Saturday, October 29, 2005

MAUW-MAUW!

Okay, Okay! I love our two cats! There, I said it. I am one of those...a pet lover. I was always a big dog guy but over the years, I have been converted, somewhat. I still don't consider myself a cat lover but I do love ours. We currently have one 13 year old "blue" Persian cat named Kaboodle, who has really never contributed to the family other than his frequent bouts of projectile hair balling and an uncanny ability to produce well-placed poop(details in other blogs) except into his litter box. He really is pretty much a disgrace to catkind. We call him "the user" because he is very friendly when he wants something but those times aside, he is still part of our family folklore and is my two son's "baby". Rags, our other cat, is of the "Ragamuffin" breed and a refugee from Hurricane Charlie. We spotted him on the internet and rescued him. He is approximately a year old and has gone from an under nourished 8 pounds, when we got him, to an over nourished 18, in six months. He is one of the most loving animals I have ever known if he would just keep his mouth shut. In many respects, these two are like any other member of your family, you learn to love them, idiosyncrasies, warts and all and when they die, you grieve, however, these two are animals...not people. You might wonder what this has to do with SDDPG...read on.
MAUW, MAUW!-Since the whitish Chevy often times only has AM radio, en ingles', my audio selection is somewhat limited. In that light, I was listening to Yada-Yada radio(heaven forbid I'd be alone with my thoughts and the voices in my head...but i digress) while delivering, as the discussion turned to pets. Apparently during "Katrina", a man refused rescue from his roof top and the rising waters, because they didn't have room for his two pit bulls(see P.E.s) on the helicopter. This turned the radio discussion to PETS VS. PEOPLE and that brought out all the "rainbow bridge" huggers(see below) from the radio woodwork. "Would you risk your death for your pet", was the question? One lady said she would take her dog over all the "scum in Louisiana". As the host was recommending a good counselor for the woman, my mind began to wander. Sure, I love my pets but....and suddenly, I was in a dimly lit, smoke filled room. The background was filled with groups of strange men who were yelling, cheering and waving money about, wildly. I was seated at a small bare table decorated only with a lone snub nosed revolver. Seated directly across from me in his own chair, wearing a white and red bandana tied around his little blue head was Kaboodle. His eyes were fixed and glazed from days of constant "nipping". Suddenly, another cat, a Siamese, appeared, standing on hind legs next to the table. He glared at me and yelled, "MAUW, MAUW"(or was that meow, meow?). He held the gun aloft, opened the cylinder to reveal a single bullet, he then spun the cylinder and slid the revolver in front of me with his little paw. I looked at him, then Kaboodle's zombie-like face. I stared at the gun. The other cat slapped me across the face with his little paw, "MAUW, MAUW", he screamed close to my face, with breath that smelled of Mixed Grill(a trade mark of Purina). I held the gun to my head, paused dramatically and squeezed the trigger. CLICK! Relieved, I dropped the gun on the table and the Siamese grabbed it. Once again, he spun the cylinder but this time slid the gun in front of Kaboodle. I tried to look into Kaboodle's eyes but they were glazed over and lifeless from too much nip. They must keep him hooked on the stuff to keep him playing their evil game, I thought. Kaboodle robotically held the gun to his head. Horrified, I watched and thought....COME ON BULLET, COME ON BULLET! He's a stinking cat!!! At this point, in my version of The Deer Hunter, love him or not, I'm pulling for the bullet to be in his cylinder, not mine. After all, I love him but HE'S AN ANIMAL, OK! I am a human and, as with all humans, created in God's image and we do matter more than a pet, in His eyes. I mentally returned to earth, reminded myself to give Kaboodle some extra tuna tonight(maybe he'll pretend he likes me)that darn cat still has eight lives to go. I walked up to the house with my pizza bag.

Rainbow Bridge(if you can stomach ithttp://www.indigo.org/rainbowbridge_ver2.html)