Fiction: Birth Order

“Kristen’s escaped.”

Sub-Proctor Anne’s mouth was tight, as though she were braced for me to gloat.

“Oh,” was my entire contribution to the conversation; it was the most Christian thing I could think of to say.

“I thought you would want to know,” Sub-Proctor Anne said, still guarded. I nodded politely at her, and she moved on to resume her work.

I wasn’t surprised. How many times had I warned everyone that Kristen would remain here only as long as she wanted to? The church’s Joliet Maximum Assistance Rescue Ark hadn’t held her during a previous pregnancy. She slipped past the dogs and the guard towers and the electrified fence as though they didn’t exist. So what chance, I asked, did the minimum assistance-level St. Reagan’s Birth Assurance Home have? An electronic gate and a simple nine-foot chain-link fence with a thin strand of razor wire on top meant nothing to someone like Kristen.

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The 4th and your pets

Leaning toward the cat side of Catsignal today, I want to remind everyone to take special care of their pets on this holiday.

The ASPCA has a list of things to keep in mind to protect your companion animals as you celebrate. Make it a happy Independence Day for you and your four-footed friends.

And maybe, just maybe, give a little thought to what the Declaration of Independence says about tyranny and the reasons why we formed our own country.