Of Tears and Flying Cats

I know I have bitched about the quality of television in past postings, but I have to admit that sometimes it is a very powerful, worthwhile medium. I finished watching a documentary called After Maeve on TVO (Television Ontario, the provincially funded public broadcaster).

At the risk of over-simplifying, the documentary was about how two parents dealt with the death of their ten year old daughter. Maeve, the daughter, was a lively child who created a rich imaginary world called Planet Creature, a world that she and her friends played in. In addition to a city of cats called Bumbletown, Planet Creature is home to a flying cat ambulance brigade, a hospital for terminally ill ants, and leaves used to transport creatures from one place to another.

You may noticed that I said Planet Creature "is" home and not "was" home to the ambulance brigade. That is because Planet Creature lives on, in the memories of Maeve's friends and family -- and also on the Internet. I really don't have the words to describe this world, but you can see it for yourself at http://www.planetcreature.com. It is definitely worth checking out.

Also worth checking out is the documentary itself. If you ever see After Maeve in your local television listings, make a point of watching it. You might spent a lot of time with tears in your eyes -- trust me, it happens -- but you will also be taken to a very magical world inhabited by a very magical young lady.