Saving Pup
I am an accidental animal rescuer. I don’t go out of my way to rescue animals, like some of my more heroic friends, who devote most of their free time and energy to abused and abandoned animals. I’m a nomad, and you need to be settled and have ample resources for that kind of mission. Instead, animals in need find me. A street cat howls under my window until I let her in, feed her, and listen to her tale of woe for a couple of hours (1). A feral farm cat tames himself by inching closer and closer, meowing softly so as not to frighten me away, until we are fast friends (2). A cat follows me down a road to my door and then demands food. A wounded dog trots up to me, puts his paw on my knee and looks up beseechingly. Well, what do you do? You help them.
Pup is the most recent example. She was shivering, weak, sick, terrified and hungry when she found me in a Nepali lane. Once our eyes met she had me. I picked her up, thinking I could get her into an animal shelter, which is almost impossible here except in the most extreme cases (3). Finding a home for her here hasn’t worked out either and my visa is expiring, so I am taking her on to India where I have a good lead on a home for her.
But taking a dog to India turns out to be an expensive and arduous process and I am not in a position to do it alone. So I started an Indiegogo campaign for her here, where you can read more about her. Can you spare ten bucks to help a special dog find her love connection? Thank you.
(1) Irma La Douce found me in Paris in 2004 and went to live with my Dad in Canada in 2005. She was a forest cat and loved Canada so much–big trees, huge yards, mice galore and a family that loved her–she didn’t miss me at all when I left. When we had to put her down in 2009, the vet found a faded and blurry tattoo in her ear. Only a few letters were visible, but they told the vet the cat was at least 21 years old. She had lived 16 years already when she came to me.
(2) Norton lived in a barn in Wahoo, Alberta for several years. He was wild and aggressive at first, but became a love bug. Unfortunately, the coyotes got him. RIP. Great cat.
(3) Mango.
Read this: Rescued by a Rescue Dog
Read more.
Where Dreaming Takes Us
I love architecture, and I especially love conceptual architecture with a practical heart. This Dutch architect working in China is one of my favorites.
“FREEZE is a response to the rising need to achieve a non-political space.
A space that can absorb the lives and ideas of an evolved humanity. A space that is highly utopian yet painfully necessary at a time of increased global tension, diminished democracy and intensified censorship. A space void of territorial concerns. A futuristic Noah’s Ark of ideas roaming freely as the world’s sea levels are rising.” Neville Mars, Adrian Hornsby
Pan American Airways
I haven’t seen the TV show yet. Is it any good? I’m a big Pan Am history fan, since I was a kid in landlocked Northern Alberta clutching my atlas to my heart. Their posters are the stuff of dreams
Pan Am represented adventure in far-flung places, made less distant by jet travel. Although I never wanted to be a “stewardess,” I always admired their sense of adventure, professionalism and glamour.
The show is set in 1963 so (SPOILER ALERT)… Read more 
