My Secret Garden

Chapter 2 - Strangers in Public Places

A crooked-headed cat sat under Jaye’s chair. Jaye sat with her coffee cup, writing tablet, pens and pencils, watching the leaves swirl around the yard. A storm was passing by the peninsula, headed for the northeast. New York and New Jersey were in for some rough weather - rain, waves, wind and snow. It looked as though West Virginia and parts north were going to see an early snowfall.

The thought of snow caused Jaye to long for the ski slopes again. However, she had sold her first house to go to England and her second home to finish getting to California. She now had no house or home or job, so the likelihood of her ever going skiing again was slim.

She had work to do here anyway. Re-legalize cannabis was her new personal motto. Speak out for the patients with AIDS, soldiers with PTSD, moms and sisters with Bi-Polar disorder. These were the thoughts that spun around inside the tempest that was Jaye’s mind. Yes, she had a regular party going on inside her head.

She thought too of her mother, Dee. Dee had taken her life some eighteen years ago. She no longer wanted to live with the pain she suffered in her neck. The chiropractic treatments were no longer working for any length of time. The pills made her groggy. She was in pain constantly. If Jaye had known then, what she knew now…. She would have offered marijuana to her mom. This is here and now and she didn’t know then what she knew now. Now she could only try and help others and she would.

Jaye began gathering her belongings from the table and from the ground around her chair. The crooked-headed cat sensing change got up and walked out to the pineapple patch, snuggled in between the plants and stretched out to get the maximum sunshine. crazy cat.

Jaye prepared to go to the V.A. Services office. She liked to think her mom was with her when she went to meet these strangers. Strangers scarred her…. it was a mental health thing that caused her to be so wary of people. She had her mom and sometimes her medication though. Even while the state she lived in did not offer access with out criminal ramifications and eighteen other states did…she felt blessed. This was her work now, medical marijuana advocation and education. She cheerfully headed off to meet strangers in public places.

Chapter 3 Hope

Time went on…one day became the next and the crooked headed cat came to visit again. A woodpecker tapped out Morse code in the distance. Jaye stretched out her legs onto the chair across from her. The crooked headed cat took this as an invitation. He jumped up onto Jaye’s lap and curled himself up and started to purr. It was a lovely sunny day in Florida.

Jaye stroked the cat and noticed that one of it’s eyes had some yellow matter leaking from it. Hmm she thought, that can’t be good. She took a paper napkin from the table next to her and spat on it; figuring that if dog saliva is good for us, our spit may be good for them. Can’t hurt, she surmised. Jaye wiped the kitty’s face, clearing most of the yellow goo from the corner of his eye.

She was so wrapped up in tending to the cat she didn’t hear Jean come out to the gazebo. “What are you doing to that cat?” asked Jean. “I’m looking after his eye. It has stuff in it,” replied Jaye. “You know that cat belongs to the family across the street,” Jean informed her. ”He doesn’t have a collar on.” ”So?” ”So he’s a wild stray cat.” ”I’ve seen him laying on the porch across the street.” ”I’m just wiping his face, chill out.” ”Alright,” relented Jean, “but I know you.”

Jaye finished wiping the cat’s eye, which was still a bit swollen and half closed.

“Hmm,” said Jaye, “I wonder if cannabis oil would help.” “Jaye, don’t do it,” warned Jean. “Leave me alone,” said Jaye, “I’m trying to help the cat.” She put the cat in one of the empty chairs in the gazebo and took out her pipe and began to push a yellow pipe cleaner down into the stem.

What are you doing?’ asked Jean. “Nothing,” replied Jaye as she continued to ream out her pipe. “I just figured that the oil or resin is the same as Phoenix Tears, same ingredients and it can’t hurt and it just may help.”

“Great!” responded Jean, “you’re going to put marijuana resin in our neighbor’s cat’s eye!”