Little Nicky

The first cloned kitten was recently sold for $50,000 called Little Nicky after the original 17-year-old cat that died called Nicky. Little Nicky was said by the owner to have many of the same mannerisms and markings of Nicky. A cat that loved being in the bathtub is rare but the clone loves it as much as the original. The company that did the cloning for this owner exhibits a sense of humor in calling themselves Genetic Savings and Clone. Genetic Savings and Clone has “orders” for 5 other mourned-for cats currently in “production;” whatever that means. They still don’t turn a profit yet but they claim they will very soon, once the technique is “perfected” and then comes dogs and farm animals. The ultimate prize for cloning right now is a monkey, since human cloning is still too taboo to do.

As we enter the New Year my thoughts don’t go to the ethics of cloning as much as it wanders down the rabbit path of exploration and discovery. I loved High School, I was kind of weird that way, but I loved the friendships, the activities, and the buzz of High School. When I graduated I felt kind of lost; I felt uncertain of what was ahead at college and work. When I got to college I became comfortable with new friends and new activities and didn’t want to leave the college environment. My first job, changed into my second and third. My first church brought me new friends and activities that fell away as I went to the second and third church. Are you starting to see the patterns of our lives? We leave the old and comfortable for the new, scary and uncertain.

I can’t help but think that this owner of Little Nicky wanted to go back to the comfortable and known. She could have taken that $50,000 and spent a fraction of it on saving hundreds of kittens from destruction, picked any of them, and gained a whole new perspective and joy she never had before. Instead she wanted her dead cat back. As we enter this New Year I want you to ask yourself if you are ready for the adventures, scares, surprises, uneasiness, and joy that a new year can bring. Or do you want your dead cat back?

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