Our view: Missing Lucy

Opinion

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Staff file photo Lucy, shown here in April 2011, was a frequent visitor at The Barking Cat in Salem. One of his favorite spots in the shop was the countertop. Staff file photo

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December 5, 2012

Our view: Missing Lucy

Anonymous The Salem News The Salem News Wed Dec 05, 2012, 04:00 AM EST

Lucy wasn’t just any cat. He was a guy with a girl’s name. It takes a certain self-confidence to carry that off, and Lucy did, making himself at home in any number of spots in downtown Salem.

The Maine coon cat would wander from owner David Pelletier’s home on Crombie Street through the downtown, often stopping off at The Barking Cat on Essex Street for a nap or a little attention. He was a celebrity, and he knew it.

But the outpouring of affection for Lucy during his life and after his death at 12 last weekend is another example of how a downtown can be as much a neighborhood as a commercial district, where people can be friends and businesspeople at the same time.

He was a special part of a special downtown, and he will be missed.

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