On Sibley

“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.” -Douglas Adams

July 4th, 2026

On the way to an Ingress First Saturday event, this month in Naperville Illinois. There were a number of small things this morning that led to the exact timing of our departure. A forgotten thing, restroom at the last moment, taking the wrong google map directions but the difference was six minutes so it didn't matter really. Somehow we actually left earlier than we were supposed to.

There were two people in all of time space at the moment we saw the kitten crossing that intersection on Sibley Blvd. who would have reacted like we did, they were us. I saw him crossing the street, dragging his legs behind him and frantically yelled to Nicole,

"Oh my FUCKING GOD a kitten! Go get him right now, right fucking now, go go go!"

Today is the birthday of our first cat, Squee. He turned 21 years old. I found him at the edge of the woods at the outskirts of town, yowling for help. Our boy Anakin is a tripod cat, he has three legs. We took him in because he was going to be put down, even missing a leg he is most of a great cat. Mac, our lucky black cat, came to us with abscesses on several areas of his body that needed flushing out several times a time. We were only supposed to foster him for a few days, several years ago. Obi Wan, although he is longer with us, was made of love and cuddles. I found him literally thrown in a dumpster. Obi’s time with us was cut short by a liver shunt. He took a lot of care, but he gave back more than we could have ever imagined.

Nicole dashed out onto the busy intersection and scooped him up. Quickly using voice search to google the nearest emergency vet. His legs were badly injured, he had been dragging them behind and he pulled himself across the street. We don't know what happened, we didn't see, but it was obvious he was hurt. He cried out loudly. In pain, and terrified, his tail laid limp. We wrapped him in a towel and he rested his head, his cries grew quiet, comforted by Nicole.

So sweet a thing.

My wife would deny any knowledge of her superpowers, but the kitten knew she was there to help. She has that way about her, a giving compassion that never has to be asked for. A gentle heart and a soothing demeanor. The terror yielded, he relaxed a little on Nicole's lap, but it was obvious he was hurting. He struggled with his hind legs. I nearly fell to pieces as I looked down to see his face, he looked me in the eye and then rested. We rushed to the vet, honestly starting to hope we'd be welcoming a new member to our family. We are suckers, especially for hard knocks cases. We understand very well how the cat distribution function of the universe seems to work.

At the vet we said his name is Sibley.

Sibley was only around three weeks old. We don’t know where he came from, or what happened to him before we found him. I do know that for a little while he was very loved. This poor baby’s injuries were just too much. Broken pelvis, a likely spine injury, probable internal bleeding. At that moment there was not an amount of money that would have been too much to try to save him, no effort I wouldn’t be willing to undertake to keep him. I know we’d only just met, but it is not hard to give your heart to a thing so small and so in need.

Sibley crossed the rainbow bridge and suffers no more. We smiled a little to think Obi would look after him. These things are hard on the heart, they seem impossible, but we grow. Somehow from giving we receive. Small acts of kindness, just caring. Hard on the heart but nourishing to the soul. It hurts so damn badly, but knowing that pain is at an end is enough to mend some small portion of my own.

I am grateful to the kind and compassionate care and help from Emergency Veterinary Care Centers in Highland; and for where Ingress took me today, remembering that I am someone who cares.

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