I just found this piece in some old files…and…although it happened a few years ago…for some reason…I wanted to share it today…could be that I didn't have anything else written...but...I'm not saying...
Cats and Dogs
I’ve always heard the expression…It’s Raining Cats and Dogs…I never dreamed I’d experience it firsthand…but…as Mama always says…never say never…which…I always thought was a bit off…wasn’t she saying never when she said it…hmmm…but…once again…I digress…
Here’s what happened…the cat…went out on Saturday…now this is not an unusual occurrence…she does it several times a day…and basically…she just sits there…glaring…and daring…the neighborhood peasant cats to come near her kingdom…hence…her unofficial title…Porch Princess…
Anyway…she had no more than taken the throne when the bottom fell out…which in the South means…it started to pour down rain…again…no biggie…the porch is covered…she was high and dry…
And in the house there was casual chatter…when out on the porch…there arose such a clatter…Bertha and I jumped to the door…to see what was the matter…
And…the matter was…a Labrador retriever…obviously no respecter of royalty…making a mad dash for her highness…who wasted no time…diving into the pouring rain…
Bertha and I barely had time to gasp and look at each other…before the racing duo made their second lap around the house…long story short…well…maybe not short…but…anyway…
Bertha…stood guard on the porch…I ran through the house…let the cat in the back door…and never saw the Lab again…
The cat was soaking wet…but fine…nothing injured other than…her snootiness…she hid under the bed for most of the day…and…now…she won’t go back outside…for love nor money…not that I offered her any…money…that is…
Anyway…Bertha has had a good laugh about it…pointing out to the cat…that even the kittens across the street are out playing…she has reminded her of the 2000 other times she has been outside without incident…but…the cat hasn’t budged…
I mean…really…have you ever tried to humiliate a cat…let’s just say…it didn’t work…and she has no interest in putting herself back out there…
Bertha says…that it reminds her of…me…big surprise…everything reminds her of me…that I tend to focus on the few things that have happened in my life…those things…I call failures…and that I let them keep me…from putting myself back out there…
Hmmm…she may just be on to something…I do recall…a few…very few…okay…a bunch…of times in my life…that I let failure…hold me back…
But…wait…
The cat’s at the door…asking to go out…there may be hope for me after all…
Jane
PS…this actually transpired…truth is stranger than fiction…but…the rest of the story is…we moved shortly after that…the cat…believed that it was just for her…she promptly resumed her Porch Princess status…at our new home…where she reigned…until she crossed the rainbow bridge…may she rest in peace…
It was nice to read that Bertha actually conversed with said cat as opposed to the usual hissing contest they always seem to wage.
ReplyDeleteRest in gentle peace, Porch Princess. I see you perched on high, enjoying nothing but sunshine!
Arlene...thanks for stopping in! Yes...Bertha and the Princess...do let the fur fly from time to time...love the image of her sitting in the sunshine...thanks!
DeleteCats can certainly be unpredictable! I do wonder about the expression 'raining cats and dogs' and where that originated... I'm glad you shared this one with us today, good writing is timeless!
ReplyDeleteChristy...cats definitely are in charge...or at least...mine was! Thanks for stopping in today...have a great weekend!
DeleteAw, she couldn't stand the humiliation of facing the neighborhood cats who might have seen her being so soundly dethroned. Of course you moved just for her. I mean, really, what other reason could possibly be half as important as the princess saving face. hahaha cute story.
ReplyDeleteAnna...thanks for visiting! She would have loved you...I can tell you would have spoiled her even more than I did! Thank you!
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