Despite the fact she is now without Nutmeg, her companion of eight years, Bangor resident Donna Hardy has found happiness in her new community.

Nutmeg, a 20-pound Maine coon cat with double paws, moved here from Houlton recently with her mistress. Nutmeg traveled everywhere with Hardy, but on July 8, while home alone and exploring her new neighborhood, Nutmeg was struck by a car and killed.

It was a devastating experience for Hardy except that, in her sorrow, she discovered she had moved into a very caring community.

Gary Hunter of Bangor was the driver who was unfortunate enough to accidentally hit Nutmeg. But, according to Hardy, Hunter “found enough compassion in his heart to stop and remove her from the road, and left his name and phone number with my neighbors.”

That act of kindness means a great deal to Hardy. “It just struck me as being highly unusual,” she said. “In my former home, I lost three cats and nobody ever stopped.

“I spoke with Gary on the phone, and he was terribly shaken. He has a cat of his own and he said he was dreading the day he would have to bury his cat.”

Next came the neighbors, John and Don McCoy. Formerly “complete strangers,” they were there for Donna Hardy.

When she arrived home, she found John McCoy had moved Nutmeg out of the street, placed her by the step, and covered her with a blanket.

“Don’s daughter saw it happen,” Hardy said. “They made a little grave for Nutmeg with rocks around her and flowers on top of her. The kids thought it was their fault, that Nutmeg was coming to see them because they were playing in the yard.

“But it wasn’t that. She was an outside cat. It was just a matter of timing.”

Hardy appreciates Hunter’s “kindness and sympathy,” and the McCoys “for being so caring and helpful.”

She thinks “it is too bad” the world doesn’t have more people like these individuals, she said.

“It would be such a better place to live.”

Life is often an unexpected surprise.

Take the Bangor Daily News box on Shore Road in Dexter that is currently home to the “Swallow family.”

Adrienne Strout sent photos and a note describing the current status of the newspaper tube box previously used by her late mother, Thelma James Knowles.

For some reason, barn swallows have been attracted to it and just can’t stay away. Even when her mother was alive, Strout said, the birds would try to nest there between daily newspaper deliveries.

“I’m not sure, but I think maybe mother would take the nest out each time. The next morning, they’d be back,” Strout said.

But now the barn swallows have — for this summer at least — a permanent home. No one is going to disturb the growing family. As of Tuesday, Strout reported there still was one egg in the nest, “and lots of feathers.”

Strout said people who walk along Shore Road are often startled by the swallows who swoop out in front of them as they pass by.

Although it was one of the hottest days of the summer, and a thunderstorm rolled through the area, on July 15 a total of 316 people came to the fourth annual M.A.S.H. Blood Drive at the Brewer Auditorium sponsored by Red Cross Blood Services Northeast Region.

“We collected 291 pints of blood,” reported recruitment specialist Martha Wildman.

“We were very pleased with the results, even though we didn’t reach our 300-pint goal, because of the number of people who participated on such a hot day.”

Wildman wants to remind donors that “although the turnout was terrific,” supplies are slipping.

“We’re starting to see our summer slide,” she said, encouraging those who can to make a donation this summer.

The Bangor Donor Center at 900 Hammond St. is open from noon to 7 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays.

To learn when blood drives will be conducted in your area, call the center at 941-2900 or 1-800-432-7376.

The Standpipe, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.