The First Day

The First Day

Well, today is the first day of the rest of my life. How many times have I heard that exhortation to begin anew--that reminder that opportunity offers itself every day if only we can recognize it when it knocks?

For a guy who retired sort of early without much of a plan, I've had a long time to try things to occupy me, but not many of the ways I have busied myself have been filled with meaning and importance. Well, that is until a Wednesday in November, 2005 when I came to know Aniplant, an animal protection group in Havana Cuba. Surely that day turned out to be the first day of the rest of my life.

I met Nora Garcia, Aniplant's President that day, and she began to show me the very different world Cuba's animals face. I thought I knew something about animal protection before that day, but I've been learning more every day since then. Cuba, like many smaller, poorer countries, has too many dogs and cats loose on the streets. Some have homes, and others face life as homeless waifs hoping to find something to eat, and coping with illness and occasional abuse.

Meeting Nora then was the start of a long cooperation that has included furnishing drugs and supplies for vets, funding anesthesia meds for Aniplant's spay-neuter campaigns, hosting her in our home so she could meet local contributors, traveling to and participating in Expo 2010, a convention for animal shelter operators, and visiting a number of Cuban activities associated with animals. As time has gone by, there has been more and more to do.

It didn't abate when my wife, Charlene, became active in Aniplant. In addition to being the only good typist in our house, she is the most informed person on animal issues I know. She believed, rightly so, we should formalize our work, and she singlehandedly created, applied for, and/or secured our 501(c)(3) from the IRS, our incorporation from the state, our registration as a charity in the State of Florida, our website (http://theaniplantproject.org) , and today she acts as critical proofreader of my scribblings in this blog.

We see no and seek no end to our task of helping Aniplant. Thus that day in 2005, whether we could have guessed it or not, was the first day of the rest of both of our lives.

Les Inglis