IN these times when the headlines are about terrorist threats and local murders, I wish to tell the story of a helpless tiger striped cat caught on a roof ledge above a stairwell at Marianas High School. Looking over the edge desperate and pleading to passersby, he had been stranded for four days. The poor thing was a pitiful sight, and his cries were becoming hard to ignore. The students threw chicken bones, and the feline ate the morsels with little comfort only to return to the edge of the ledge with his piercing howls.
Mr. Borja’s staff made an unsuccessful rescue attempt. The cat proved too scared to be approached, so the Fire Division responded swiftly to the call to save the cat from its certain death. Grabbing the petrified animal by the scruff of its neck and tossing it gently to the ground, fireman John Blas and his co-workers demonstrated the true characteristics of exemplary public service, compassion, not only for the cat, but also for us who fretted its peril.CHRISTINA ZUCCARO
As Perdido, Saipan
