diva has no pride

my Diva...gotta love her...stepgirl came over tonight (you never know when they'll appear these days) and brought her kitty with her. i was upstairs at the time and heard Diva losing her little puppy mind downstairs, so i ran down to see what misery could have befallen her...it was banshee howling combined with this squeal, with a little pan flute added in for texture. not american idol material. it was Kitty! Friend! 4 legs like me! speaks my lingo! KittyKittyKittyKittyhowlKitty! kitty was a little freaked out. we got both settled for a while (nanosecond human time, hours in dog time), but Diva was shivering with the joy that only a dog can feel. i admit i was a little jealous...she normally launches at me when i come home from work (or even a few minutes in the garage), but Nothing Like This. pure adoration. BFF. we tried to explain to her that kitties don't greet in the same way dogs do, but she was undeterred. once the aquaintence was met, she followed that poor kitty around like a museum guard at a Joseph Cornell exhibit. the cat has tried to smoosh itself under everything, but Diva is right there. stepper was holding kitty, and Diva stretched her "sit nikki" neck as far as she could and gave her a gentle kiss on the nose. it's all good now. and she will sleep tonight! **so an incredible set of circumstances has wended their way into my life (as if my day-to-day isn't more than enough drama thank you)...this sudden re-opening (on a tentative level) of family connections. i think i mentioned before about talking to my uncle. and the pictures that were traveling virtually to me and between family members. well, today, i received a copy of a book written by a Jewish woman in Rochester called "our Future Begins With Our Past." Phyllis Kasdin is the author. pictures from her installation of memorabilia from "the old days" of Rochester when the founding fathers of the Jewish community there first arrived. pictures of the Orphans Home where my father was. i wanted to reach into the picture and open the huge front door ...go inside...meet my father when he was so very young. walk through the pages of the book...feel what it was like. i feel very connected. very grounded. less untethered. my history began the day i was born. my first memories as a child. it never reached back any further. things never spoken of in our house. even my mother knew very little. and now, as one of the few witnesses turns 90, it may be even harder to rescue that history. the things that kept my twig of the family apart from the trunk...hurts, miscommunications, misunderstandings now 30 years old...they seem a vast sea to swim. but i'm willing to take it one stroke at a time if that's what's needed. i grew up differently without their community...their familial tether. but wih the emails and pictures and now, this book, it feels like there IS someone out there who's shared some history with me. how absolutely sweet. as Diva must feel with another 4-legged fuzzy in the house. speaking of an incredible bond....grab a kleenex and watch this with your sound up.... http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=8cf08faca5dd9ea45513 L.