HOMER'S [OTHER] ODYSSEY

Two things are always assured in my life: I read a lot of books & I get a lot of mail.

I usually do "damage" when I go into the local Barnes & Noble. I walk in to ... ah ... "look". RIGHT !! I always seem to walk out with a book or two ... or three ... or more. With buying habits like mine, I can sincerely say I have thousands of books. I have one room in my house dedicated to my library, as well as the entire upstairs loft, also filled with books.

One of my favorite books I came upon this year is Homer's Odyssey ... A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I learned About Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat.
The author, Gwen Cooper, tells a wonderful & sensitive story of Homer, a cat who has lived his entire life without eyesight. [His eyes, due to disease, were removed around two weeks of age.] But the cool thing about Homers is -- HE DOESN'T KNOW HE IS BLIND !!

Homer lives an [almost] normal life. His senses are the key. In any new home or environment, Gwen would locate Homer at his food/water & litter box. Homer would then "explore", make "feline mental notes" of everything he encountered & within an hour or so, knew exactly where he was at all times. This included climbing & jumping on furniture. [Well, after all, he is a cat.]

One chapter in the book describes how Homer attacked an intruder who had broken into Gwen's high rise New York City apartment in the middle of the night. She awoke to a growling Homer, who was fixated on the stranger standing in Gwen's bedroom. Homer knew something was wrong. When the intruder spoke, it was all that Homer needed. The sound of the voice had given Homer's hearing the exact location of the invader. Homer attacked the stranger & even chased the man down the hallway ... out side of the apartment, an area Homer had never been. A REAL WONDER CAT !!

I enjoyed the book so much, I read it in a weekend. I have also had pleasure visiting Gwen's web site -- http://www.gwencooper.com/ -- to read more about her & Homer, which includes a video of both of them. [Homer acts like a "normal cat" ... if there is such a thing.]

I have also exchanged several e-mails with Gwen & recently sent her my book copy to autograph. I got the book back in the mail -- somehow -- this past Friday. "Somehow", since the envelope was all but destroyed. [As shown in the provided photo, the Post Office also tore up my USA Today newspaper for good measure.] The envelope was bent, torn open & covered in ink & grease. I don't know how the book itself was not damaged, but except for some creases in the dust cover, the book made it through the crushing. Thank goodness.

With all the mail I get -- at home & at my Post Office box -- this is probably one of the worst examples of "damaged mail" [it happens] I have ever seen/received.

But ... Homer [the book] had made it through another odyssey.

Long live Homer -- The Wonder Cat !!