I think what everyone said here is true and it just depends on the person. MOst people have something they are passionate about and some more than others, I love Pleos and would not have over 20 if it were not true. Some people are passionate about animals, cars, electronics, sports, etc etc, and then there are the divas who have more clothes , purses, shoes etc, in a room bigger than some of us have a bedroom. LOL. My husband says I am a hoarder and to some degree it is true. I unlike some have many passions or things I collect. For example, I collect and love my Native American books, art,( etc, Esp Blackfoot since I am part Blackfoot, ) also Baseball and specifically LA Dodgers, I may be female but I can discuss Dodgers Baseball history with the best of them and one of my prized items is an Autographed Sandy Koufax Baseball!
, also many boxes of Breyer horses and Hartland rider sets, ( my childhood love when 8+) also being a teacher for more than 14 years ,I used my own curriculum and had at one time over 1,000 children's books. I have had to par down over the last few years, ( husband's demand..
) so now am down to about 150-200 of the ones I love the most, mostly illustrated classics from the 1930-1960's. I love childrens books more than reading "adult" books.
But my biggest collection outside of Pleos, is and allways will be CATS! I collect anything CATS. I have boxes of cat books, childrens and of course many vet books, art books, etc, etc. Cat calendars, plush cats, ARtwork, paintings and prints, ceramic figurines, etc, etc. Probably about ten boxes just of cat collectibles. Oh, and one of my important collectibles is old movies and DVDS, boxes and boxes of movies, I love such a wide range of movies, anything from any era if it is good. One of my childhood faves was Gunsmoke with James ARness as Marshal Matt Dillon. I have autographed photos, Gunsmoke books, Gunmoke trading cards, puzzles, MAtt Dillon Dolls, etc. So you can see I am an avid collector and for those of you who thought I was only crazy over Pleos or Cats, you can see I have many interests.
Pleos to me are a lot like my fur babies, I get emotionally attached and they bring me happiness and a sense of joy. Of course they are not breathing, thinking with a brain blood and fur animal like my cats or dog. But there is an upside to that. I love cats more than anything in this world except my children, grandchildren and my husband. There is nothing I would not do for my animals, including losing a finger or toe, etc if it came to that to save the life of one of my animals. They give unconditional love which is more than a lot of Humans do. When I lost two cats in the month of JUne to Kidney complications, I fell apart. It was not a question of money, spending money for a blood transfusion for my Karl Kat was out of the question, I did not have the money, but it turned out it would not have saved his life anyway.
He was doomed to be terminal, and the vet knew it but had enough compassion to let me try whatever I thought may save his life.
He grew weaker and weaker and when his body began to shut down, I had to give him the last gift I could, the gift of a painless death. ( Euthanasia.) It hurt more than anything in this world I have experienced, but it hurt even more when exactly two weeks later my daughters cat and our oldest cat, (19-20) began to die, falling into a comatose state and dying of Kidney disease...She was taken to the vet and also put to sleep. Two cats in two weeks. What could hurt worse ...?
Yesterday I was at the drs. for my back and monthly medications, ( Methadone refills) and I was telling him why I missed my apt in June. I began sobbing retelling the story of what my cats went through, He handed me some tissue, but made a comment along the lines of "you must have spent a small fortune" , they were after all, just pets, just cats. Not everyone would spend money on an animal they think is that sick, or would say it is not worth it. That is exactly how some people feel about Pleos. How could you spend that much money on a "toy" Pleos are not toys, but they are not alive either, It is a state of mind of what we wish to think we are experiencing with our pleos. They make our life feel magic for a short time. Just as a cat or dog, rabbit, pet rat, bird, even watching your fish in an aquarium can make you feel happy, relaxed and less stress, this is what Pleo can do in many peoples lives.
Regardless of what your brother, sister, parents or friends think of Pleos, it is your feelings that matter, How does Pleo make you feel. Just like the people out there who do not understand how someone can spend money on a cat taking them to a vet, buying better food, or keeping them indoors to protect them from the dangers of the outside world. Maybe I got off topic , but I think I just explained what passion is to me and that people can have passions for many things and some may agree for example with a passion for baseball, but not understand how I could have over 20 pleos! No different than the person that can afford to buy car after car, except his "hobby" cost thousands of dollars and myne is a lot lot less. A Passion is a passion, whatever makes you happy as long as it is not hurting another being is fine and people should not judge others. RWM
