The Resident Cat Anyone entering the Willow Haven nursing home had to pass through two glass-framed doors built far enough apart to ensure that one person could not hold both doors open at the same time. This drawing had a purpose. When a visitor entered, a weak resident could slip through the first inner door, but passing through the second outer door, undetected by staff, made escape unlikely. The architect's design worked well and saved countless numbers of frail elderly people from wandering off and into trouble. Myrtle, a longtime resident, sat in front of those double doors every day. With too much lipstick on her winking cheeks and her white hair tightly curled, she greeted everyone who entered or passed through those well-crafted doors. The greeting consisted of a smile and a slow up and down movement of the hand. A hand warped by time and adorned with silver rings of multicolored stones on each finger. With great pride he remembered all the names of those who came and went, but then all the staff members knew that Myrtle was one of the "aware" residents. Only one person knew when the cat first walked through the front door in the wake of a visitor, and settled into one of the cushioned chairs in the lounge area. That person was Myrtle. A housekeeper discovered the cat within an hour on the first day and escorted the homeless creature out. The next day he made the same discovery and moved the cat through the glass doors again. When this happened on the third day, she reported this security breach to the head nurse. The nurse became suspicious and asked Myrtle if she knew how the cat could fit through doors so easily. Myrtle, of course, had no idea, but volunteered to keep an eye on the cat if it happened... middle of paper... easy to write off as an old woman bent with age who drools her food, leaks glasses and often fell in the bathroom. A woman whose successes in life exist only in her memory. A memory that contains the freshness of youth, the emotion of first love, the joy of marriage, motherhood and the loss of a husband. Memories of fading beauty, diminishing independence, and passing health linger in his thoughts, like broken pottery with pieces missing. He remained vaguely aware that an older person is no longer needed and mostly tolerated as an obligation of society. It's true, the years erode the body of strength and take away all those people and events that formed the fabric of a life. But if the mind remains aware, age cannot take away your ability to love what loves you, whether it is a child, a spouse or a cat named Willie..2313