PERSONAL PAGE OF BARRY D. FRIEDMAN . . .

INTRODUCTION

Since relocating to the State of Georgia in the late summer of 1987, I have had the great fortune of establishing a very rewarding career in two institutions of the University System of Georgia--Valdosta State University and the University of North Georgia (UNG).  At UNG in Dahlonega (http://www.UNG.edu), I coordinated the Master of Public Administration Program, which we established in March 1996, until August 2016.  Visit my UNG home page (http://faculty.UNG.edu/bfriedman/index.shtml).  My colleagues and students are the best with whom anyone could hope to be associated.  Members of the faculty, staff, and student body like to refer to the University of North Georgia as “the best kept secret in Georgia.”  It is a senior military college recognized by the United States Army and attracts motivated, talented, and industrious students.  The university is located at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains--an incredibly beautiful area.  Dahlonega was the site of the first significant gold rush in U. S. history, and the UNG-Dahlonega campus includes the site of a gold rush-era U. S. Mint.  Come to visit Northeast Georgia!  You will probably not want to leave.

About Barry’s Pet Kitty Cats ♥ Moody Blue, my adorable pet kitty cat, was born in (or around) 1984.  I met Moody in 1990.  At that time, I knew very little about cats, and, out of inexperience and ignorance, I was inconsiderate toward Moody and her kindhearted stepbrother, Kitty Moe, and played with them rather roughly.  Moody, for her own good reasons, decided to respond to my foolishness with gentleness and affection.  It took a year or two, but she succeeded in reaching me, and in training me to be nice to kitty cats--especially her.  What followed was the most wonderful, loving relationship that lasted for 16 years.  Our favorite thing to do together involved me lying on the sofa and Moody lying on my legs; we would relax that way for hours at a time.  I am quite sure that Divine Providence sent Moody to watch over me and make sure that I was doing OK.  How many experiences in life are as enjoyable and fulfilling as coming home and finding a kitty cat who thinks that your arrival is the most exciting development of the entire day?  Moody Blue was my pride and joy.  She was sweet, gentle, and very loving--as well as very spirited.  On January 1, 2007, we joyfully celebrated Moody’s 23d birthday.  Two days later, her condition of chronic kidney failure suddenly sent her into a rapid decline that ended when she died peacefully on the morning of January 11, 2007.  In the photograph, Moody sits on the kitchen table during Hanukah and admires the menorah.  She made every holiday and event sweeter and more colorful.  Moody gave me an enduring appreciation for animals, the inestimable value of their companionship, and their unequivocal right to be happy and cared about.  I am a life member and past treasurer of the TLC Humane Society of Dahlonega, Ga.  I am also a member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and a life member of SpayGeorgia.  I do what I do for animals in memory of Moody Blue and because Moody taught me to be proactive in protecting animals from harm.  Moody:  Today--on January 11, 2021--I remember how you enhanced the quality of my life when we were together, but I also remember how much it hurt to lose you 14 years ago.  While I will never recover from my sense of loss, I will also never rescind my gratitude for the joy that I experienced for so many years because of you.  I await the occasion when I will be reunited with you, and we can play together again.  You are my best friend, I think about you every day, and I miss you terribly.  May G•d bless your sweet and sacred memory. -- Love, Barry . Mary, Queen of Scots, was rescued and given a home by UNG psychology professor Kelly L. Cate.  Dr. Cate then placed Mary, who was 10½ years old, in my home in November 2009 because that arrangement seemed to be a better “fit.”  Like Moody Blue, Mary was a domestic long-haired kitty cat and she emulated Moody’s loving, loyal, and gentle personality.  The name that Dr. Cate gave to Mary‑‑“Mary, Queen of Scots”‑‑matched Mary’s demeanor:  Mary conducted herself with regal, quiet dignity.  She was indisputably the lady of the house.  I had genuine respect for Mary and adored and cherished her.  We enjoyed a loving, devoted relationship for 9½ years until an undetermined illness took her on August 2, 2019, eight days after the first alarming symptoms appeared.  My life was enriched because Mary was a prominent part of it.  Her death disrupted the rhythm of my life at home and left me devastated.  I ardently hope that G•d will reunite her and me someday so that we can enjoy each other’s company again.  Until then, I am very lonely without my magnificent little angel. During the spring of 2009, Willow and Woody were born in my back yard.  A few days later, they came to the sliding-glass door on my deck, explained that they had been born on my property, and expressed their desire to come in to the house on the grounds of their birthplace.  So I let them in.  I never regretted it, because of their sweet personalities.  Willow developed the habit, when I would be in bed, of jumping onto the bed, walking over to where my head was, and lowering her head so that I could kiss her on top of her pretty little head.  Willow and Woody loved each other, played with each other, and generally spent their days hanging out together.  Woody protected his sister and often groomed her, too.  In 2014, I had the deck in the back of my house enclosed with wire mesh, so that the kitty cats could have a playpen in which they could get fresh air and be absolutely safe.  Willow and Woody totally loved their lives together in my home.  It was a bitterly sad day when, on September 8, 2019, Willow succumbed unexpectedly to what was most likely heart failure.  Her death at the age of 10 left Woody and me grief-stricken.  Willow’s death occurred about five weeks after Mary, Queen of Scots, died.  It was very difficult to endure so much sorrow. When I first set up this section, “About Moody Blue,” my purpose was to express my joy at having a wonderful kitty cat as a companion animal and to pay tribute to Moody Blue, whose company I was enjoying very much.  Since then, a lot of water has gone under the bridge.  Now, Moody, Mary, and Willow are gone, and there is scar tissue all over my heart.  I invested a lot of myself in my kitty-cat “hobby.”  In turn, the kitty cats and I experienced a lot of joy.  The cats loved the lives that they had.  But all good things come to an end, and, in these cases, the anguish is oppressive, often for both the pet and the human.  If I have learned anything, it is that to have pets is a lot of fun but, because of their shorter life spans, it is a dangerous game for emotional people like me to play.  This aspect of humans’ relationships with companion animals has taken a punishing toll on me.  Woody, Lily, and I will carry on, taking care of each other and remembering with sentimental appreciation the companions whom we loved so much.  Meanwhile, I have a much more convoluted perception of what life is like, including the fact that whoever is experiencing happiness and gratification today will eventually have to pay the tab.  May G•d have mercy on all of us.

Barry Friedman’s Favorite Affiliations These are some of Barry's favorite organizations: American Friends of Magen David Adom (formerly American Red Magen David for Israel), which supports the work of Magen David Adom, Israel’s Red Cross service.  Barry is an international life member of American Friends of MDA, through the Ahava - Richard Freedman Chapter of South Florida, and a chapter life member of the Atlanta Chapter and the former Shomer Chapter of West Hartford, Conn. (of which he served as president).  (See also Barry’s Web page at http://faculty.UNG.edu/bfriedman/bfried/MDA.htm). International and American Society for Yad Vashem, the prominent Holocaust commemoration organizations. American Society for Public Administration (life member).  Barry held offices in the Georgia Chapter for 17 years.  As editor of the chapter newsletter, The Georgia Public Administrator, Barry brought the Division III Chapter Newsletter Award to the Georgia Chapter. University of Connecticut Alumni Association (Barry is a life member); University of Hartford Alumni Association; University of North Georgia Alumni Association (Barry is an associate life member) RAVEN - Research on Abusive Volunteer Exploitation by Nonprofits (see Barry’s 1997 conference paper, “Cracking Down on Red Cross Volunteers:  How American Red Cross Officials Crushed an Insurrection by Agitated, Mistreated Volunteers in Northeast Georgia”) TLC Humane Society of Dahlonega/Lumpkin County, Ga. (life member) People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.  Click here to see a Web page about being nice to your pet kitty cat. Barry supports the Lumpkin County Historical Society's Dr. Ray C. Rensi History Award.
If you find any of the organizations with which Barry is affiliated to be of interest, write to him at bfriedman@UNG.edu .  He'll be glad to tell you more about these fine associations.

Personal disclaimer:  This page is not a publication of the University of North Georgia and UNG has not edited or examined the content of the page.  The author of the page is solely responsible for the content.

Last updated on May 7, 2021, by Barry D. Friedman.

Link to Barry's home page . . .