A Second Chance?

By John Kubicek

Just a little more than a month ago (May 19), a strange thing happened at work. We see a few feral felines out at my work site which is in a rural area. But until May 19, I had never seen a domesticated cat out there. That is when I met Pearse.

Unfortunately, pet owners in this part of Iowa, since the flood last year, and because of the economy, have been having problems with either finding places to live that allow pets, or they found they couldn't afford the expense of providing for their pets, or both. So, thinking that the cat was most likely "dumped" by an owner, I took him home with me that morning.

There are times when we have have good intentions, but end up having unintended consequences. On the Saturday before Memorial Day, I was able to take Pearse into the Veterinarian for a check up. The Vet removed a tick from the outside of his ear, gave Pearse the needed initial shots, and put a little flea and tic repellent between Pearse's shoulders. Up until that Vet appointment, Pearse was my little shadow.

Strangely, though, after that appointment, Pearse started doing all he could to not be seen. He started hiding. At first, I was able to find his hiding places. But I also noticed that he had scratched his ear really bad where the tick had been removed. But then, he started scratching his back where the flea and tick stuff (Revolution)was applied, and it became infected. And then, it got to where I couldn't even find him, as his "hiding places" got to be where he knew I wouldn't be able to find him. I wanted to get him back the Vet, but towards the first part of June, I was not able to find him at all. He had found such a good spot to hide, I wasn't able to find him for almost two days.

And then, on June 3, as I was getting ready to go to bed, he came out of hiding. I didn't know it, but apparently Pearse came out of hiding that day to say goodbye. When I got up to get ready for work that night, Moochie (my dog) and I found him; little Pearse had passed away.

Needless to say, I was feeling very bad about that for the last several weeks. Not only did I greatly miss him, I also felt that I was somehow responsible to Pearse's ultimate demise. And, quite honestly and understandably, I also had no desire to get a "replacement cat."

I had that attitude right up until Father's Day, this past Sunday. That was when my attitude was drastically altered, for the good! That night, just as I was getting ready to depart for work, my neighbor knocked on my door. I have to think this scenario had been perfectly choreographed. The first thing my neighbor said was, "I think I've found a replacement cat for you," and seconds later, around the corner of his house, comes this cat. The cat looked exactly like Pearse. My neighbor and I talked for a few minutes, I had a few questions, and I finally told Greg (my neighbor) that I would have to think about it, being that I was just getting ready to leave for work.

I got to work at about 10:00 PM, and I bet it wasn't 20 minutes before I decided that I wanted to adopt the cat. But I still sought advice from my co-workers. Most felt that I SHOULD take in the new cat. And it's ironic, because some of the information I had been told about the cat by my neighbor wasn't exactly accurate. I mean, the information that I had available at the time I was speaking with the co-workers about adopting the cat, was much like George W. Bush's information about WMD in Iraq when he made the decision to go to war.

I made the decision, then, while I was at work, that I would adopt the cat. My plan was, when I got home from work Monday morning, I would look up Greg, the neighbor, and find out where the cat was. My decision was to adopt the "replacement cat" was so solid, that when I was at work, I thought of a name for the cat. It was a no brainger, too. I named him RC. That makes sense, right? Think, "Replacement Cat"!

But instead of having to try to contact Greg, the neighbor, something happened that was the deal maker. Just after getting my dog outside to the fenced in yard, as I was heading back to the house, I heard the "meow," and there he was! And there you go! He (RC) was a new member of the family.

So, despite the few minor skirmeshes between RC and my dog Moochie, everyone is very happy! RC, like Pearse was when I first brought him home, is my shadow. I'm getting a second chance! It was meant to be.

I was wondering what kind of point I was going to make with this column, as I was writing the above. After all, this blog is usually about politics. I'm not going to disappoint you, as I just saw something breaking in the news today. It is very, very sad. What I'm talking about is the story about S.C. Governor Mark Sanford. He "disappeared" for a week. Today, a shocking press conference, where he admits to an extramarital affair. To top it all, Gov. Sanford was actually a potential candidate for the Republican nomination for President for 2012. This is shocking, to say the least. His political career is probably down the drain, not to mention that his marriage will be difficult to keep together. It would be difficult to believe that Gov. Sanford's political career will have a second chance.

All this happens just when I was going to write about the fact that how Obama deals with North Korea and Iran could be deal makers or breakers. I was going to mention the fact that if Obama is wrong about the potential threats, America is in great jeopardy. If the President is EVER wrong about how his foreign policy is run, I'm afraid that he will also not get a second chance. A nuclear attack on America could result in a solid blow against our lives and our liberty as we know it in America.

I was lucky. I got a second chance, an opportunity to make things right with the adoption of my new little buddy, RC. And this wasn't the first time I've been allowed a "second chance." I'm afraid that Gov. Mark Sandford, though, won't be able to get by this in his political career. He's not going to be as lucky as former President Clinton. I will pray that Sanford does have a chance to resolve the marital issues, and that won't be easy, but that will be his only opportunity for a "second chance."

But will Obama get a "second chance" should he be wrong with how he deals with Iran and North Korea? Will America get a "second chance" if we are attacked by terrorists, Iran, or North Korea with a WMD?

And can we always expect a "second chance?" No. However, don't pile on me when I tell you that sometimes a "second chance" can come along, and it is up to us to know when we can reconcile our past mistakes. Hopefully, there will be a mistake America made by electing Barack Obama that we will still have a chance to resolve in November of 2012.

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