I once had a male cat that was absolutely horrified to find a red frisbee in the middle of the living room floor. He jumped back, then approached it very warily giving it a slap or two and jumping away, before he got around to sniffing it. He also was afraid of a little round yellow sort of balloon that would keep a lint-collecting net bag swirling around on top of the water in a washing machine. Perhaps there is something about round things that remind cats of some sort of living creature, and the colors may have had something to do with it, too. But none of my other 3 cats ever had the response he did. He also did a double-take and acted frightened the first time he spotted a large poster of a cat I had just put up on the wall. Most cats do not respond to static images like that.

This pic always makes me smile. I wrapped a t-shirt around a box with the neck at the box opening. Smudge loved that box, it was like a hide-a-way

Toward the end of the Sunday service, the Minister asked, "How many of you have forgiven your enemies?" 80% held up their hands. The Minister then repeated his question. All responded this time, except one man, Walter Barnes. "Mr. Barnes, are you not willing to forgive your enemies?" "I don't have any!" he replied gruffly. "Mr. Barnes, that is very unusual. How old are you?" "Ninety-eight," he replied The congregation stood up and clapped their hands. "Oh, Mr. Barnes, would you please come down in front and tell us all how a person can live ninety-eight years and not have an enemy in the world?" The old man tottered down the aisle, stopped in front of the pulpit, turned around, faced the congregation, and said simply, "I outlived all them assholes." Then he calmly returned to his seat.

I had a rose named after me and I was very flattered, but I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: – 'No good in a bed, but fine against a wall.' -- Eleanor Roosevelt