Lulu Kitty magnet got thrown away because her owner P, my friend of 26 years, was being evicted from the condo I manage right next-door to me.
P and I got Sober together 26 years ago. P went out using again when we were five years sober because she was so angry … she was spewing that anger at everybody and her going out(using), saved my life because I knew if I didn’t get in touch with my anger, I was going to go out too … it saved my life.
She was in and out of sobriety for years and got sober again in 2021, but decided to use again in early 2023 … things went downhill from there … not paying rent, erratic behavior, psychosis, and inviting other people who are using to her place… right outside my front door … she had to go …
In the end, as she was leaving, she left in a hurry and left a few things behind, including Lulu Kitty’s magnet on the refrigerator …
I saw the magnet there several times, and knew I should grab it, but somehow it didn’t happen… to be fair, There was a lot of other crazy stuff going on in my life at the same time, it’s not like I have tons of time to keep track of everybody’s shit… they need to handle their own shit …
To be honest, part of me was mad at the whole situation, and I thought maybe she has to lose Lulu kitty magnet due to her irresponsibility to learn what she needs to learn … just being honest here …
The cleaners came and cleaned out the rest of the home, and Lulu Kitty magnet was thrown into the dumpster …
It was my 26 year sober anniversary yesterday, July 5, and I was celebrating with my friends, out for the evening … at dinner, I get a frantic text from P about the magnet of her cat that was left on the fridge… FUCK!
I told her Lulu Kitty magnet was in the dumpster in a black trash bag…
The dinner companions said I should leave it alone … “can’t she get another cat/magnet?!”and “don’t go after it” …
I’m a dumpster diver from way back and I knew myself well enough to know that I was going in after that damn cat magnet …
It was after midnight when I got home… I changed into my sweats, put some plastic gloves on my hands and dug out a couple of trash bags that I knew Lulu had to be in …
OK, this is where shit gets crazy … crazier?! Cos it was already crazy with the eviction and all the bullshit surrounding that, including a grand finale with broken glass tabletop all over several parking spots and a full dining room set left on the sidewalk and in the parking spots as well …
Keep in mind we are having a heat wave in Las Vegas… July 5 was 104°… The cleaners got done at 11 AM so that trash was sitting in the sun all day long… Do not ask me how this happened, but that trash smelled like a bed of fucking flowers!!! Now I’m talking about two bags, full of refrigerator and freezer food … how in the hell do they smell beautiful?
One of the bags was all wet and I think it was the flavored creamer that spilled, which is probably why it smelled so sweet. It was dark, so the flashlight guided the way …
The other bag had the cat litter box and that is where I found Miss Lulu …
Why did I go in after the magnet? Because I could. Because I love P. Because I understand the love of cats. Because I’m an old dumpster driver. Because I’m a property manager with a heart. (Shhhhhh … don’t tell anybody that it’ll ruin my Bad Ass reputation. Ha!) Because I knew exactly which bags Lulu would be in. Because I love Lulu Kitty and I have never even met her! Because I knew it meant something special to P.
God knew all of this … he picked the right person, with the right skills, and the right heart, at the right place, at the right time, to do the right thing.
P is suffering enough in her active disease… she hates herself right now. One very small act of kindness could make the difference… and I didn’t really mind it that bad … just keeping my dumpster diving skills up 😉
This all happened on my Sober 26 birthday … a reminder to me what it could be like if I picked up again… And also, a reminder to be of service to those we can be of service to … this is called love.
Thank God, that God gave me a change of heart from ‘this will teach her a lesson’ before it was too late, and we had lost Lulu Kitty magnet forever! I know me, and I would’ve felt bad about not grabbing it when I thought I should have in the first place… another reminder to follow my gut/intuition when it tells me to do something…
The other miracle is that in those messy garage bags, Lulu Kitty magnet was left unharmed by the wet garbage …
How does all this happen? GOD & LOVE. They are the same thing to me. Love will do strange things. Love will do crazy things. Love always wins.
Glad we got Lulu Kitty magnet back!
Love it!!
