Have you ever wondered why the love we feel for our pets often feels deeper, purer and stronger than the love we feel for most people? It’s simple, animals love without conditions, they don’t care about your past, your mistakes, or your failures. They don’t judge the way you look, how much money you have, or how successful you are. They only care about how you make them feel, safe, loved, and cared for. People can be complicated. Love from humans often comes with expectations, conditions, and sometimes even betrayal. But our pets, they stay, they love us through every mood, every breakdown, and every dark moment. They sense our emotions in ways no person ever could. They know when we’re hurting, even when we force a smile. They sit beside us in silence, asking for nothing in return, no advice, no judgment, just presence, and maybe that’s why it hurts so much when they’re gone.
Because they were the one constant in a world full of uncertainty, they were the ones who loved us at our worst, in ways people never could. So yes, maybe we love our pets more than people, because their love is the kind we all crave, pure, loyal and without limits. They are more than animals, they are family, they are home, they are everything.
I feel it’s time to thank all the volunteers who give of their time to help keep our highways free of litter. About three times a year, volunteers gather and walk the shoulders of our highways and pick up the litter that ignorant, uncaring drivers throw out their car and truck windows. If you’ve recently traveled a state highway, you probably noticed the white trash bags bunched together along the highway shoulder. These trash bags will be picked up by Mdot trucks and be properly disposed of. You’ll see these volunteers again in a few months. When approaching them, slow down and give them a little room and maybe a “Thumbs Up” for a job well done. It would be great if these volunteers weren’t needed to clean up someone else’s trash, but I’m sure it won’t happen in my lifetime. My kudos to those volunteers in the orange vests.
Memorial Day will be here in just about a month. This is the time when we pay tribute to those veterans who have passed. The Three Rivers VFW will host a parade and cemetery ceremony on Monday, May 26. The parade will step off at 10 AM at the corner of North Main Street and Kelsey. It will proceed south to Michigan Avenue, where it will turn east toward Riverside Cemetery. The parade will stop at the Portage River bridge for a brief tribute to those sailors who have been lost at sea. After arriving at Riverside Cemetery, there will be a reading of those veterans who have passed this last year, followed by a rifle volley and Taps offered by the American Legion Honor Guard. Those interested in being in the parade, should contact Norm Stutesman at (269)506-2620. The parade will start forming at 9:30 AM on Monday, May 26.
Two things you might not know about:
The San Francisco cable cars are the only mobile national monuments.
If a statue in the park of a person on a horse that has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died because of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
You don’t find this kind of information in the New York Times.
See you Out and About!
Norm Stutesman lives in Three Rivers. He receives mail at P.O. Box 103 in Three Rivers.
