Birthday Wishes

So today is one of those millstone milestone birthdays. I am now 40, which I understand means that I am officially ancient. Not quite as old, mind you, as Joe, who turns 50 on Saturday, which I'm told is just past decrepitude (He's a huge attention whore, btw, so go say hi). Since I'm between nights on at work today, things will be low-key, but David is planning a surprise party for me on the 18th - the surprise, of course, being that I only know the date and none of the details. I wanted, though, to share a little (pre-)birthday surprise and a birthday wish.

Last night I had a visit from Phoebe!



Funnily enough, I was thinking about her just last week before I came home from India. She's doing great other than some significant arthritis in her left hip from the fractures, and she's scheduled for surgery to deal with that next month. Her owner is still going through issues of his own 15 months out and has only just graduated from an external fixator to a splint. All things considered, though, the family seems to be getting along well, and it is due in no small part to all of you readers who contributed to Phoebe's care.

Which is actually why I was thinking of her last week. While I was in Riwalsar, I met this lovely Tibetan couple:





That's Sonam Yutron and her husband Lobsang. Those of you who read Joy's and Nyondo's blogs will have already read about Sonam Yutron's medical problems. If you haven't, though, take a few minutes to go read this post, and I'll wait here for you.

All done? Do you see now why Phoebe came to mind? It's because all those little $5 and $10 donations really added up to something simultaneously tangible and transcendent. A latté here and a burger there actually changed people's lives. While I was in Riwalsar, Sonam Yutron was doing even more than leaning on someone else. She was out and about under her own power, puttering and sweeping and doing all sorts of little things she'd been completely incapable of for years until all these tiny little donations added up to something far greater than their sum.

Unfortunately, right now the Tso Pema Medical Emergency Fund is bust. What little has come in this year has already gone to help people in need. The Feral Wives have dipped heavily into their own pockets to keep things going for the people who really need their help and have had to be very selective about what they can and cannot help with. Obviously this is in no small part due to larger economic forces, but that doesn't mean the need has gone away, and clearly a lot can be accomplished with even small donations.

So my birthday request for all of you is to see if you can spare a venti mocha or two to help replenish the fund (Paypal button on Joy's blog). Even $5 can be enough to buy a few months worth of meds for someone, so it's not an insignificant amount. There's no tax deduction to be gained, but there's a very sweet elderly Tibetan couple, among many others, who will be eternally grateful and say prayers for you, which is really a far richer reward.