Negative e-mail, and a cat going blind

I think I may have offended Hubby's sister, my sister-in-law. Last night I received another one of those hate-filled e-mails that slam Democrats. This one made reference to Chappaquiddick (I know I misspelled that one!) and Ted Kennedy's unfortunate auto accident back in about 1968. It's amazing how Republicans just can't let anything go. Anyway, she was the one who sent the e-mail, and for some reason last night I had Had Enough. You already know that I hold Senator Kennedy in very high esteem, and that e-mail was the last straw. I did manage not to send back anything hostile, and after a couple of false starts I finally managed to compose an e-mail which described my campaign to reduce hate on the net by countering negative e-mails with positive ones. I closed with a beautiful quote from Gandhi, and wished her peace. Doesn't sound too bad to me, but I have this feeling that she may not take it in the spirit in which it was intended. I hope I haven't irrepairably damaged our relationship, but I couldn't take it any more - I had to stand up for my beliefs. Silence is implied consent, and by remaining silent on all the other e-mails that have made my blood boil, I have tacitly agreed with that point of view. No longer. Up until now I have been betraying my principles for the sake of maintaining family harmony, but I can't do it anymore. I buried my principles for far too many years; now that I have found them again, I cannot bear to set them aside anymore. As family, I hope that she will respect this.

I'm worried about BoyCat's vision. I think his eyesight is failing as a result of his diabetes. Twice now I've seen him do the oddest thing. He'll approach the top of the stairs, pause and feel around with one forepaw to find the edge of the stair before starting down. Both times it has been pretty dark in the hallway; I haven't seen him do this in daylight or when lights are on in the hall. But it still worries me, and it simply breaks my heart to think that those beautiful gold eyes of his may not be showing him the world the way they should. He's also taken to wandering the perimeter of rooms while sniffing at furniture. I don't know whether he's doing this to help find his way around, or if he knows there's something up and he's trying to memorize the layouts. I wouldn't put that second possibility past him - he's so smart it's scary. Two factors that will help him out though: he doesn't go outside at all, he stays inside where he's safe; and I'm not fond of rearranging furniture, most everything is where we put it when we moved in, so he won't have to constantly re-learn new arrangements. Does anyone have any experience in dealing with blindness in cats? Any helpful suggestions would be welcome.

Classes and work are keeping me busy, but I'm having lots of fun at both! I've been able to get in a little rabblerousing in a couple of my classes and have found a few fellow travelers as well. It's good to see that some of my classmates are also longing for change; the trick is to channel the energy we use to complain into action for change. And of course to figure out which cabinet to rip from the wall!

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." - Martin Luther King Jr.

Peace,
AuntieM