Don't bury that cat just yet...

 I learned this week what SMH means.  I hate to admit, I thought it might be a cuss word….

For those of you as uninformed as I was, SMH is “shaking my head.”  Good expression that says a lot.  I am SMH over Baltimore; I am SMH over situations in my friends’ marriages; I am SMH over our political culture.  But I think SMH probably needs a new one – perhaps SHO would work – “screaming head off.”  Or how about DS – “dumbstruck”.  Even better, PHO – “pulling hair out!” 

As I thought of these expressions, it reminded me of a great story the prosecutor in Roane County told at the local Christmas dinner.  Josh Downey is the prosecutor over there, married to Amy Williams, the Mayor’s daughter – great young couple!  Forgive me, Josh, if I get some of these details wrong – my menopausal brain sometimes mixes things up.  Josh and Amy had three cats:  Kitty, Boy Kitty and Black Kitty.  Imaginative, I know.  One morning as Josh pulled out to go to work, he sees Boy Kitty lying in the middle of the road, having been hit by a car.  He pulls over, carefully picks up Boy Kitty, goes back to the house, puts him in a box in the garage, and Boy Kitty lies in state all day while he is at work.

When he arrives home, he gets Boy Kitty, takes him to the backyard, digs a hole for his burial, and then gathers up Kitty and Black Kitty.  He forces Kitty and Black Kitty to take a good hard look at their brother, instructing them that this is what will happen to them if they play in the road.  He then conducts a service (Amy is at a meeting), telling a few stories of what a great cat Boy Kitty was, lets his brother and sister mourn a bit and then covers his grave.

When Amy arrives home, he gives her the news of the day, and she mourns for Boy Kitty as well.  A couple days go by and it’s Sunday, and they get up for church.  Josh is downstairs in the kitchen and sees a shadow go by the window.  He jerks his head around – was that Boy Kitty that just passed by on the porch?  He runs outside, and yep, it’s Boy Kitty all right.  He rushes over, checking him for debris and dirt from the grave.  He’s clean.  He looks him over carefully, head to toe.  Yup, it’s truly Boy Kitty.  They head to the back yard to check the grave.  Intact.  Boy Kitty has been miraculously resurrected!  Well, sort of.  Seems he has buried the neighbor’s cat…..
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We have gotten a ton of laughs out of this one – Josh tells the story so well, just giving the right inflections when speaking of his “This could happen to you” instructions.  In thinking of the things that are going on in my life, in other people’s lives, the unbelievable things that leave you shaking you head, or pulling your hair out, or screaming your head off – always know, God is in control; He is on your side; He has a plan!  And don’t go burying any cats without fingerprinting them first – LOL!