Happy 4th

So, happy birthday USA! It’s a beautiful day here in Georgia, and mostly things are well.

Mike finished the book of cat stories he bought when he and Judy went to Highlands a few weeks ago. There is a used bookstore there, Shakespeare’s, which they can’t stay out of. The book he bought there is Great Cat Tales edited by Lesley O’Mara, copyright 1991 by Castle Books. Famous authors included in the collection are Damon Runyan, Mark Twain, Colette, P. G. Wodehouse, Emile Zola, and Rudyard Kipling. It is a great read if you can get your hands on a copy. Two of the stories are about a cat caught up in a love triangle between a loving mistress and a jealous boyfriend. In both of the stories the boyfriend tries without success to drown the cat. Justice prevails, of course, and one of the cats even manages to kill the bad boyfriend. I thought that was a little excessive. Besides, once dead the bad boyfriend can’t ruminate about being bested by a cat. This story, Ming’s Biggest Prey is by Patricia Highsmith. Mike didn’t think it was as well-written as most of the others. For one thing, the word “Ming” was used at the start of 72 sentences in the story. What kind of a person would count the number of sentences that start with the word “Ming”? I don’t know about you, Mike. This reminds me that in the Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, written by Gertrude Stein, the name Gertrude Stein supposedly appears over 600 times.

This was the week that Mike submitted his book for publication. He has decided to call it The Twelve Step Pathway – A Heroic Journey of Recovery. He is mostly satisfied with it although it still needs some work. Most of the 8 submissions he made got immediate responses. One was somewhat encouraging, one was a “thanks, but no thanks” and the others simply acknowledged receipt of the submission. He has a lot of work to do in establishing a greater social media presence. Wish him luck.

Mike is getting over the first cold he has had since March of last year. He finally got rid of it by giving it to Judy who has been coughing up a storm. She is now getting better as well.

Magi will have been with us one year on July 14. He is pretty nice and gets along with the twins and me just fine. Lady Bug is another story. She simply does not like him, a fact that seems to distress him not at all. He is not quite as annoying as he used to be, his previous primary amusements being chase the other cat, jump on the other cat, and bite the other cat. Lady Bug warns him off with whines and growls which usually discourage him. He still starts his games around 4 in the morning which gets him thrown out of the bedroom with the door shut behind him. This doesn’t seem to bother him that much either.

The world remains a troubled place. Pray for it. Thank you. Stay safe, be well, have some fun, and if I might suggest it, try brats for your picnic. And share with your cat (or at least let him lick your fingers). Bye-bye.