We all have a job to do, in this world. Via commentor Germy Shoemangler, the Guardian reports:
In an outpouring of grief usually reserved for the passing of a cultural icon, thousands turned out at the weekend to bid a final farewell to a cat credited with saving an obscure Japanese railway line from financial ruin.
An estimated 3,000 people, including railway officials, attended Tama the cat’s Shinto-style funeral on Sunday, days after she died of heart failure aged 16 – the equivalent of about 80 human years…
From the Washington Post:
… A decade ago, Wakayama Electric Railway’s provincial Kishigawa Line had been losing about $4.7 million a year. Trains were arriving at the Kishi station in Kinokawa in Wakayama Prefecture empty. In 2006, the rail line watched its last human employee walk out the door, according to Agence France-Presse. Then Tama, a stray, strolled in.
The next year, Tama was named honorary stationmaster. Tourists started pouring into the area to see her wearing the uniform cap. She inspired T-shirts and stuffed animals. She even got her cartoon-likeness on a train…
“We are proud to have worked with Tama, who appeared in this world as a savior for Wakayama Electric Railway as well as regional train lines throughout the nation,” Wakayama Electric Railway president Mitsunobu Kojima said in a statement.
“We will name her as an eternal station master emeritus,” he added.
Tama was no kitten when she took over the stationmaster job, and 16 is a fair age for a cat. To me, her expression in the news photos says “I’ve done worse jobs for less rewards…”
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Speaking of doing what must be done, what’s on the agenda for the day?
Tuesday Morning Open Thread: A New (Shinto) DeityPost + Comments (137)