Saturday, April 09, 2011



Today was the kind of day that may have a day that Lauren (8) will never forget. It is a day that might help her cope with existence in a healthy way. Today Lauren became aware of death. She is much too young to connect the death of another being with hers. But it has a occurred at a pretty young age. I am sure that children in war zones are probably more adept at identifying the existence of this inevitability than Lauren. But in this safe area that is Vancouver today’s events will have to do.


Lauren was playing in the front garden underneath what she calls “my secret bush”. “I saw what looked like a rock. I picked it up. Come Papi let me show you.” I told her to bring it. It was a skull. To me it looked like a cat’s. The area where Lauren found it was not far from where I buried Rosemary’s cat, Toby on Friday February 12, 2010. I had taken him to the SPCA to be put down as he was very sick and very old (18).

I came home with the dead Toby wrapped in a SPCA towel and inside a cardboard box. I buried him. In the years that I we have been on Athlone Street (1986) I have buried four cats. Toby was my fifth. This was something that Rosemary did not want to know but every once in a while both of my granddaughters would ask, “Where did you bury Polilla?” I can understand their curiosity as we all are aware of death in some way and we are attracted to some knowledge of it.




Toby, February 2010

 I told Lauren, “Pick up Casi (the male cat that is Rosemary’s that took the place of the dead Toby) and let’s open his mouth. Let’s see if the teeth are similar.” Casi ran away but we were later able to ID the skull not only as that of a cat but that of Casi. Rebecca and Lauren went back to where the skull had been and they found several small bones plus some fur attached to hide. The hide was gray. Toby had been gray. Rosemary was shocked and told us to get rid of the skull. Rebecca suggested a respectful burial. I tried to explain that no matter how much we had loved the cat it was an animal and that we could place his (its?) skull were I have Ale’s cow skull (she brought it from one of her trips to the American Southwest) in the back garden.

Toby, Papi & Lauren Jan 2010

That evening when I was about to take Lauren back to her home from an evening with her at the theatre (tomorrow’s blog will be an account of it) she told me in the car,” I have to tell Mama when I get home what I found today.” I don’t think that the step between the existence of the cat she played with last year and its skull yesterday had quite made the run of logic. It will come to her some day soon. When that run of logic happens it will be something she will never forget.

Le Roi est Mort -vive le Roi!