Thursday, August 11, 2011

In Limbo

There are some stories that have taken me a while to get to because of the 'grrrr' factor they raise within. They just make me want to rant, rant and rant some more. While I promise I won't go ballistic don't judge me if I get a little tetchy around the edges while recounting this one.It is a cat story (sorry they were underrepresented in this trip!)




Setsuo was always in the background, an add-on when it came to the last trip north. Calling the Hokenjyo he was appended to the main conversation as oh, we have a cat too. An after thought because he was shy, fearful and didn't know what on earth was going on. Bounced around from one bizarre situation to another he preferred the simplicity and safety of the back of his carrier.His doting people had been told they could then couldn't be then could be again accepted by the evacuation center as the second floor of their house was still "habitable" but the structure was "unsafe".

Side note here: The earthquake of March 11th produced hundreds of after shocks. In many people's mind an aftershock is just a little readjustment shake after the main event. These rockers were of a magnitude that would be reported in the news as individual full blown earthquakes had they not come in after the big guy. Now there is a science behind it, (as there is everything) but I'm not au courant. Them there scientists can decipher which shake can be dubbed an aftershock and which is an individual seismic event. I just know the earth is moving for me and it is not a joyous event!



This house still had residents

So those who were eventually asked NOT to seek refuge in the community evacuation centers were obliged to go back to their homes that for the most part were gutted bare structure on the first floor and live on the second floor. Possibly an ok temporary solution if it hadn't been for Mother Nature's constant rocking and rolling.


So Setsuo's family were borderline. Accepted into the evacuation center but their permanence there was in limbo until a city official could go around and assess their abode. They managed to keep the second floor relatively sealed so they could keep their Setsuo there. The young lady visited every day and made sure he was doing alright given the circumstances. The family stayed at the center. These living arrangements were endured for 3 months before the family finally got their own prefab in the temporary housing areas. Sighs of relief were issued all around. Finally Setsuo didn't have to live alone in an unsafe,leaky second floor. He could be with his people at last.

When the local authorities were assigining the first groups of people to their new quarters little thought was givent o neighbours sticking with neighbours, pet owners alongside pet owners, old folks neighbouring young children etc. You know, the way neighbourhoods naturally evolve? But it seems these situations became issues for people that were living in each other's pockets. Setsuo ran into the non-pet owners problem.

Neighbours on BOTH sides of Setsuo's prefab developed instantaneous skin reactions to the cat living next to them. A cat that they had no interaction or face to face time with. Suddenly it was imperative that this feline was moved on. Nothing else could be causing this blemish free incessant itching.It could only be a cat as neither unrelated neighbour had had these symptoms before. Setsuo's family fought a losing battle for him and at the end of the day it was how he crossed our path in hokenjyo, a very bewildered and fearful moggie.




2 comments:

  1. Poor setsuo, indeed. he needed that home with his family too :(

    Some people are just mean. Grrr

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