Feline Supremacy

I don't hate cats, I actually respect them. But I don't really connect with them. Maybe it's because they make me feel like this is their world and they are just tolerating me a mere human. With dogs I feel more masterful. I get respect from my dog.
There is a cat at the neighborhood video store who is the perfect example of a "Feline Supremist". He is this big Orange Tabby named Martin after the infamous Filmmaker Martin Scorsese. When I say big I mean he must be a 30 pounder and you can't miss him. His basket is set up in the front window so that he can keep an I on the patrons as they enter and leave the premises. When Martin walks around the video store you know that he knows it is his territory. He has this heir about him that is so convincing, so powerful that if you for some reason couldn't see that he is a cat, You would have no doubt in your mind that he was the owner of the store.
There was a kitten at the same store for a time. He was grey and his name was Kirk. He is no longer there. I assume that perhaps he was hired on as a personal assistant to Martin and he was either let go or he just couldn't take the pressure of working for the big guy.
I often walk my dog to the video store. I have to tie her up to a pole outside the front door. She whines, whimpers and yelps the entire time I am in the store until I return. I am Master.

The Blind Side

Have you ever been blindsided? I was yesterday when I lost my job. I didn't see that one coming. It was a good job too. My coworkers were great, I wasn't confined to my desk, I met a lot of unique people, I had a company car, laptop and cell phone. But even just last week I confided in my wife that there have only been two places that I have worked at in the last 20 years where I felt confident that I was using my gifts and truly making a difference. Those places were Wagner Hills Farm Society, a recovery center for men with addictions and MCC SCS now Communitas Supportive Care, a NPO dedicated to supporting people with disabilities. Everything else has ultimately given me no fulfillment or purpose. I have learned a lot though. Especially in this last job. I have been mentored by a great visionary and entrepreneur and my imediate superior taught me the importance of good communication and attention to detail. I have picked up some very valuable tools to use in any future endevor. I have also learned that I have been trying for too long to put a square in a round hole (as my good friend James put it). I know where my gifts lay and that God wants me to use them for him. Thanks y'all for the supportive encouragement that I have been receiving. I am unusually at peace knowing that God has something just right in store for me and that my family will be supported.

What's Your Normal?

I meet a lot of strangers throughout my work week and because of the nature of my job I get to enter their homes and I get to see their "Normal". Guess what, there are a lot of crazy people out there. At least that is what I thought at first, but as time goes on and I visit more and more people in their homes I realize that there can't possibly be that many crazies roaming about freely. I accept people the way they are now.
We all have quirks that make us different from one another. Our families and friends all adjust to our quirks and we adjust to theirs and soon the quirks are forgotten altogether. That is what normal is. So the muslim woman who insisted on feeding me a meal after I measured her bathroom was normal. The man who could only afford to live in a small condo with his family yet spent thousands of dollars on fixing  his cat's broken leg 4 times only to finally have it amputate was normal. The lesbian couple who couldn't decide on products and called me at 10PM on a Sunday to tell me that they were coming to the stoe the next morning and spent 8 hours looking before deciding were a bit neurotic certainly, but completely normal. I wonder what strangers think of me when they catch a glimpse of my normal.