(Photo by Terry Leahy)

“Be the hand of a hopeful stranger, Little scared but you’re strong enough. Be the light in the dark of this danger, ‘Till the sun comes up.” 

-Sara Barielles, A Safe Place to Land,  Amidst The Chaos.

Come and meet my friend Cynthia Daniello, who I got to see this morning for the first time, her daughter Terry took this photo last night and e-mailed it to me.

Thanks once more to the Army Of Good.  You came through as always when I asked if anyone could help Cynthia set up her blog. I appreciate those good souls who reached out to her.

Cynthia has a strong will and independent spirit. She will get her blog up soon, she assures me, and having talked her several times, I have no doubt of it.

This morning, I listened to a wonderful musician and singer, her name is Sara Bareilles, her album is Amidst The Chaos. She scored the hit  Broadway musical Waitress, which ran for six years and won a ton of awards.

Barielles left after the 2016 election, it changed her life.

She wanted to write an album that would offer hope to women and inspire them not to give up. She wanted people to keep hoping, and to never quit on their values.

Listening to this music I couldn’t help but think of Cynthia, a remarkable woman who happens to be older, but who has a mind like a scythe and a world of experience to offer.

Cynthia called my radio show “Talking To Animals” every week for nearly a month, that’s where I first met her. Her knowledge and wisdom were apparent from the first call.  We just connected instantly I suggested she start a blog. She puzzled over it for a day or to, and them said she was going to do it.

I admit I had some of the Mansion residents on my mind, they often talk of feeling invisible, useless and discarded in a culture that has forgotten them. Cynthia said she sometimes felt the same way. She has a lot to offer people.

We are a community. A number of people, including some Virginians, contacted Cynthia yesterday and offered her some good advice about how to set up her blog.

She wants to do it herself, she’s not going to wait for her son.

“I think I have decided on a name,” she wrote me this morning.

“It is the Never-Ending Song. I think it best describes what I want to do with the blog. I want to begin the song at my  beginning and show how the song does not need to end in one’s 80’s. I will wander through the years of my life, what I have learned from those animals who were part of that life, what the “golden years” have offered, and how I have found a way to keep on singing.”

She said she hoped that there will be some people out there who will feel free to ask her any questions they have that she might be able to help them with. I assured her there will be, I’m already getting messages from them wanting to know when her blog is going up, save this e-mail: [email protected].

There are two elements to her blog, the Never-Ending Song. One is a personal account of her own life and lessons, the other is to be helpful to people who have questions and concerns about their animals.

She has a lot more to offer people than just animals. She wants to talk about singing her songs at any age.

I’m glad she is writing about her life, it is worthy of consideration for anyone. The blog is not up quite yet – it won’t be long. [email protected].

This is a photo of Cynthia and her Brittany, Hannah.

As I imagined, Cynthia is impressive, her character shines through, along with her strength and focus. She is bound to a wheel-chair, but that will not stop her. For those new to this wonderful story, Cynthias is 84 years old, and living in an Independent Living facility in Virginia.

She grew up on a farm, raised horses, and worked as a vet tech for more than 30 years. She and I have talked about the challenges of aging, as well as living with animals.

She very much wants meaning and purpose in her life, she agrees that the elderly are too often pushed aside and ignored. She also believes they have much to contribute and she intends to prove it.

Like Sara Bareilles, the 2016 election also changed my life, and reminded me to have hope and to never give up.  Cynthia is a fellow soldier in this struggle.

I can’t wait to see her new blog, and now that I have seen her, I feel even closer to her.  Of course, she wanted Hannah in the photograph.

I suggested that her life-time experience of working with animals is of great value, and she seemed shocked at that idea, but not for long.  Her life is just as interesting. I told her there are powerful new tools now that can liberate her, and permit her to tell her story to the world.

She will see that people want to hear it. She has not given up hope, and she has not quit.

Her blog can help raise her voice to the world and help the people who desperately need information and help with their animals.

I look forward to this never ending story, and will share the news of this creation as I receive it.