Category Archives: Family

Family, Life, Pets

Mom’s Cats

My Mother was really “The Cat Lady”. After she retired, she volunteered with organizations to trap feral cats and have them seen by a vet, spayed or neutered and given shots. Her home was often filled with 5 or 6 cages occupied by these feral cats while they were waiting to go to the vet, or while recuperating before being released again. She also fed a lot of cats outside. You’d often see several lounging in the sunshine on her deck after having their belly’s full.

About 14 years ago, on a cold, snowy day, she came to visit me. She noticed a very pregnant cat outside and coaxed her in with a plate of yummy cat food. After eating, the mama cat went into my laundry room and hid behind my water heater. We continued to leave food and water available for her in the laundry room but did not see her again for some time.

A few days later, my teenage sons heard soft little mewing coming from the wall. They knew the kittens had been born. While we did not see the kittens for a few weeks, they were able to determine that there were three of them. They named them before they saw them. They named one little girl Sugaree after a Grateful Dead song.

Mama Cat eventually went back outside. We found homes for two of the cats and kept Sugaree. I loved her and knew she would become my cat. Over the course of these 14 years, she and I have lived in many places, with people and alone. We’ve also had other cats at times. She’s always been a loner where other cats are involved, but she loves her human (me). She will spend hours perched on my leg, and sleeps on my head at night.

Once again, she and I are living alone and loving it. I’m very happy to have my little feline companion and I hope to have her for many more years.

Family, Food and dining, Shopping

Christmas Eve Panic and Worries

Here it is, Christmas Eve. I have some things to do and thankfully do not have to work today. So I can run all the errands and get everything done to be ready for the big event tomorrow morning – the tearing of the wrapping papers.

I have two people that still needs gifts – they are the hardest fucking people to buy anything for. Mostly because they have so much crap already and they make good money, so anything that they do want they go out and buy for themselves. So what do you buy for someone who already has everything they want and need? I figure I’ll give them something edible or perishable. So I’m going to hit up the local florist shop first, and see what they’ve got. If they strike out on me, then I will go to the grocery store and buy a bunch of gourmet foods and make a custom gift basket for them.

I’m pretty sure I have all the groceries I need for the next week. I’m not cooking Christmas dinner, so I don’t have to worry about a turkey or a ham and all that. But I still need to eat breakfast and can’t count on bringing home any leftovers, so I’m buying some things like pie and sandwich bread, lettuce and deli meats, just in case.

So, I’m outta here and hope you all have a really nice Christmas.

Family, Life, Rant

Did You Ever Hide Your Report Card?

report card

As a kid, I did OK in school and my parents never gave me any grief about my report cards. It would never occur to me to hide my report card or not give it to my mom when I got home from school.

In junior high, one of my buddies, Kevin, didn’t get very good grades. I was shocked to find out that he parents would beat the crap out of him for every grade below a C on his report cards regardless of the teacher or the subject. His dad would scream at him about being an embarrassment to his family for being below average and that no one in his family was below average but Kevin.

In my mind that is abuse, but back then no one would call out people for abusing their kids or their wives. People just suffered through it. There is still abuse like that going on in today’s world. I don’t think anyone has a solution to a huge social problem like this. The abused kids and wives don’t speak out because their alternative to that kind of home life would be living in a shelter and being in poverty for years. They have to choose between two evils, and most people stick with the familiar, no matter how brutal and unfair it may be.

Family, Friends, Life, Local, Music and concerts

Fireworks from the Riverbank

Nashville always has a free concert and fireworks show on the Fourth of July. We have the Nashville symphony that plays during the fireworks – a whole list of classical patriotic songs. But we also have 3 or 4 other types of music before the show.We all just meet up down by the river and spread out blankets on the grass to watch the shows and drink beer.

The free concerts last all afternoon and up until about 9:30, then the family drag their tired asses home and the young people hit the bars to keep on keeping on. Good times!

Family, Food and dining

Does Anyone Ever Use Egg Timers Anymore?

My grandparents came over to America from England when they were newlyweds and they kept a lot of their English ways. They always offered a cup of hot tea to every guest, and they ate a lot of typical English foods, like shortbread cookies and soft boiled eggs.

My grandmother used to use an egg timer that she would wind up and set on her stove. It was important to her to have the eggs cooked just the exact right amount of time to be properly set. Its been years since I’ve had a soft boiled egg for breakfast, and just the thought of that made me think back to the egg timer that my grandmother used to have.