BETH'S LEGACY

November 7, 2000

  Beth is the breeder of CFA's First Bi-Color Distinguished Merit, Tomahe's Abiline.

Her Grand offspring are GP Lumax Apache Black Gold, GC Lumax Aparche Brown

Topaz, GC Lumax Medicine Hat, GP Lumax Ringmaster, and GP Lumax Lumax Tobiano.

I know how proud Beth would have been of such an outstanding accomplishment, but it is so

sad that she cannot be here to enjoy that. I miss her terribly, her laughter, her almost daily

phone calls, her kindess to others, visiting her at home where she would prepare the best

dinners for us, even though she herself could not eat any of it. Her sole nutrition came through

her IV. It must have taken all of her energy to prepare those meals, yet she continued to do

so as her joy she said was pleasing others.

 Beth, we miss you. It is terribly lonely down here without you.

     It is with great sadness that I send this message regarding the passage of Beth

Brague. Beth bred Oriental Shorthairs under the name of Tomahe Cattery for many

years.

  Strange though it may seem, I never had the pleasure of meeting Beth in person. But

I was fortunate to know her through many phone calls, letters, picture swapping, and

e-mails. It seems impossible that she is gone. Some of you may remember her posts

ending with Beths Dust Bunnies.

  Beth truly loved her cats and you could never ask for a kinder, gentler person or a

better home. I can hear her now as I type this note, talking about her Vanessa and

Hunter, etc.

 I , for one, will truly miss her and every time I look upon my bi-colors, I will think of

   I never met Beth personally, but came to know her personality -- and her much-loved
cats -- well through our e-mail correspondence. I was aware that she was very ill only
through seemingly off-handed remarks that she made recently like: " I bet they can
build ANOTHER wing on the hospital, thanks to me!" and "I used to weigh over 200
pounds and now I'm barely pushing 98" or "I have had yet another complete
blood transfusion", etc. I don't know what illness she had and as  horrified as I was by
these casual remarks (she certainly played down the drama, pain and other
distressing events surrounding her illness using  humor and positive thinking instead.
I also tried not to put too much emphasis on it either while letting her know what she
had said had registered with me. I just tried to applaud her incredible efforts of
maintaining a vision of the future and proceeding with projects, such as writing her
stories in the face of such obstacles.
  I find her courage, humor and humanity very very inspiring, especially in the face of
what is important and what is not. We all get so wrapped up in our petty day to day
motions, concerns and ambitions that is is very easy to lose sight of what really counts.
I hope that sometimes we can all stop for a minute and remember that it is not the little
things that get us so worked up that have any meaning in the broader picture.
   I'm sorry to get so serious here, but lately there have been so many of these petty,
mean, cheap things going on in the cat fancy that I just have to shake my head and
wonder even at the energy that the people who create these nasty incidents and
intriques and why? Couldn't this energy be much better spent? And for the benefit
and positive results of a lot of people and cats?
 If we are enjoying good health, have a roof over our heads and have a future to
look forward to, well, then, we are indeed blessed.