One little smile to share, at least.
"Miss Iris Davis, a nineteen year old from Clapham, London is a volunteer worker of the Dumb Friends Leagues, and spends a great deal of time recovering cats with the aid of a "lassoo" from the debris of bombed house. So far she has rescued six hundred of these feline strays, 8 November 1940."
[Dumb Friends is an animal rescue organization, if the name seems odd. Chapters exist today under that name.]
It's remarkable what one person can do.
I would guess the name refers to the animals' inability to speak.
@MLClark It's called the dumb friends league because animals cannot speak in words.
"dumb" used to mean a person was mute or incapable of intellible speech.
The dumb friends league exists to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves - our animal companions.
I am aware.
The funny thing is, I debated putting that explanation into my post, then decided against it. I stuck to a simple note meant to reassure anyone who might have found it confusing instead.
But since two people have now tried to explain the meaning to me, I guess I should never leave an opportunity open to be presumed ignorant.
We live and learn!
That said, no shade against your summation! You offered a lovely and straight-forward one, with good intentions. Cheers.
@MLClark I just figured if anyone _did_ find it confusing, they might want to hear the reason why. : )
@MLClark Sorry. Ugh. I think I accidentally mansplained. I didn't mean it! I promise to wash my mouth out with soap!
Nah, I'm not a big fan of accusing people of 'splaining. Most of the time, someone is just trying to be helpful and share knowledge. That's how I read this for sure - and it'll improve how I write my own posts, going forward, so thank you for the incentive to sharpen my prose!
@MLClark I cogitated some more on this.
I didn't _mean_ to come across that way, but so many people _do_ mansplain that I don't want it to look like this is a place where it's accepted.
We really have only appearances and our guts to go on. I was pretty sure you'd get that I meant well, but I might have embodied a spirit I didn't intend to for others. ; )
I'm trying to clean up my karma for the big "thing" coming up, and all. A lot to process before I move on to the next gig.
I hear that. I'm also working on "cleaning up" right now.
In the last week, I've had to work through pain I've caused myself & others because of a level of empathy that isn't healthy: not a virtue; a risk factor.
It frustrates me that I can't find a better balance. I want so much to live in peace, but I don't always respond properly when people are "drowning" around me. Catering to others' desperate needs isn't always the right call.
So--still working to be a better human, too.
We'll figure it out, though.
If I'm not mistaken, we have a catch-up date on the far side of Jupiter a few centuries from now. You in a feline form. I haven't decided on my own yet.
Either way--
We'll have a good laugh then, at how much we fretted over trying to be better humans in this lifetime. (At least, if we care to remember how bloody hard it was to be alive in these times at all. I hope that bar off Jupiter serves stiff drinks for the occasion!)
Night, Luce.
Dream well.
@MLClark Hyena. When you say felid, I'll launch into a well-meaning pedantic rant, because I'll assume everyone wants to know! That's how you'll know it's me!
Oh no, I'd just forgotten and didn't look it up! Hyenas are fantastic; I look forward to it. Our laughter will surely carry across the station then. :)
@MLClark Awesome 😎 Good for her and the organization! 🤗