MeMaw’s Pain Train
mental health
Tinker the Rich Puss
After befriending an elderly widow, Margaret Layne, who died in 2003 aged 89, Tinker the stray, then eight, ensured he would never want for cat biscuits or chocolate drops again.
Under the terms of her will, Layne stipulated that the black cat would have the run of her three bedroom house in Harrow, Middlesex, as well as a £100,000 ($182,000 US) trust fund, with trustees appointed to deliver him food and milk daily.
The house will remain open to Tinker for 21 years, or until he dies, whichever comes sooner, after which it passes to the trustees charged with his care.
As Tinker soon discovered though, being rich is not without its perils: just months after his owner died, Tinker was moved to a safe house in mid-Wales after a series of death threats and calls from people jealous of his money.
Virgin Media
Rich Chimp
It is the duty of every rich and elderly lady to change her will from time to time, if only to keep her family on their toes.
But pity poor Frank O’Neill. The former Australian swimming champion made a pilgrimage to the Sydney Olympics a few years ago – and while he was away his wife decided to leave her £40million (73 + million US) fortune to her pet chimp, Kalu.
Patricia O’Neill, the daughter of the Countess of Kenmore, had been close to Kalu since finding her tied to a tree outside the home of the Argentinian Consul-General in war-torn Zaire.
She took the chimp back to her estate near Cape Town in South Africa and although the animal initially seemed “terrified and traumatised,” she soon settled in.
Whether or not the chimp was aware she and Mr O’Neill were rivals is unclear.
“Every time I swam in the pool, she used to run up and down and hit me on the head, but we had a great relationship,” said a sporting Mr O’Neill. Kalu also stole his cigarettes and drank his beer.
Via Virgin Media
Natural Prozac
This past weekend I prepared some of the plants to come inside, repotted, de-bugged, and usually I have some of my best ideas while digging in the dirt, this time it felt like a chore. However, I was reminded of the calming effect that my little oasis has had on the family.
We’re lucky enough to have a small patio and green space that combined with a few potted plants and flowers, is transformed into a lovely garden. One of my social experiments this summer was to lead my man out the door when he was stressed and sit in this space. Very effective, a calming effect takes over.
Simple low maintenance plants were chosen, because…hey, I’m busy. You don’t need a large space to create a secret garden.
Painting Over the Past
Some of our friends in life and cyberworld have transformed their living spaces after the death of a loved one (or a flood). It’s usually a struggle at first and then the breakthrough. Sometimes we need a push to get us started. But in the end it’s good therapy.
Shadowed by memories of a lost husband, Hilary and her living room needed an infusion of joy. The room is filled with painful reminders of Hilary’s husband Joe’s battle with cancer. The giant gray sectional that Joe spent his last days on was the focal point of the room. How do you brighten the mood without painting over the past? That’s where the brilliant and intuitive Nate Berkus comes in.
Joe passed away shortly after his daughter Carly’s first birthday, and Hilary hasn’t been able to change the room. Nate’s challenge, he says, is to help Hilary and Carly “find a new beginning while still honoring Joe’s memory.”
“Color and light have a profound effect on mood,” says Nate. “This place needs an infusion of energy.
Nate retires the gigantic gray sofa that Joe spent his last days on and enlivens the room with flowers and trees.
Feathers have been mysteriously floating into Hilary’s life like silent messages from her late husband. In one of many gestures of tender genius, Nate mounts and frames a perfect white feather for the wall.
Hilary and Joe loved the beach, so Nate finds a terrarium lamp and fills it with sand and in the sand places keepsakes from their Caribbean honeymoon.
From a memorable episode of Oprah.