Country Roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain momma
Take me home, country roads
I have been trying to get Tim to sing for a long time and was hoping this song would provide him with the proverbial “toe in the water”. Tim’s family is from West Virginia and I had heard rumors of a certain family tradition that involves putting on this specific John Denver tune while crossing the border, turning up the volume, and belting it out with the true pride that only a Mountaineer knows. I facilitated with the music, making sure Mr. Denver was playing loudly as we crossed into the “Wild and Wonderful” state. But, alas, nary a note did I hear escape Tim’s lips.
Boo, Tim. Boo.
But, I am sure he probably sees his silence as a form of reverence. Rather than butcher the song by singing both loudly and off key (What? Who me? Never! Okay…maybe a little. Give me a break - I was wrapped up in the moment! I figured if I went whole hog, Tim would break eventually and join me in a chorus. I remain sorely mistaken), Tim presented his quiet greeting to the home state of his parents and grandparents.
Funny enough, while we were in WV, one of Tim’s childhood friends was in the area, visiting for her grandfather’s birthday. Erin and Tim had both participated in mission trips as youth in their church community, traveling to locations in Canada and Maine, among others, to perform service. Erin eagerly agreed to join us while we volunteered; her father even treated us to a tour of his family’s farm as well as a delightful breakfast at The Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown, set against the dramatic backdrop of the Potomac, before we set off for our organization.
Cause for Paws, established in 1994, is a small non-profit, an all volunteer, no-kill hospice/sanctuary for homeless animals that are injured, severely sick or handicapped. Though started as a shelter/store, the store was eventually closed when the organization’s focus shifted to providing a permanent home for cats and dogs that were not highly adoptable. At any time, Cause for Paws houses around 120 cats and 20 dogs.
A friend of the organization stopped by to give us a copy of her book, Charlotte the Wonder Dog. We had a few moments to meet the book’s namesake, who gazed contentedly from the backseat of the car.
Tim spent the morning outside, breaking the ice that coated the driveway so that delivery trucks could pull in to unload wares (cat food, dog food, etc). The day was warm, much warmer than we are used to this time of year in the northeast, and Tim was able to get some sun while he worked in a tee shirt, cracking and shoveling the remnants of the last cold front.
Barbara houses the animals in colony rooms in which cats that appreciate one another live together, free from cages. Erin and I were assigned “scrub down” duty – we sponged the floors, walls and windows with ecofriendly cleaner, safe for the cats that went for walks through the hallways. We began with the second floor, scrubbing and chatting all the way to the third floor, before reuniting with Tim on the first. After he finished clearing the driveway, he helped us finish up inside.
While we finished cleaning around the first floor, Barbara told us a story about the animals, providing insight to her motivation:
“When I'm blue or struggling to shake off the burn-out, I think the animals sense this. In my mind I see them having a conference in the evenings, and all sitting around with straws in the middle of the floor. One-by-one they draw their straw. The one with the short straw has to do something endearing the next day to cheer me up. As I go around doing the daily chores, there it is. One of the cats jumps up on a table and puts its legs up around my neck and nestles my cheek or a dog rolls over with legs stretched upward. A sideways glance at me saying "Aren't I cute?" I remember why I do this. I laugh and say: "I see you got the short straw."”
We bid Barbara and the animals adieu, cramming three people into the space in the car where two normally sit, and drove slowly toward downtown Harper’s Ferry. We stopped at a small restaurant for a bit of down time and conversation before Erin was picked up for her grandfather’s party and we hit the road for Virginia. It was an incredibly unexpected gift that we got to spend the day serving with a friend. We volunteered, Erin and I got acquainted, Erin and Tim caught up, and we made plans to do this again when Tim and I got back to the northeast – a productive day was had by all! Plus, I got some dirt on Tim. I won't get into details, but the general story goes something like: when Tim paints a wall, he feels left out and is compelled to paint himself …completely, totally, head to toe (Hmmm. Guess there really weren’t any details. Whoops). I was then shocked at his restraint during our painting at Save the Bay. Not a drop of paint touched his clothing.
After Erin departed, Tim and I took a short walk through town and up to Jefferson rock, the vantage point from which is the scene “worth a voyage across the Atlantic.” I will leave you to your own opinion, but I tend to agree with the initial estimation – it was absolutely breathtaking.
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