The following is not my typical scribblative telling you a tale of a true life event. It is told from the perspective of the cat the story is about. I have left my 'cartoon notes' for drawings in the body of the work in case I ever turn this into a little book. Heck, it might even be a movie. Then you can all say you knew me, ha ha.
Years ago my brother came home on a Christmas leave from the Navy. Along with his family, he brought a large German Shepherd dog and a little Calico cat. My daughter fell in love with that cat. Steve and his family left Bridge City and returned home to Charleston, South Carolina with everything except the cat. [On a side note, the dog was leashed to a washing machine on the back porch to keep him from escaping while we were out for a day. We came home from shopping to hear that dog in the very back of the back yard barking at something up a tree. He decided he needed to chase some poor creature, and he simply took the washing machine with him. Good thing the dog went home to Charleston.]
Right after Icy joined our family we acquired a large, long-haired orange Tabby cat we dubbed Puddin'. He was the color of butterscotch pudding. Puddin' was very large - the size of a poodle, and Puddin' thought he was a dog. I also had a huge Alaskan Malamute named Shadow. Shadow, weighing in at about 105 pounds, was a great dame of a creature. She was a magnificent animal. I will write more on Shadow and Puddin' later, but today is Icy's moment for the world to see her delightful personality.
This is not a children's story. It is a story I wrote from my heart when this precious little cat fell prey to cancer. It was a way to live through the grief we all felt when a long time member of our pet family left us. She arrived when Tina was in elementary school, and she departed a few years after Tina married and moved to Fort Worth. It's a work in progress because I constantly remember events of those wonderful days with children and their pets in the house. As the kids grew into their teen years and then young adulthood, the animals' places in everyone's lives remained a constant source of love and affection. Not a one of them has been easy to lose.
It's a long read at almost 5,500 words. But whose counting when you are an animal lover?
About Me
- Cheryl Earles
- I inherited the love of music and history from my father and my artistic abilities from my mother. I had a love affair with words from the day I discovered the word Periwinkle - I deemed it the most precious crayon in the box and wouldn’t color with it for fear of destroying its pristine appearance. I cherished every lofty word I came across and used them to create a world that was far, far away from my mundane, every day life in the small town of Bridge City, Texas. The rest can be read under the post titled The Dawning of a Wordsmith. I am also a foodie. Look me up on travelingtines.blogspot.com
