Luigi Come Home

PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT WHAT FOLLOWS IS MY OPINION AND MY OPINION ONLY.  THESE WORDS DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OPINION OF IMAGINE HOME.  I AM ONLY PUBLISHING THIS UNDER THE IMAGINE HOME BLOG BECAUSE, QUITE FRANKLY, IT WOULDN’T MAKE SENSE TO ANYONE READING MY PERSONAL BLOG.  I’M ALSO NOT PROOFREADING BECAUSE I WILL END UP REWRITING AND LOSING WHAT I REALLY WANT TO GET OUT THERE, SO PLEASE EXCUSE ANY TYPOS. IF ANYONE DISAGREES WITH THE CONTENT OF THIS POST, PLEASE CONTACT ME DIRECTLY.  MY PERSONAL EMAIL IS IMSLINKEE@MSN.COM AND I’M ON FACEBOOK AS STEFANIE CELESTE.

I will never forget the moment I heard that Luigi had escaped transport – I was standing at the paint counter at Home Depot waiting for them to mix my color when I decided to look at Facebook on my phone.  I felt like I’d been kicked in the stomach.  It would all I could do to fight back the tears.  I knew that losing it in a public place certainly wasn’t going to help Luigi at all.  I got my paint, paid for all my stuff, went out to my car and I cried.  I cried for Luigi, I cried for the transporter who was devastated, I cried for his foster mom – I cried for all of us.

At this point, it really doesn’t matter how it happened.  Knowing how it happened isn’t going to help in getting him back on the road to his foster home.  It’s kind of a heart attack, you don’t have to know what caused it to treat it.  Yes, you need to know what caused it to prevent it from (hopefully) happening again, and that is being addressed.  But constant berating, belittling and blaming isn’t going to change the fact that Luigi jumped out of the car and we need to find a way to get him back.

I’ve kind of been watching everything unfold from the sidelines.  This whole thing, along with a bunch of stuff happening in my personal/professional life right now, has me paralyzed.  I have been adhering to the “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything” adage.  I have so much going on outside of Facebook that I haven’t been able to sleep, have barely been able to do my job without having emotional meltdowns and am barely hanging on by a thread.  In order to save myself, and save others from unnecessarily being dragged down with me, I have “shut down” in a way.

When I have ventured on to Facebook/Twitter, I have not liked what I have seen.  I have watched friends be attacked from all sides for what they are, or are not doing, to help.  I have seen posts on various groups on Facebook that, if the people spouting off were in the same room with the recipients of the harsh words, I’d bet would NEVER be uttered.  The internet and social media gives us a feeling of bravery, of invincibility of, whatever.  We feel like we can say what we want, when we want, any way we want.  We forget that, even if we don’t mean to sound rude or ignorant, our words on a screen can come across that way to the person on the other side.  We forget that we cannot have an argument with ourselves – it takes two (or more, in this case) to tango.  We take sides.  We defend the people that we are friends with, sometimes even when they’re in the wrong.  I’ve been “unfriended” by some, simply because of my association with others (and I’m sure I’m not the only one).

While we do all of this, one thing is certain.  There is a kitty who is lost and who needs ALL of us to work together to find him – if he chooses to be found.  As humans, we have opinions – we think we know what needs to be done, how it needs to be done, who needs to do it and when.  As humans, we also have an inherent nature to disagree with each other, and to think that OUR way is the best way.  As humans, we also have the ability to communicate and to work through those differences – if we choose to do that.  So far, I haven’t seen that.  I’ve seen a continual barrage of “you’re not doing this, you’re not doing that, you have to do what I want, you’re wrong, blah blah blah”  And then we delete, ban, unfriend, whatever….the people we don’t agree with.  Would we be doing that if we were face to face with each other?  Do we ban, delete, unfriend the people in our “real lives” (vs. Facebook friends) when we disagree with them or with something they’re doing?  (I hope not, because if so, that defeats the purpose of what I’m trying to say).

WE ARE BETTER THAN THIS!!!  LUIGI DESERVES SO MUCH MORE THAN WHAT WE’RE GIVING HIM!!!  Don’t get me wrong – I’m not taking anything away from the efforts that have been made.  I know that people aren’t eating, not sleeping, driving miles upon miles to set feeding stations and checking traps, posting fliers, talking to locals, contacting vets, sharing widely on facebook (I apologize if I miss anything that has been done).  But what’s NOT happening is communication and cooperation.

If you’re at work and someone does something or says something you don’t like, do you call them out in public, in front of everyone, and question them about it?  I’m guessing no, because I know if I did that at my job, I’d be looking for another one very quickly.  I’m guessing that you either address it privately with the “offending” individual or bring it up to a supervisor so that they can address it privately.  If your family member or loved one says something you find offensive or rude, do you just assume that you’re right and they’re wrong and disown them from your life?  Or do you take some time to clarify what they meant  and work out the differences?  Why can’t we take the same approach in our facebook lives????

I’m sorry I’m rambling – I’m just so beaten down and frustrated.  I’m walking around on the verge of tears 24/7.  I’m helpless to do anything productive to help find Luigi.  I feel like I failed Luigi by not making the 5 1/2 hour trek to Virginia the minute I heard it was missing.  Yes, I’m human too.  In my heart I feel like I could have done something to make a difference.  In my head, I know that’s probably not the case.  But my head isn’t doing a good job of telling my heart that, my heart is broken by this whole situation.  Broken by Luigi’s escape, broken by the actions and words that have torn so many people apart (so many good people who, in better times really have the same goals) and broken by the fact that I know there is absolutely nothing more I can do.  All of this animosity and hostility  is doing NOTHING to help Luigi.

To those who are close enough and have been able to be on the ground in the area – baiting traps, setting up cameras, passing out posters – I thank you from the bottom of my shattered heart.  Please know that I’d be there with you if I could (as would alot of other people I’m sure) and I appreciate everything that you are doing to help this little boy find his way back to where he needs to be.

To everyone working hard on the internet (Facebook, Twitter, etc…) I thank you from the bottom of my heart for doing everything you can to keep Luigi’s face out there in public.  We’ve seen how sharing can help bring a positive outcome to many situations.

To all of us, I admire the human heart and human spirit.  I implore us all to take a look at ourselves.  To think before we type.  To focus on one thing and one thing only…

FIND LUIGI