"Simply a Matter of Economics"

Sometimes the key to stop feeling sorry for yourself is to keep busy. I was stuck inside all day today since there was no more Dad home during the day to let us in and out as we choose.

Mom's Newsweek magazine came in the mail, and I did some reading. There was an interesting "My Turn" article by a guy who spent a lot of money on vet bills for his cat. It reminded me of a story Mom had told me about a cat her family used to have.

Mom was home for the summer from college, and Grandpa (her dad) had rescued a young Siamese kitty from a couple of abusive kids. (I'll tell that story another day.) Anyway, Mom's family had the kitty only a couple of days when one evening he bolted out of the front door right into the path of an oncoming car. He was hit and seriously injured. Grandpa, Mom, and Mom's sister rushed the kitty to the vet. There, Dr. Wright said that it was "simply a matter of economics." Did Grandpa want to spend the money to heal the kitty? Grandpa took one look at the kitty and his two daughters and said, "Yes, of course." The family officially adopted him then and ceased looking for his owner. The sisters named him Marcellus, and Grandpa called him Marcy for short. He had a pin in his hind leg, and his digestive tract always gave him trouble, but he lived another 17 years. Grandpa loved that kitty like no other; he was hooked on that meezer.

When it comes to us beloved kitties, we are not "simply a matter of economics." We are so much more in the lives of our families.

~Bathsheba

A Dusting of Snow

Brrr. It's been bitter cold lately, and last night we got a little snow. It was barely a dusting, but the schools around here closed anyway. You cats from the north may not understand this, but in the Washington, D.C. area, the joke is that schools close when there's a flake of snow. Like last week, Mom tried to get a photo of me in the snow, but I had already done my business before she came after me with her camera. She had to content herself with taking a picture of my pawprints. Once again, her camera has the wrong date, because she took the pictures TODAY.





It was much more comfortable to just look at the white fluff from the back of the chair in the living room.

Mom is disappointed that there isn't enough snow for cross country skiing in the battlefield park. It was warm for so long this winter, and now when it's finally cold, the air is too dry to produce much snow. Whenever there's too much snow, I don't like to leave my deck, and I do my business by spraying the grill cover. Dad doesn't like that!

I'm still looking for my special Valentine. We're having computer problems at home so Mom is using one elsewhere just for now. That probably means that I won't be able to post a Valentine in the contest by tomorrow evening. Some nice lady cats indicated some interest in me! DaisyMae Maus seemed to flirt with me, but I think she prefers Rocky. She is about the right age, though.

Stay warm, you cute kitties.

Love,

~Jake

P.S. Today was our Grandpa's birthday. He died nearly 10 years ago, but we all still miss him. He really loved kitties, especially his Siamese cat Marcellus followed by Toby, another Siamese. We're thinking of you, Grandpa.

~J&B

UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE!

Beautiful spicy vixen DaisyMae is my Valentine! I am the luckiest cat! Maybe I can escape the cold by teleporting over to San Diego!

~Jake

No, I am the luckiest! Bubbles picked me! And he produced the greatest Valentine video. It was both funny and romantic. I was embarrassed by the hula costume when Mom dressed me in it for Halloween, but Bubbles must have liked it.

~Bathsheba