Putin's Goodbye

As NPR detailed the meeting between President Bush and President Putin, a stray kitten was brought into our home. And without a name, Daddy jokingly named him Putin. It stuck. Ten years later, as Alec and I were getting on Route 15 in Camp Hill, my family called. Putin had died that morning. While Mother imparted the news, we approached a stop light, and heard it: a meow. Maybe a cat was wandering the roadside beside our car. But no, as we accelerated onto the highway at 60 mph, another meow. And another. Calm and clear meows. A last goodbye.