Bernardo O’Higgins was a Chilean patriot of Irish descent, who lived during the time of the war for Chile’s independence from Spain, in the 1820’s. He worked with other famous South Americans such as Argentina’s San Martin and Colombia’s Bolivar.
But in the 1990’s, I used the name Bernardo O’Higgins as the name of a character in one of the stories I used to make up and tell to my stepson, Jeffrey. These were imaginary stories involving talking animals in science-fictiony plots. The main character was a dog named Gilgamesh. I can’t remember what animal Bernardo O’Higgins was in my stories, but when we bought our third cat in 1994, that became her name. Despite the fact that Bernardo is a male name, the cat was a girl, but still her name was Bernardo O’Higgins.
Over the years, her name was typically shortened to Bernie, and she became, definitively and specifically my cat. When Michelle died in 2000, Bernie came to live with me in Los Angeles, and she followed me to my various residences out here, in Burbank, North Hollywood, Highland Park and Long Beach. Finally, she came with me to Minnesota, her birth-home, when I moved back there in 2006.
But I couldn’t take her to Korea. So she ended up at my dad’s house here in Highland Park. Here she is lazing in the gentle Southern California January sunshine.
Here is a random view from dad’s front porch. Not very wintery, here.
And here is Bernie, having moved into my open suitcase this evening, while my dad and I went out to dinner. I guess she wishes I would take her with me back to Korea?
