There is a lot “in the air” this time of year.
But if you happen to catch the flu, bronchitis, or a feverish case of nostalgia, fear not.
The Doctor is on call at Tabby’s Place.*
Your health insurance may not cover a visit to Dr. Pepper, but his out-of-pocket cost is affordable: one lap, two hands.
He did not exactly pass Organic Chemistry, but he is board-certified in non-surgical restoration of rejoicing.
You will not find any diplomas on his wall, but you would find your picture in his wallet if he had pants.
You do not need pre-authorization to his heart. Simply slump into his suite, and Dr. Pepper will administer urgent care.
Specifically, he will administer himself, applied directly where it hurts.
Do not worry if you got yourself into this jam. Dr. Pepper will not judge or scold. Your patient history is irrelevant, and his patience is irrevocable.
Is your knee acting up again? No heating pad can reach the temperatures of a lynx-point Siamese who loves you without asking questions.
Does a sore throat or a sad memory have you hoarse and scratchy? Dr. Pepper’s salt-and-pepper hairs are more soothing than any gargle.
Are you longing for summer, or someone, or something you cannot name? Dr. Pepper prescribes his presence.
There is nothing generic about this gentle healer. Dr. Pepper has choked down some bitter pills of his own. As one of forty-nine animals extracted from one house, he knows how it feels to wheeze and gasp. Hunger rattled his ribs, and coughing kept him up all night.
But none of it kept him down, because he knew his calling.
And when Tabby’s Place came calling, Dr. Pepper rang like a jingle bell. Now that he was going to survive, he could get to work helping people thrive.
A good doctor knows no two patients are the same, and Dr. Pepper adores the individual. Some need the warm compress: a long-tailed lapful who listens. Some need clowning and carbonation, giddy playtime quenching a glum mood.
He is tender or ridiculous, as the day demands. He is as earnest as George Bailey and as fizzy as punch. He likes that Christmas carol about “when the soul felt its worth,” but he also likes old blues singers with names like Grandpa Zing-Zang and Finger-In-Your-Eye Floyd.
Dr. Pepper has many specialties, because everyone has a special place in his heart.
And he can treat all shades of the blues with his own blue eyes.
With those delicate instruments, Dr. Pepper can detect that you are precious, even if you have been misdiagnosed many times.
He will gaze without examining, besotted with your beauty, whether you are pediatric or geriatric. He will conclude that you will recover, even if that feels impossible today.
He will recommend you continue this course of treatment for ninety-nine years, at which point the two of you can reevaluate.
Is Dr. Pepper a real doctor? That is like asking if there is a real Santa Claus.
There are things you can only learn by loving.
There are things you misplace, but someone else may put them back in your hands a few Decembers later.
There is healing on the far side of hopeless.
The doctor is in.
*I do not regret to inform you that the Doctor is no longer in. He was diagnosed as adorable, and is now practicing merriment in his forever home. But, be of good cheer: before leaving, he trained the other 150 Tabby’s Place cats in the art of healing hearts. No appointment necessary.