What a great story, Bobert! But then, I am a sucker for dog stories. Sometimes the Lord provides in mysterious ways. My first Christmas living in Stamford, Connecticut (where I ended up living most of my adult life) I was flat broke and living in a pretty scummy upstairs apartment in a house that was later razed to make a parking lot. But, it was within walking distance of the center of town, and I couldn't afford a car, so it was a place to live. A couple of weeks before Christmas, I was walking home when a big truck came rumbling by, stacked to the top with Christmas trees. Just after if passed me, one of the trees fell off in the middle of the street. I started yelling at the truck, but they couldn't hear me and disappeared around the corner. So what's a fella to do? I walked out into the street and picked up the Christmas tree, hoisted it up on my shoulder and carried home. Feeling very primal. It was the most beautiful Christmas tree I ever had, and I decorated it with little odds and ends that I had around the apartment. And threw a lot of tinsel on it.

My cats loved the tree. They especially loved eating the tinsel. At first I was concerned about what the tinsel would do to them, but I soon discovered it was only passing through. It all came out in the end, and it gave new meaning to the phrase "Silver threads among the gold."

Jerry