Their last hurrah

The amazing young men of Jackie Robinson West spent Labor Day at Wrigley Field, strengthening their hold on our hearts.

Before the game, the Little League National champions toured the clubhouse and sat in the dugout, wearing official Cub jerseys while the Cubs wore their shirts. (Here's Vabuena meeting with the kids.) Then they walked along the ivy, letting the Wrigley faithful cheer them. They sang the stretch, too.

That was yesterday. Today they take the Safe Passage back to school. That's a phrase I hope you never hear in your town. Safe Passage Routes are supervised by parents, volunteers and the police to help children get to and from school without being shot.

I'm not kidding. Here's the official site.

That's how bad gun violence is in the south and west side. And that's where these fine kids are from. This is how they live. No wonder they are our heroes.

Another reason

When mentally making my list of pros and cons for keeping Jeri/Jerry (below), I completely forgot a very serious reason --

Connie's eye trouble. She has an incurable infection. I dose her twice a day with L-lysine HCL, and it's made quite a difference. During her months at the shelter, and for her first few weeks here, her eyes were runny and sensitive to light. Thanks to extra amino acids and a reduction of stress, her eyes are clear. But while the infection may be dormant, it remains and it's contagious and it would have been so irresponsible to expose a 12 week old kitten to it. The virus was never a threat to Joe because he'd been vaccinated against it regularly over the last 15+ years. But the poor kitten would have no defenses.

On a happier note, Connie continues to become a bigger part of our lives. She's
very chatty, like Charlotte was, which helps me when I miss my heart-to-hearts with my major domo. There's a big difference in that Charlotte always seemed to try to convey something to me, whereas Connie's and my dialog consists of, "Look at me!" "OK!" But of course, Connie is her own girl, not a shadow Charlotte.

She's figured out that the kitty condo is more than a scratching post and perch for Reynaldo. She now knows she can curl up inside to sleep. She seems quite satisfied with her new discovery.