By Nellie Curtiss….
Friends of SLV Cats Alive! donated exercise bikes and I thankfully was gifted one for Christmas via Lisa Karst and her beau. They brought it by the other day for me to try out along with another. The one I chose was accessible for me and seemed safe for me. The other was a step higher almost like I was hoisting up on a horse.
Back in August, my doctor’s prescription included building cardiac muscle and the staff at the Cardiac Rehab unit at the Rio Grande Hospital in Del Norte introduced me to the exercise bike.
So, here I am watching Strategic Air Command (SAC) starring Jimmy Stewart and me pedaling for health. Climbing on an exercise bike seems a lot like scaling onto those B36 cold-war peacekeeper monsters and through the 80-foot trolley tunnel to the gunnery station. This movie is a reminder of my childhood growing up on United States Air Force Bases and most Strategic Air Commands.
Premiering in 1955, the purpose of the movie seems to have been to educate the public about SAC and its role in “keeping peace during the cold war.” There was a world ripe with angst, a Berlin wall that separated families, poised reconnoiters, and movie spies like James Bond.
In the story, Stewart is a pilot who is responsible for his crew and makes sure as difficulty with an engine erupts in fire and keeps the plane flying high enough that his airmen jump and deploy their parachutes while he crashes the plane in the Alaskan mountains. His general speaks and “Dutch” earns another plane, a new B47.
Lisa is like this pilot as she is conscientious as she follows trap-neuter-release protocols and for the cats recuperating after surgery. This community cat program is ongoing like the mission of Col. Dutch in this movie. She puts out “fires” and manages the donations of food, writing grants as she can and securing veterinarian personnel for spay and neuter clinics. She is a supporter of all the rescues in the Valley, the new Dumb Friends League, and keeps the social network profile steady.
A few years ago, I began volunteering under Marge’s governance of CatsAlive!SLV. The colony of cats that I look out for is one of many she keeps an eye out for. Every little creature who has been TNR’d is watched for health and emotional connections. At my place, two “mama kitties” recognize me and wait for me to unpack their dinner. Since racoons are scavengers and have tried more than once to retrieve morsels meant for the cats on my deck, the dishes are gathered up every nightfall.
While Stewart as Col. Dutch reacted to dispatched orders, Lisa and her community caretakers also respond to social media posts of lost and dear cats. We keep the posts in our hearts as we keep a keen eye out for the missing family member.
The movie has brought back so many memories and indebted thoughts for this time in our lives. How sweet it is to have a working exercise bike to pedal toward cardiac health; how happy I am to work with Lisa and other cat champions; how sweet it is to have God’s creatures purring and happy around me; how precious it is to hear from family and friends and remember the Christmases around the world while my dad served our country fighting the cold war all those years ago. How heartened I am to know that we have men like Jimmy Stewart’s character and others flanking our United States of America metaphorical wings.
God bless America and happy holidays to all.
Movin’ On With Nellie from December 19, 2020
Columns by nellie 