Published: April 08, 2008 02:26 pm            

Love the animals, but remember the people

I’m trying to prioritize.

Animals need someone to look after them. But I worry about people, too, and there are some who need a hand.

For me, it’s been easier, and honestly, more fun, to spend time with the homeless cats and dogs. They bark, play fetch and rub up against your leg. People — well, most of them — don’t do that.

I love visiting the animal shelter. There’s a weird-looking, square-faced cat there named Arnold who I’ve become buddies with. I never used to be a cat person. Allie, our mischievous, bossy, 21-pound attack cat helped change that; now I like dogs and cats.

In fact, after our cat died in January, I started noticing a little stray living in the woods near our home. I put out some of our leftover Allie food. Temperatures were so cold, I reasoned, it was probably hard to hunt for food.

Whenever I opened the door, that little stray cat sprinted away. A month later, and she’s sleeping at the end of our bed, curled up in a “C” between my wife’s ankles. And she absolutely refuses to leave the house (the cat, not my wife).

The point is, I felt bad when I saw that cat outside, especially when it dropped way below zero while the wind really kicked up.

It took me a few days to remember, “There were people out there, too.”

People talk about the number of children whose parents are homeless. These kids spend winter nights in the back seat of a car, in a tent or, if they’re lucky, on the floor of a family friend’s apartment.

But lately, when I think about homelessness I don’t think about the children shivering as they get ready for school in the morning. That’s because one out of every four homeless people is now said to be a military veteran. Army Rangers have a rule about never leaving a man behind. And while my unit was more the kind that had rules about making sure all paperwork was properly signed and dated, we still cared about each other and our fellow soldiers.

So here I am, rescuing a stray cat while I’m leaving my brothers to freeze. And I’ve met a homeless vet. It was a few years ago, when I was interviewing the boss from the Ottumwa Community Outreach Center, Pauline Spurgeon. It was her 70th birthday, and she was participating in a sleepout to raise awareness of homelessness and to raise money for a men’s homeless shelter on the top floor of their building.

While she left the park to go take care of some business, I met a bunch of the homeless guys who came over to participate, and got to talking to one who was a few years younger than me. Turns out he had gotten out of the Army a couple years earlier. He was uncomfortable about the idea of accepting handouts, and he was living in the park.

What did I do? I left him there.

I know it feels good to help animals. I just don’t want to forget my fellow human beings.

There are people who hit a point in their lives when they need some help. Yes, I know, teach a man to fish and all that. But while you’re teaching a hungry, homeless man to fish, let’s give the guy a sandwich. And a warm place to sleep.



Mark Newman writes for Ottumwa (Iowa) Daily Courier. He can be reached at mgnewman@mchsi.com

        

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