Journal of a Sabbatical

March 21, 2001

too much

Adopt these cats at Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society

Today's Bird Sightings:
My House
American robins
Marsh Behind Angelina's
redwinged blackbirds!
Kevin's Yard
black-capped chickadees
white-throated sparrows
common grackles
American robins

Today's Reading: absolutely nothing

Isn't Stormy just the cutest cat you've ever seen? She has a real thing for appliances. Unlike Miss Newburyport and Sandy who like to sleep on top of the dryer, Stormy likes to jump into the dryer. While this disrupts the laundry cycle a little, it doesn't seem to faze Miss Newburyport at all. She just sleeps - with one eye open - until somebody tries to get on top of the dryer. The laundry room could crumble around her and she would remain sleeping on top of the dryer with one eye open. But let just one paw of another cat touch the top of the dryer ... Anyway, Stormy's profound interest in the interior of the dryer wore off by the end of the shift and she perched up on top of the cat gym to watch the goings on from above.

Sandy was in heaven today 'cause he got to eat donuts. He licks up every last crumb. It's amazing. Crumbs so small neither Roy nor I can see 'em and Sandy's lickin' 'em up off the towel on top of the big yellow bucket. Plus he gets to watch the Roy show. Sandy's favorite channel is the Roy channel. I used to think he just liked to watch any old person do dishes like some past cats we've had who find the sink riveting. Nope. Sandy definitely prefers Roy at the sink. Of course then Roy plays with him and gets him all stirred up. Me, I pet him on my way by and he tries to take a sizable chunk out of my arm. Luckily he did not break the skin as I got away really fast.

Oh, I know that proper English requires that I write "I got away really quickly" instead of "I got away really fast" but that sounds so stilted. I forget how to write a correct English sentence anymore, if I ever knew. Of course I knew. Those nuns crammed proper grammar into us until we couldn't think straight. However, always being the smartest geek in my class, I had to teach myself how to speak incorrectly so I would have some ghost of a chance of fitting in with the reigning social group. Knowing the difference between an adjective and an adverb was considered socially uncool by the Future Garbagemen and Hairdressers of America.

And now back to today's entry. The point of which being I evaded Sandy's intent to chomp thus avoiding loss of blood on my part and a 10-day bite quarantine on Sandy's part. I get extra points for evasive action today.

There I am struggling to wash a really dirty litter box that is approximately the same size as the sink. Roy turns to Kendra:

Roy: "Next time Bob does the shopping, have him pick up a new sink, preferably installed."

Me: "Why stop at a sink? Think big."

Roy: "Next time Bob does the shopping, have him pick up a new building."

We have new cats. When do we ever not have new cats? And kitten season is almost upon us. New this week are: Tigger, Kitzy, and Onyx. Actually I think another new one came in with Onyx but I didn't photograph him or her. Onyx was a little hard to do the bio for because she had just come in today and I had no opportunity to get to know her. I really really hope I never have to use these bios as a writing sample to get a job. Herewith, today's deathless prose:

Tigger

Tigger is a 14 year old declawed male who was given up to us. He's affectionate and friendly and really enjoys being petted. He's a real lap cat who loves to play. Tigger is good with children and OK with dogs. Tigger must be an indoor cat.

Kitzy

Kitzy is an 11 year old short-haired female with lots of toes. She came to us as a stray. Kitzy is very sweet.

Onyx

Onyx is a one year old former feral female. She's very nice and loves to play.

Seamus, the orange boy who came in last week and reminds me of Wilbur, was putting on a show for me rolling over, purring, head-butting, talking... He got me to pet him and then meowed plaintively every time I tried to stop so I could go home to shower and change for niece duty. The pleading look in his eyes and the wail in his meow were almost too much to bear. I wish I could take him home. That's all I'd need in this house, two talkative orange males with full cases of orange personality disorder! Yikes. He is cute though. Wicked cute.

I managed to get everything done and tear myself away from Seamus in time to get lunch at Angelina's before the trip to Groton. The Angelina's TV was showing the weather. A huge wet northeast storm is advancing on us. Yikes. Better get home and pack an overnight bag in case Kevin has to spend another night in Washington.

Back at the hovel, there's a phone message from Kevin wanting to know if I am prepared to stay the night just in case. I leave him a message that I've already packed an overnight bag after watching the weather channel.

The hippie in the bathroom is now in the kitchen, still not a hippie, and still a poet (additional previous references to the hippie in the bathroom: rollon america, poetry victims, the red shoes, and I'm sure there are others ...). Well, actually at the moment his tools and his radio (loudly playing some reading aloud show) are in the kitchen but the actual hippie is nowhere to be found. Elizabeth informs me "Peter's radio is here but he's not." He did return shortly after a late lunch and got right back to work.

It boggles my mind that both kids can do homework with the TV on. It boggles it further to realize they can do homework with the TV, Peter's radio, and Peter's tools all making distracting noise. I don't think I could read a menu let alone a Geography text book.

The hippie expounds that my place in the family has been usurped by the television. I can't argue with that. Andrea thinks I would be much more interesting if I were a Pokémon or a Cardcaptor. I explain that what I actually do is a lot like The Wild Thornberrys. She says I travel too much. I ask if she'd like to come with me, so she asks what I do. I tell her I collect trees. Elizabeth wants to know where I put whole huge live trees. Umm, branches and cones I collect... I put them in the herbarium. After they go to bed, I discuss this with Nancy. She suggests I take them on a field trip to the Arnold Arboretum. This is a good idea. Maybe sometime during April vacation week if I am not in Budapest returning the G4... and if Kevin does take them to Budapest this summer to rendezvous with BiB, I'll have to go along to show them our herbarium in Budakeszi (yes, I'm still working on the photo tour of Budakeszi dear readers -it's coming.)

I finally gave them the copy of Tintin in Tibet that arrived too late for Xmas along with a pizza game I got at Angelina's, The Paul Street Boys, Budapest for Children, and a book on hand feeding wild birds that Tom gave me. Andrea and I played the pizza game (which involves moving around a game board collecting toppings) while Elizabeth ordered actual non-virtual pizza. Just as I collected my last topping and drew the exact number of spaces to get to the oven (the finish line), the doorbell rang. The non-virtual pizza arrived.

Elizabeth told me all about a conference she went to sponsored by Women in Science and Engineering. I asked if she still wants to be a doctor (remembering how she used to put casts on her stuffies because she wanted to be an orthopedist). Now she wants to be either a mechanical engineer or an architect. Good choices for her - she's very visual.

After our ritual pizza, Andrea read aloud to me from the Tintin book. She reads with such expression I think she should add actress to her writer and librarian career plan. We were deep in Nepal hiring a Sherpa to guide us when bedtime arrived.

The rain and wind have started but Kevin made it home. I drove home in the rain and wind and then couldn't sleep. Wilbur is sitting on my chest making it hard to type. I contemplate whether Andrea's declaration that I travel too much means that she wants me around more or means she doesn't want to consider tree collecting as a career.