When the News is So Newsy

That You Have to Escape

 

 

A freelance photographer / YouTuber gave the perfect example of having to get away from the relentless pounding of the news. He takes pictures of important people and events to sell to the media. He shows the president leaving the White House aboard Marine One, the helicopter that carries the president to Andrews Air Force Base to catch Air Force One. He shows visiting dignitaries. Well, this freelance photographer, as it turns out, has another interest: he likes to photograph the people and events related to police and fire calls.

 

Recently, the Washington goings on became too much for this photographer when 17 murders were committed in 17 days in the Washington Metro area. Huh? Can’t anyone agree on anything in that city? We’ve known for years that hot air emanates from the Capitol Building, but on street corners, too?

 

As an aside, some people feel that hot air provides the steam that heats the old office buildings in DC. That’s not how it’s really generated, but enough steam comes from the heat grates to make one wonder. The homeless tend to gravitate to those grates in an effort to stay warm in winter.

 

But I digress.

 

These murders were committed by regular folk against other regular folk. They happened in several areas of the city – from everyday neighborhoods to a college campus. We don’t know the story behind every incident, but we do know that one incident was a lovers quarrel, while another was a neighborhood squabble – both amped up to the nth degree.

 

This photographer decided he needed a break from it all and said he was going for therapy. No, he did not visit a psychiatrist or lie down on a psychiatrist’s chaise longue to share his life’s history. Instead, he walked into what appeared to be a pet store that sold only cats. In actual fact, it was a center that treats disturbed cats. Some, after being homeless, were unable to live in a family environment. Some were uncomfortable around other cats in a multiple-cat family. The clinic treats a fair number of cat situations with the goal of making the cats ready to live comfortably within a family.

 

An interesting thing happened at the cat clinic: The photographer began to relax – and so did I, as I watched his video. As he visited with different cats, he spoke to them and, if they allowed it, stroked them. A surprising number of the cats seemed genuinely to enjoy his attention. I only saw one cat run off when approached. Perhaps, it was a recent arrival at the clinic.

 

So, tell me: is reverse therapy a recognized term in the field of psychology? If not, it should be. After all, it’s long been known that owning a pet – whether a cat, a dog, or even a guppy – can greatly reduce human stress and enrich human life. It is good to know that humans can have an equally positive effect on their pets.

 

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Dedicated to Pee Wee, the guppy who lived with me for 2-1/2 years (they normally live for only six months). You are not forgotten, Pee Wee.

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