68 thoughts on “it’s a lullaby from a giant golden radio”

1. Wil, I wish I could say something to make you feel better. I know how sad you must feel and it is going to be hard for a while to come and even harder when Riley goes. Hopefully not for a while yet, he has work to do with you first!
   I remember when I lost my Salem and every time I walked past his bowl I would cry too. It took me a month or more before I finally had the courage to put his bowl away. I look at my two beautiful cats I have left and feel so lucky.
   My female cat Tamara is nearly 10 years old and starting to act her age. I will get some photo’s on line soon so you can see my babies. I hope you get a good sleep and feel better in the morning. Wil, do you ever feel like Bear is still around? I used to feel like Salem had just walked past me or around the corner in front of me but of course he was never there. Hugs from Lesley

2. So sorry to hear about your kittys. 🙁 Big hugs!

3. ummm, maybe I should take more time proof reading my entries. I was meaning Sketch. Sorry for the mistake and of course once again I hope your day great and you got a good sleep.

4. I’m sorry, Wil… It’s so hard to deal with pets being sick like that and it’s especially hard after you just lost one family member… I went through similar stuff when my Jimmy Dunn got so sick we had to put him to sleep…
   Take care of each other and listen to Sketch when he tells you he’s ready…
   *hugs*

5. hey wil,
   can’t wait for the new updated WWdN! I’ve been sitting here trying to think of something inspirational to write to make you feel better, but, to be honest, i just can’t do it. Only you know the best way to deal with the pain, and anything I say will not really mean much. (if that makes sense?!) So all i will do, is send you my happy mojo, and feel better mojo from across the pond! Good luck with the update, and I hope you’re feeling better now!
   take care
   rach

6. “Cracked”LGCpE AEoNg wLlya QZpTz NvpOF PplKI PqwEo bdTNv LGclE cGPfK NbFMw UQeZr DeqbP AKmWE ObaDE Apipo eLdlT FBsVl hVyWV Qwgft pmFWa Qbqba pHfLp oAKfZ KGqnP OOFWa WttLq RbILe LevQZ npVPo ToolIt would be nice to have our furry friends with us forever. It is more the blessing that they choose US in the short time they are here. May we forever celebrate the lives that have touched us in honor of their choice. -Dusty

7. Truly, anyone who loves their cats this much must be a good person. *hugs* to you and your family, furry or not.

8. Wil, your kitty posts have made me much more aware of my four fuzzy children, and how big a part of our lives they are. Also I’m grateful to be married to someone who shares all my feelings about our babies, and who will cry right along with me when they leave us. You should be too! (and I’m sure you are)

9. I’m guilty of compassion.
   “Compassion is sometimes the fatal capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside somebody else’s skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too.”
   –Frederick Buechner
   “Illusions commend themselves to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure instead. We must therefore accept it without complaint when they sometimes collide with a bit of reality against which they are dashed to pieces.”
   –Sigmund Freud

10. I wanted to say something, just to let you know that I was reading and that I was sorry, but nothing that I type seems to do the job.
    My heart is breaking for you, Wil. I’m sorry that you had to go through it once, let alone that the next seems on the heels of the last. I know that you’ll be overcome and that you won’t want to write, but please do. Please remember us out here and that we’d like to try and help comfort you.

11. Wil,
    I’m so sorry you are having a hard time with the kitties. Like the above posts, there’s not much I can say to make you feel better. Sadly, our furry friends don’t get to live as long as we would like, so we have to make the best with what time we have. Thanks to you, I am sure all the pet people out there are doing just that. I know I have spent more time just cuddling my kitties the past few months. Hang in there and big hugs to you and yours.
    Sandra

12. Wil,
    I know vets bills are horrible – especially when it’s something big like their hearts – why don’t you let us help? I’m sure most of your commenters would really like to help the wee guy out and fling a couple of paypal bucks in your direction. Let us help?
    Claire.

13. I know how much you miss THE BEAR. You know the old saying. “time heals all wounds” I don’t know if it’s true or not. I do know that he was the luckiest cat to be loved by THE WHEATON FAMILY. On a lighter note I can’t wait to see the new site. I don’t think I’ll ever stop coming here and reading it. I still have to get your books. Right now money is tight so it’s hard. I might have to go to the library and find them to read them. Give my love to everyone.
    Morgan

14. I spent about $3,000. in vet bills before my cat passed away in January so I know how much of an expense they can be.
    I know it hurts but it is better to feel it all now. I was sort of numb when my cat passed away and three months later it is really starting to hit me.

15. My heart aches for you and your family Wil. It is hard enough to lose one feline friend, but to know that you may lose another is heart wrenching.
    I too am owned by a cat, ASPARAGUS, and we have almost lost him several times, spent way to much in vet bills, and would do it over and over if it meant that he would be with us forever….

16. It does get easier as time passes. There are still times I swear I see my little gray cat darting up the stairs, even though she has been gone almost 2 years, and she never lived in this house with us. She’d have loved it though.
    Grieving takes as long as it takes. I don’t think there’s a written-in-stone appropriate time limit. Only you will know what’s enough. And, if you can’t figure that out, there’s always the grief counselor you mentioned before. No shame in that.

17. It’s going to happen, Wil, probably a few more times before it really sinks in. Sometimes hurting is part of the healing and it will take time. It will eventually get easier; I only hope enough time passes between Felix and Sketch so you don’t self destruct.
    Take care.

18. For weeks after my dog passed, I used to wake up at 5am to let her out for her morning bathroom break, and half expect to see her when I got home. I know it hurts right now, but it will adventually fade away and there will be just the memories.

19. There you go again Wheaton – making me bawl in my coffee.
    Only time will lessen the pain of your loss. Sketch is still hanging with you, enjoy whatever time you have left with him.
    Just know that all your WWdN readers feel your pain.
    Sharfa

20. Wil,
    My heart goes out to you every time you write about your dear pets! I’m right there with you. It’s nice you have a little memorial to your pets! I’m sure Felix is with you in spirit!
    XOXOXO
    Lots of Love

21. I wish there was something I can say to make you feel better but I cant find the right words. Just remember that we’re all thinking off you.
    Love
    Donna Marie
    XXXX

22. i think of you each time i hug and cuddle with my 3 ragamuffins. Let me tell you a bit about them.
    First, there’s the “tiger twins”. 2 gals from the same litter, both with a tiger pattern, but with different prominent color patterns. Piper is the most outgoing, and she is the TRUE tiger of the 2. The tan background with the black stripe pattern. Then there’s her sister, Sasha. Sasha has a white background, with a silvery/grey striping pattern.
    Then there’s my big boy. Maxwell is a BIG, fluffy, black tomcat. When you look at him, he looks like the fattest cat you’ve ever seen, then you realize that he’s ALL fluff. He’s defintely a big cat, but on top of it is the fluff, and that just makes him gi-NORMOUS.
    He’s so funny because he tries to be cool, and act all non-chalant around the other kitties, but then as soon as they’re out of the room, he is meowing and cuddling in my lap like the big baby he is.
    I have only owned cats as an adult – we never had pets growing up. SO, when we first started getting them, I kept thinking “these guys are cute, but I can’t see myself getting attahced like OTHER people get attached. that’s just WEIRD”
    yeah, right.
    Every time i read a story about Sketch or Felix, I try and think of how I would be if it were one of mine, and honostly — I’d be just as knocked out and devastated as you. These cats are a part of me, and are a part of my family.
    I love them to pieces, and would be inconsolable if anything happened to them.
    and so….
    they meow and rub up against my legs, and I think of you.
    and then I snatch them up, and hug them close to me, and I wish and hope for some good things to go your way.
    peace, man.

23. You’re never alone when the boys are home, baby. Or when the furbabies are home for that matter.
    Keep an eye on Sketch, Wil. PK started by watching me type and now she has her own blog complete with fans and everything. 0.o
    Remember that The Bear lives on within you. He is never far from your heart.

24. Hey Wil, as long as you are redesigning your site, how about making it friendly for small, slow brower platforms like my Treo? It takes about 30 seconds after hitting the site to actually be able to scroll around and read, mostly because I have to download well over 100K of data whenever I connect.

25. Wil… like a lot of other commenters, I wanted to say something but nothing I type seems to be good enough or even helpful. So, just know that people are thinking of you. Isn’t it amazing how many people’s lives you’ve touched and how many want to give that back to you in the form of well wishes… Be proud of what you’ve built here at WWdN.

26. Both of my fuzzy ones have had a few health scares and the vet bills have been bad. However, I do have health insurance for them, which has helped a lot. There’s a company called VPI that insures pets and will reimburse for a lot of the bills. I think the number is 800-USA-PETS.
    Dana

27. (((wil)))

28. Our sympathies to you and your family.
    I and my
    UHACC mates will be sure to drink a Guiness in your honor at Penguicon.
    Take care,

29. You are so fecking goddamn adorable.
    I always get so scared when animals and people start dying… I can hardly even talk about it let alone take care of them while they are dying. More horrible than the fear, is the fact that I know I’ll regret it in the end. Therefore I push on.
    I’m so glad there are people like you in the world who are brave–makes up for us cowards lol.

30. Jeez-oh-flip, Wil. When it rains, huh?
    Hang in there. Just do the best you can for Sketch. He knows you’re trying, and he appreciates it I’m sure.
    ~R.Austin

31. There are somethings that should only be contemplated in the bright sunlight. The mortality of those that we share our lives with is one of them. The darkness of night, combined with our sleep deprived brain enhance every neuron in our brain, over-stimulating our synapses with memories, regrets, sadness and fear.
    You are a good Dad to your cats. You take care of them. They know you do, too. Now buck up, mister. The pain fades but the memories will remain forever.
    That being said, I haven’t looked at the plaster they made for our kitty: It still makes me cry. 3 years and counting. New love fills in the gaps when you’re not paying attention to the void they left behind.

32. Christ, it’s hard, isn’t.
    And this is one of the hardest parts:
    Your kitties and puppies will keep on trying, cheerfully, much longer than they should — for you.
    Sometimes, when they pass, it’s peaceful enough — oh, those years ago, when Cookie curled up on his favorite sleeping-spot in my apartment, went to sleep, and never returned! — but more often, they fail by inches, and adjust to their new limitations, and keep on trying: because of you. Because they love you, and they want to please you.
    And sometimes, you have to step in. Sometimes, you have to look at the weight they carry, uncomplaining, even cheerfully, and tell them, “No. It’s enough. Put it down.”
    Because it’s not good for them. Because you’re the daddy, and you have to make that hard decision, and put a stop to it. Because, if you don’t, then they beat themselves into the ground for you, beat their hearts out, beat their guts out — just for you.
    I don’t, of course — I can’t, of course — know if Sketch is approaching that point. I hope he isn’t.
    But, if he is, you have to be the daddy, and say, “Enough. No more.”
    And it will feel like murder.
    But know and remember that you’re doing what’s right, for the right reasons. Because you’re the daddy, and it’s your job to carry that weight.
    And, when all is said and done, when the pain has dulled and you can bear your next heartbeat, the love will still be there, and you’ll know:
    It was worth it.

33. Christ, it’s hard, isn’t.
    And this is one of the hardest parts:
    Your kitties and puppies will keep on trying, cheerfully, much longer than they should — for you.
    Sometimes, when they pass, it’s peaceful enough — oh, those years ago, when Cookie curled up on his favorite sleeping-spot in my apartment, went to sleep, and never returned! — but more often, they fail by inches, and adjust to their new limitations, and keep on trying: because of you. Because they love you, and they want to please you.
    And sometimes, you have to step in. Sometimes, you have to look at the weight they carry, uncomplaining, even cheerfully, and tell them, “No. It’s enough. Put it down.”
    Because it’s not good for them. Because you’re the daddy, and you have to make that hard decision, and put a stop to it. Because, if you don’t, then they beat themselves into the ground for you, beat their hearts out, beat their guts out — just for you.
    I don’t, of course — I can’t, of course — know if Sketch is approaching that point. I hope he isn’t.
    But, if he is, you have to be the daddy, and say, “Enough. No more.”
    And it will feel like murder.
    But know and remember that you’re doing what’s right, for the right reasons. Because you’re the daddy, and it’s your job to carry that weight.
    And, when all is said and done, when the pain has dulled and you can bear your next heartbeat, the love will still be there, and you’ll know:
    It was worth it.

34. *hugs*
    I hope you feel better soon.
    Time heals all wounds, they say, but that is the suckiest cure ever.
    BTW, I’m glad you listen to DCFC… I have 8 albums (some are EPs, and I still have to get the iTunes album) and thanks to you I am into Wilco. Not that this is of any real importance, but.. hey.

35. Batmensch: If you want to speed up the time of loading a page to view the text, just set up your defaults to not load Images. (You can always Right-Click and “Show Picture” later.) Wil: You have a Read, Listen, and Watch section. Why not a “Wear” section for showing the “Shirt du Jour” or Snazzy Button? As for the PayPal Button for support for your ailing Furry Family Member, I think it is a good idea. You should put that as the TOP-RIGHT Button. It would give people a way to feel good about reaching out and helping. BG2Y -Dusty

36. Wil,
    Caught your last show of Acme Love Machine a few weeks ago, it totally kicked azz. I’ve been lurking here for a long time. Your blog entries have touched me many times with your open and engaging writing style. I too have lost pets and it’s always difficult to come to terms with the absence of those faithful friends. Right after reading this entry I ran across the following item and lifted it as it was to place here, it tore me up.
    Rainbow Bridge
    Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
    When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
    All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
    They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
    You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
    Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together….
    Author unknown…

37. I know how you feel…
    Two years ago, our family dog died from heart worms. We had him treated numerous times but they showed up again and we did not have the funds to treat him again (our vet said it would cost about $750.00). So my wife and I made a choice, we would have him put to sleep. It was either that or let the kids starve for two months. I cried many days after that. One day when I returned from work, my wife looked as though the world had fallen on her. When I asked her what was wrong, she told me that she had taken Dude (our dog) to the vet. It was very, very hard on her. She sobbed the whole time she was at the vets. But now came the worst part….having to tell my two boys. I called them to the living room and told them that Dude was very sick and had passed away that day. My oldest son started crying but my youngest son (5 years old at the time) had that look of “I don’t believe you” on his face. He ran outside to the backyard and I followed him. He ran to every corner calling for Dude. He finally stopped and stood in the middle of the yard screaming for Dude. Then he walked up to me with those tears in his eyes and said, “I feel sad and my heart is broke.” Well, then I lost it. I bent down on one knee and hugged him and cried with him.
    We still miss Dude, I miss seeing him running to me, laying his head in my lap whenever I sat down, and all the fun we had together.
    That was two years ago, but it still seems like yesterday.
    So, yea, I know how you feel.
    Mike

38. It’s too soon!! You can’t possibly lose another sweet kitty! I am so very sorry. I will tell you the sorrow you have been feeling and all the tears are still very normal and will probably be around for sadly a long long time.
    I am so sorry!

39. Hey Wil,
    I know these last few weeks for you have been hell. One of the hardest things in life is letting go. I have said this many times before, Felix was so lucky to have parents like You and Anne! All of your animals are lucky. You never gave up on Felix and you have peace in knowing that always. Sketch is in my thoughts all the time. In some form or another animals talk. I always have wished that I could understand what they say, acourse when they are ticked off at you, it might be better not to know what they say! ha.
    If there was anything I could say to make you feel beter I would. In times like this, words don’t always help. All I can say is how sorry I am for all that You and Anne have gone through latley. This coming from a totle stranger might not help, but I hope in some way it does. Just remember all of here consider you a friend and we are there for you always, even though you can’t see us. Best wishes for you!!

40. PLEASE put a PayPal donate button up for your vet bills. Do not feel that this is grasping, or greedy, or selfish in some way. In fact, it is the exact opposite: your cat is in need of medical assistance. In a way, since you are the parent, you are obliged to help your furkids any way you can. There are hundreds…maybe even thousands…of people out here who want to help you help them. I think that the only selfish thing on your part would be to deny them the aid that is waiting here, just waiting for the opportunity to help you.
    I know where you are right now, believe me. I know what it is to need to take my animals to the vet and not be able to afford it. I would give a lot if I had the capacity to have others help do that, the way you have, and I know many other people would, too. Don’t throw this chance away. We want to do this. Really. We do.
    Please let us. 🙂

41. Yeah, I left my babys, Osgood’s, dishes up for 3 months before I could bear touching them. I’m thinking of you, Anne, and the kids–and Sketch and the Bear, of course!
    Aimee

42. I wish I could make this easier for you, somehow.

43. Aw, Wil. You’re such a good kitty dad.

44. Wil,
    Please consider the Paypal thing. I know why you haven’t even touched on the subject, but if a whole bunch of your readers gave just a little, it could help alot. If the guy who runs BBspot can take donations for a new computer, why can’t we loyal fans help a bit with the vet bills? I know you are going through a heavy time, but we want to show you how much we care. Well, that is my two cents worth. Much kitty mojo for Sketch from the crowd in Nor-Cal.
    Tim

45. To those who want to donate:
    I’d guess that Wil’s the sort of person that it really gnaws at to ask for help, even if he needs it. I would assume (with little evidence either way) that he’s not in any particular financial crisis, so since he doesn’t _need_ it, then he’s not going to ask. Besides, I would guess (again, speculation) that he doesn’t want to use people’s feelings about him to gain money. [He wants people to buy his books, but not because they feel sorry for him, but because they like the books.]
    So I would guess that he won’t put up a Paypal link. If you feel like giving, then just send him money via PayPal. It’s not like his e-mail address is a secret. Just send it to him; that’s what PayPal is for.

46. Peaches used to sit on the step outside the garage door. We’d have to watch and make sure we never stepped on her on the way out the door. When she was gone we still did it, out of habit.
    There are so many more of these habits that we had to ‘break’
    My thoughts are with you and your family. Always

47. Hang in there Wil… And keep yourself busy.. 🙂

48. Wil,
    Take comfort in knowing that Felix memories will live forever in your household. And as for Riley, the best that you can do is just love him even more.
    Take care and I hope you feel better.
    Ting
    P.S. I just finished reading “Just A Geek” from cover to cover. And this validated that you really ARE a great writer. Thanks for the inspiration, Wil!

49. ::sympathies and thoughts::
    rumor’s purring like there’s no tomorrow. he knows it always helps me. i figure cat intuition is telling him someone else needs a bit too. i’m good with sharing.
    been nice to know how good a life those cats have gotten to share with your family. 🙂 lucky for you all, despite the endings that come too soon.
    other news – i’m looking forward to the wwdn facelift. 🙂

50. I have a confession to make: I didn’t start reading your blog because of you, I started reading it because of Sketch, who is the spitting image (and apparently spitting personality, too, if there is such a thing) of my precious Maine Coon kitty.
    Your entries about your little furry friends make me both laugh and cry.
    My thoughts are with you and Sketch …

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