Good evening,
The forecast is for scattered showers tonight, as it has been for rain these past few nights. And yet, these last several forecasts have been like mirages, suggesting rain that never comes to pass as one draws near. With or without rain, there must be a temperature, and tonight it’s likely to be one in the low seventies.
There’s a story at the Janesville Gazette online about people who buy health insurance for their pets. See, More People are Buying Pet Health Insurance. Pets are precious to their owners, and veterinary bills can be expensive, so it may be a prudent decision. The story describes costs of insurance, the experiences of a pet-owner (of Popcorn and Kernel), and a veterinarian’s observation of some patients that “[t]hey don’t realize or think they’re ever going to need it,” he said. “Nobody ever thinks its worth it until they need it, and then it’s too late.’’
They’re not the only ones who might not think it’s useful: I recall a young business student who once learned how resistant people can be to new ideas. A many years ago, in school, I knew a fellow student who was part of our school’s tony business program who ran afoul of conventional wisdom over pet insurance. He had to present a proposal for a senior thesis on a possible business venture, and he suggested veterinary insurance for people’s pets.
He spent nearly forever drafting detailed proposal for the idea of pet insurance, only to find that when he presented his idea, he was nearly laughed out of the room. A faculty panel heaped scorn on the idea, as laughable and embarrassing. They knew very well, they said, how stupid the idea was. He was crushed, and had to scramble to find a more conventional idea, with little time left.
I don’t know what became of him, these years later, but I’d like to hope that he’s the successful CEO of a pet insurance firm. It’s unlikely, yet that outcome would be right, somehow. He was just ahead of his time.
Of pets, there’s a recent, odd story about how a cat’s litter box can be a weapon. I like cats, but the UPI story, “Cat Litter Box Allegedly Weapon of Choice,” is the first time I’ve heard of that possibility. In Florida, two women has a fight, and allegedly
A Florida woman was jailed after allegedly assaulting her girlfriend with a feces-filled cat litter box, authorities say.
New Port Richey police said Kristin Stiehler allegedly attacked Rachel Switzer Wednesday after Switzer refused to give her Roxicodone pills, the St. Petersburg Times reported Friday. Stiehler allegedly broke through their bedroom door, picked up the litter box and went after Switzer with it.
Police said Switzer wound up with cat feces on her face, hair and ears, and cat litter coating her hair, the newspaper said.
Of all the many unfortunate instances of domestic violence about which one hears, this is the first I’ve heard about a litter box as a weapon. Considering how many people live in America, how many have cats, how almost all cats have litter boxes, how some people fight, and how some fights lead tragically to violence, it’s a wonder that this hasn’t happened before (or more often).
Wrong and a strange mess, both.
