Gary's Third Pottery Blog

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WRITE TO ME! garyrith@yahoo.com Come see me! Open studio HERE! November 25-26 (11-4 each day); Aurora Art and Design, daily until 12/24; Cooperstown Art Assoc. daily until 12/24; Ellis Hollow Community Fair, 12/10; December 10, Little Red Wagon at the Space at Greenstar. All material on this blog unless stated otherwise is copyright Gary Edward Rith 2016

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

letters to .......

The wife had been talking to her friend Zee about a writing exercise: who would you write a letter to? Zee would say "the celestial rolodex is always open" and when you think about it, that is true, I mean, you could write to JFK, your grandmother in heaven, your spouse, who is NOT yet in heaven, your friends, anybody! What would you say to them? Doesn't mean you have to send it, maybe you would burn the letter, but you have to consider the value in writing a message to somebody for YOURSELF, because saying it can change you and express something bottled up in you that needs to come out. Or you could share. Like, in my case, reading my letter to my cat TO my cat. Please go to comments and tell us who you would want to write to and why, and, well, feel free to whatever---here is mine:

Letter to my cat Spike:

Dear Spike--You have been home with us for 4 years and you are just such a delight. You were at the shelter for 4 months while I volunteered there, and I tried to get somebody to adopt you, being the friendliest cat of the hundreds there, and it is lucky that the shelter does not euthanize cats after 2 weeks. (what a horrible thought!) Anyway, you came home with us, and that is all that matters.

Our old dog Buster, your brother, is really quite tired and frail. You sleep next to him every day. When he comes in from outside you greet him at the door. You kiss him, purr to him. He gets excited to see you and the 2 of you clown around, as much as Buster is able, and then the 2 of you fall asleep together. What kind of awesome cat takes care of an elderly dog? You do, and I love you so much for it, for making Buster's last days worthwhile, so that he has a small friend to keep him company and play with when I am not around.

I love you Spike, thanks so much for coming to us. Gary

16 comments:

denis said...

Dude, your letter to Spike got me all emotional. I'll write a letter when my emotions settle down and I can think clearly.

Gary's third pottery blog said...

made me all teary, writing it

Deborah said...

Aww, that's a great letter Gary! I wrote a letter to my dad after he died and put it in his urn. It helped a lot to write it all down. I'd probably write a letter to a former friend of mine... we were fairly close until she wrote a blog and revealed that she didn't believe Obama was a citizen. So after I called her on that and gave her what I felt were logical and fair reasons why she was wrong, she pretty much told me to get out of her life. And a few months down the road now, it still kind of stings. Maybe I should write that letter. No point in sending it though, it won't make a difference.

cm said...

Went to the comments first, and if denis got teary (being the tough guy that he is), there's no way I'm going to read the post itself. :-)

Kimberly said...

Your letter reminds me of Saki's story "Tobermory". The story is about his cat who learns to talk and...well....its really not good to teach an animal the power of speech when you have frequent visitors.

I'll write a letter to my garden.

Dear Garden,
I have always loved you. This summer you have tested my endurance and my back's ability to bend low. The weather has been like a sodden rag and has made the earth sticky and laden with blight. I thought you loved me but I see now I am only another farmer trying to squeeze produce from your blanket of soil. You are hostile when I need you to be comforting. You give your vegetables in stingy groups...some covered with blight and others chewed by rabbits. I thought you loved me but now I see I mean nothing to your six month debut. Goodbye garden...until May. Perhaps our relationship will flourish with the flowers and squash. Sincerely and with love,
Kim

Elizabeth Grimes said...

Aw! Spike is a lucky cat. I would write a letter to Dolly Parton. :) I think she's amazing.

Hilary said...

Aww that's so sweet. It's amazing how sensitive and caring our furry babies can be. Lovely sentiments.

Michèle Hastings said...

that first picture of Spike is absolutely beautiful.
i would or should write a letter to my man JZ, it's been nearly 3 years since he died and I am really missing him lately.

k.a. barnes said...

Oh, Gary, how sweet. What a great cat Spike is. And what a great owner you are to recognize his special-ness! I think I might write to my grandfather. When he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease back in the late 60s, his family asked him what he wanted to see or do before he died- go to Paris? Sail around the world? The only thing he wanted was to see a grandchild. So even though my dad had just returned from Vietnam and was learning to live with his injuries (and minus one leg) and was back in school, he and my mom had me for my grandpa. Apparently he was nuts over me- wouldn't let anyone else have me if he was around- even my mom couldn't hold me if he was there. He died when I was 6 months old. I'd like to check in with him- hope I lived up to his expectations!

Unknown said...

This is truly a wonderful post, and gives each of us inside into just how loving and caring we truly are. All of us always putting up the "Brave Face" to survive, but this states who we really are......Love your letter!
I would write to my Mother, Grace, and of course George's Mom, Dorothy. I never wrote a letter to them, but talk to them all the time (in my thoughts). Words cannot express my missing them, and all my beloved animals friends who have passed on. Here is a true story:
When I lost my Mom, shortly after I had to put down one of my most beloved Pugs. I had a waking dream, so real you could touch it. I saw this brick building with a window in it and lovely lace curtains. All of a sudden my Mom appeared in the window, smiling, and waving to me. All of a sudden she motioned to me to wait, bent down in the window, and pulled up my dearest Pug, Thurston. She hugged him, and smooched his head, and then took his tiny paw and waved it at me. It made my heart hurt to see my dearest friends, and beloveds on the other side, but at the same time, I knew it really was my Mom and that it was real, not imagined. I wasn't even thinking of it when it happend.
When my Mom was dying of cancer I took her daily for Chemo, after we always went to lunch, and then after she would say, " I can't go home until I get my "Pug Fix", she said, "I know I am leaving this plane of existence soon, so I want to feel the people and pets as much as I can so I can take that with me". I will never forget what she said, and I realize just what is really important, not fame, not money, LOVE!
Never had another dream since like that, and will carry it with me always. She would definitely get a letter along with Dorothy, and all their dogs, and mine.....From the heart....

Joyful Things said...

When people say that animals have no emotions they need a swift kick in the pants. Spike and Buster are just one example of that. We need to treat all animals a little kinder (not you Gary, you already have that mastered perfectly).

My letter would be written to God. I have much to say about things that need fixing.

Anonymous said...

That post made me cry, our pets are wonderful creatures and hold very special places in our hearts. How lovely that Spike and Buster have each other.

Unknown said...

Your letter made me cry. I heart Spike.

Can I borrow your prompt for my own blog?

I love that idea!

Love,

Susan

gz said...

I'd write to my Man, Col, who said on his last morning, you need to find someone who'll care for you and love you and understand. It is just four months and someone has found me,and he wants to do just that. So soon, I'm a little scared and I'd ask what should I do.
He'd be happy too that I'm working in the walled garden of a friend, just one day a week, a place that he liked.
I'd thank him for showing me the paths I'm taking, but say "help" it is all happening too fast and I need one of your bearhugs.

Reverend Awesome said...

That letter was really beautiful, Gary. Even though your animals can't read your letter they can feel it by how much you love them. Everyday they have you showing them how much they mean to you. They are lucky little creatures and I know you feel lucky to be their human friend.

This is a hard question. I'd write a lot of letters. I'd write my Grandpa Wayne and let him know how I turned out. He died when I was young and I don't remember all that much about our time together. I remember him at the hospital, hating his food and letting Will eat it all! I'd write to my Grandma Margaret to make sure she knows how much she taught me. Not just the baking, but she was the kind of person I strive to be. High school friends that left too soon. I'd let them know the mark they left on my life, in the short time they were here. I'd write to my little Dink-E. I can't type anymore in this comment cuz I'm crying at work!

Knight said...

That was the sweetest letter and I can't handle thinking about this. So I'll just write another love letter to Dean Martin.

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I am a full-time studio potter, sculptor, and dog walker, married to superhawt Missus Tastycake.