleep because of the cold then I had to drink prune juice every morning and use the loo with other girls into a chemical toilet.
My younger sister thrived on this stuff a week earlier. Now I spent my ten cents a day on two Peppermint Patties, wrote a postcard home and awaited my release.
That kitten saved both of us, and that has been a theme for many years and tears. He crawled under my crummy sleeping bag near my feet, I finally slept without freezing and we kept each other warm all night. I freaked out to find out there was a critter, and we checked it out. He was removed and probably killed.
For years I’ve worked for as a volunteer for feral cats and for shelter dogs and cats. He inspired me. The earliest memories are the purest of heart.
I think we should name him. I was just eight years old and thought the camp people were being nice. They were getting rid of vermin. He saved my life from frostbite. To this day I regret his demise.
Nathan and Mickey, I know you’re taking care of him up in the big blue sky. He inspired your unique personalities. At age eight, I did get a sense of what to do but forces were overwhelming and I didn’t have Dad to help. There were no cell phones, even land lines, there.
Paladin, “Pala to me” means character, nobility and courage. He saved my life. Cheers, Dee
Cooking with Dee 
I thank Chani, too, my old dog that let Mickey share her bed for a year. Dogs used to run away from home to visit my and “mom Chani’s” Mick outside the window. I’d get a call early morning. Is he there? Hold on, let me look…. yep. I’ll take him inside and wait for you to drive up. Luckily our current old dog Zoe, as a pup, got used to a cat who slept outside our door and walked with us 8 times per day. We were the Brute Squad, me, Zoe, Meow Meow and a mockingbird that wanted to kill Meow Meow. Parade or brigade, Zoe is kind to humans big and small, and cats that don’t run from her. She’s a murderer, killing two mice in her life but will never get a squirrel or bunny.