“Front Yard Freedom”

“The Call of the Wild”

It was a cold and windy night. Kitty had exited through her pet door into the side yard. A routine event. I waited for her to return so I could lock the sliding door, but no kitty appeared. The yard is secured with cat fences, so I didn’t worry. If the gates are closed, she is contained.

Twenty minutes later, I decided to check the yard. No Kitty in sight but from the back door, I could see both gates were shut. Where is she? I wondered. I decided to inspect the front gate and saw that it was slightly ajar. The gardener had not fully closed it, and Kitty had found an escape by slightly pushing it open. She was gone. It’s 9pm, and it’s coyote time. There are no stray cats in our neighborhood, just sad stories of missing pets.

I called up the stairs for Dave to come quickly. “If you’ve never come before, come now. Kitty’s run away.”

Barefoot on the cold pavement and wearing only my PJs, a chill rushed through me as I hunted for Kitty. Soon Dave arrived, his shoes on and carrying a flashlight. At least he had the presence of mind to come prepared. Neither of us had our phones. He started walking down the block and methodically searching for Kitty.

I scoured frantically from yard to yard. Our street ends in a cul-de-sac which empties into a park. Coyote county, and I dreaded the worst.

From the center of the road under a bright streetlamp my steps halted. “This is beyond me”, I moaned. So there in the center of the street, under the brightness of the light, I closed my eyes and raised my hands to God. “Oh, Lord, please help me. Please make Kitty come out into the open. Please help us to…”

For some reason, as I was praying, I felt my lifted head look down, and I turned and opened my eyes. There was Kitty scurrying by me. Trying to get behind me to stay invisible and follow me. (Often, we had seen her do this.) Her eyes were shining brightly, her ears pointed straight back, her tail flying high. She was possessed by an excited energy only an explorer can understand. She stayed ahead of us but ran in a crisscross direction to keep us chasing her. To her it was all a game, and she was winning.

Finally, facing her, she took off running. I called Dave who was down the street to come. He heard my cry, but didn’t hear what I said, but he quickly walked back. I opened the front door and together we tried to corral Kitty inside. But, alas, she was gone again.

This time I went inside to look for her. At flash speed I search each room. Nothing. Then an inner direction led me to look upstairs. At the bottom of the staircase, I peeked up and beheld a tiny clue. A small part of her ear exposed from behind the bedroom door. Kitty was hiding. I closed the front door, the gates, and ran outside and screamed Dave’s name. He was down at the end of the block, but he still heard me. (Next time we bring cell phones.) I was surprised one of our neighbors didn’t wonder what all the yelling was about and call the police.

He came back relieved. Inside, Kitty tried again to escape. Darting frantically from room to room, she pursued a way out. Her paws ready to pounce on any exit. Her old nature of having once been a feral cat emerged. Her body pulsed with excitement. I left her to her energy. Satisfied and grateful she was home. It would take several hours for her to alter back to our sweet kitty.

Meanwhile, as we were out on our kitty search, more screaming had been heard. At the far end of the park, a woman walking her small dogs was being approached by a pair of coyotes. They ignored her and went straight for the dogs. She scooped them up and continued yelling. (We didn’t hear her because we were probably still screaming some of our own.) Meanwhile, while engaged in the kitty search, Dave stopped to let some bunnies hop by him. They had come out of the park and were seeking shelter. For they too had seen the coyotes. I’m happy to report that both puppies and bunnies escaped and are safe.

Danger had been so near kitty, yet she had not seen it, sensed it, nor believed it possible. What is it about front yard freedom that makes backyard security seem so dull. “Give me liberty (freedom) or give me death.” The famous words by the patriot Patrick Henry almost became her epitaph.

I began to reflect upon the night’s events. Kitty’s whole being had vibrated with the “call of the wild” and sought its freedom. Yet I questioned this. At what point was she freer? Is simply the choice to run amuck the definition of personal liberty? I’m sure those bunnies would have welcomed freedom from danger. A yard with a closed gate and pet door in which to enter and hide from the coyotes.

In 1958, an Oxford philosopher and historian Isaiah Berlin attempted to answer this question. He stated that liberty as a concept has two families of conception. Both positive and negative. Negative liberty is that idea that “freedom is an ability to do whatever one wants without external obstacles.” He concluded this freedom to be simplistic and lacking individual self-realization. Yet positive liberty is the ability to fulfill one’s purpose.” The freedom to achieve personal growth and become who one was meant to be. The Bible seems to agree with him. In Galatians 5:13, the apostle Paul reminds Christians that they are called to be free, but “not to use their freedom to indulge in the fleshly pursuits, but rather to serve one another humbly in love.” Our God given freedom seems to be about fulfilling one’s destiny and becoming who God designed one to be. Thayer,* in his transliteration of the Greek word eleutheria (liberty), defines true liberty as living as one should not as one pleases.

I must say that I am thankful to live in a country where the pursuit of personal liberty/freedom is possible at its utmost level. My 4^th of July birthday wish for our country is that we collectively stretch higher with great patience until we achieve it. May we set our minds and hearts to press on toward God’s design for us and fulfill His purpose for us as a nation and as its free, individual citizens.

Happy 4^th of July Birthday, America

Kathy and Dave Benedetto, Storyteller and Editor

From The Kitty Chronicle: (from)Those Who Chronically Love Kitties

*Thayer– Joseph Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament 1984