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Friday, June 29, 2012

whatsherface

Yesterday, the TV was on.  At the top of the hour, a daytime drama came on.  A softly lit, poorly acted, badly written "soap".

It was great.

No, I'm not a fan of soaps.  I'm not typically a fan of TV, but it's been a handy informative tool this week.  The reason the soap was such a welcome sight was that it marked the end, for the moment, of live 24-hour news feeds regarding fire conditions and evacuations.   The community is still raw and reeling, but the adrenaline drip has slowed and conditions have definitely improved.

The fire crews are still battling and we are all so very thankful for their efforts and for the fact that none of them has been seriously injured or worse.

Courtesy of Denver Comic Con... of course

This week's events have changed our local landscape and also changed the residents in ways that aren't readily seen.  I know that there are lasting changes within me that will no doubt spill over into the blog on occassion.  I'm not really ready to go there just yet though.

So let's blog about our still yet-to-be-named cat.

Recall that our cat of 12 years, Cookie, left us back in November.  He was an awesome cat and we still miss him terribly.  There was no rush to get another cat, but I think we all knew that we wouldn't remain catless for long.

Enter one of Magnum's co-workers who was feeding a stray that was camping out in her bushes.  She had enough cats of her own and was looking for a home for this one. We thought about it.  She sent pics.

Homeless but not starving
We didn't want to get a cat just before leaving on our roadtrip and decided that, if the cat was still there when we returned, we'd take her.

She was still there.  We took her.

We took her Tuesday evening in the middle of evacuations and smoke and fire and news streams and scanner chatter.  On one hand, it seemed a stupid thing to be doing, but on the other hand, the thought of leaving that cat outdoors didn't sit well either.

We got her home and I think having her here had a calming effect on us all.  We took her to a small room and let her get to know us as we sat disussing the events of the day and some of our feelings of helplessness and how we realized we didn't care about our "stuff" all that much.

Now, I'm not a superstitious type.  I've heard it's bad luck to be superstitious (kidding).  I will say that, black cats have historically been good luck for me.  The day after we got her, the weather turned cooler, humidity went up, we even got a little rain, the humans scored some points against the fire.

Just sayin'.
.

13 comments:

agg79 said...

I'm glad to hear things have cooled down somewhat for you guys. I'm sure the change in weather helped a bit, but thanks to the tireless efforts of the fire crews battling those blazes to keep your neighborhood safe. Whether it is a fire or flood or tornado or earthquake or hurricane, we never really appreciate how many blessings we have until something takes it away. I hope the cooler weather stays around and continues to give you some relief.

Interesting cattail. I felt you would wind up with another critter after Cookie left. She definitely looks like a well fed cat who has found a good home. How does China take to her?

Any names for her, yet? Are you taking suggestions? I was going to suggest Smokey, but that was too obvious. How about Abby2? Or Lucky? Or perhaps, Chance?

ShadowRun300 said...

Sounds like Destiny to me! So happy things seem to be looking up for you...all the way around!
You're in my thoughts every day. Be sure to keep us informed of how you're doing!

Abby said...

YES, we don't seem to be able to reach a consensus on a name for The Cat. Suggestions are welcome and I like all of yours! (With maybe the exception of Abby2?). Smoke and Smokey came to everyone's mind, but were decidedly too masculine. She's a bit of a priss.

She and China have an awareness of each other, that's about it for now.

Abby said...

Thanks! And I was actually in favor of the name "Shadow" for the cat. She probably can't bowl for crap though.

Anita said...

How about another "country" name for her! lol The dog China and the cat, hmmm... Japan? China and India? China and Kazakstan? Egypt? Kenya?

You've now made me curious about those soaps. Try not to get addicted. :)

Good news about the progress of the fire crews.

Anita said...

Or she can remain "Whatsherface."

Rebecca S. said...

So glad to hear that things have calmed down enough to allow the soaps to run uninterrupted - good sign! The cartoon is great, too. I felt that way about medical professionals not too long ago, and yesterday about tow-truck drivers (but that's another story). Your new cat is so cute. A name will occur eventually, I'm sure :) We had a black cat called King Coal - Kiko for short.

ShadowRun300 said...

But can she ride a motorcycle....

Abby said...

"India" actually did pop up in the deliberations. But then we were all, "Wait, China and India?" so I guess that idea's out. I'm beginning to think that she just MAY remain whatsherface.

Abby said...

Thanks for checking in. "King Coal" - how very regal!

Larz said...

I work at a shelter. It is a well-known fact that black cats have the nicest personalities. Good luck with the naming.

Rock Chef said...

Ha and I asked if cats make good firefighters!

LL Cool Joe said...

What a cute cat! We had 2 burmese cats and I still miss them.