MOLLY MAE
by Joseph S Bonsall
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart” Jeremiah. 1:9
There is a wonderful scene in Molly Book #1 where Molly asks the old wise Pumpkin kitty about the Better Place… The much older orange tabby explains to the kitten that the God of All Creatures has indeed prepared a place just for kitties where they live after they leave this earth.
Molly ponders this and thinks that it all sounds pretty good except “How could there EVER be a Better Place than right here in the HOME with Mother Mary, Honey Pumpkin, Omaha and Gypsy?”
Just like in the book our nephew Gabriel found the little kitten all alone and soaking wet on a Halloween night 18 years ago. Mary took her in and very quickly she became one with our humble home and has been a vital part of our lives ever since. She was special from the start… a bright light… a shining star.
We once to took a vacation to the Caribbean and Mary missed her so much that I almost had to bring her home. On a two weeks stay in Vegas I once wrote the aforementioned book about her that was later published as a series of four books by Ideals Childrens Books entitled MOLLY, THE HOME, OUTSIDE and BREWSTER.
As you can see above the books were incredibly illustrated by Erin Mauterer who really brought Molly and her friends to life. Many children came to know Molly and her friends and the books are passed down even today to newer generations of kids.
Molly sold over 100,00 books and those sales were responsible for starting the Joseph S and Mary Ann Bonsall Foundation which has aided animal shelters and cat adoption centers for well over 15 years. ALL of this… because of ONE magical little cat who as a kitten once walked into the bathroom as Mary came out of the shower and exclaimed, “Well GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY How are you doin?” She then named the little calico MOLLY!
Her formal name is actually Molly Mae Bonsall and she left us today for her new home in The Better Place.
Her will and spirit and magical humor will be missed but we will NEVER forget her. Can a little cat really bring that much love and blessings to a home? I assure you the answer is yes!
Mary and I will miss our little girl kitty more than you could imagine. As when any loved one departs this earth there leaves an abyss where they once lived and breathed.
In my latest book From My Perspective I write more about Molly and our kitties in the chapter called Our Molly and in my chapter called Musings On Heaven I reflect upon the distinct possibility that we will see our beloved animal friends in Heaven. Sound crazy? I don’t think so… Read the chapter…
In the meantime our Molly is now once again playing with Pumpkin and Omaha and Gypsy. I am sure that Yuri and Bud and Spooker and The Dude are nearby as well! I’ll bet they were happy to see her too!
Goodbye little Molly Mae. We love you so very much and we will miss you terribly but we WILL see you again!
Tidbit…The RAINBOW PILLOW: In the book series Molly’s favorite possession ever is her rainbow pillow and pink mousey. The pink mousey vanished years ago but the pillow has been with her as long as we can remember. She has hunted it, loved on it and slept with it for well over sixteen years. I brought it home from the old Opryland Amusement Park in Nashville, which has not been around for ages. Even at the end Molly rested her head upon what we called Molly’s Rainbow… We did NOT bury it with her. We wanted it for a keepsake. As Mary said, “She has a new rainbow pillow now. One that has not been washed and repaired a thousand times.”
We DID bury a MOLLY book with her though…
Painting of our Molly by artist Ellen Schumm
For more info on Joseph S and Mary Ann Bonsall Foundation visit http://www.josephsbonsall.com