We were in Heaven... that's what we called our new place. It was a beautiful home on Happy Valley Road, on a hillside with big beautiful gardens filled with exotic plants. There were exactly one hundred steps from the parking lot to our front door... an arduous climb at the end of a difficult day. Once in Heaven, there was no reason to leave, at least no reason good enough to merit descending and ascending the stairway to Heaven again.
Chairman Meow moved there with us, and was very happy there... until one day, when Mighty Mo and Punk Girl came home with two little tiny twin tabby cat fuzz balls. They soon became known as sKratCh and Sniff. The two little tumbling tabbys showed great interest in Chairman Meow who wasn't at all interested in their kitten curiosities, and quickly made it clear to them that he was in charge.
One day we got a call from a woman who identified herself as Mrs. Mizelle. She told us that she lived in our old place a half mile away, and that a strange cat showed up at the house, and she wondered if he might be ours. Sure enough, Chairman had had enough of the kittens, and walked all the way back to our old place. We found him sprawled out on the carpet, cozy, and unencumbered by kittens. We took Chairman home, but soon had another call from Mrs. Mizelle informing us that Chairman was at her place again. It was the last time he did it. He probably figured it wasn't worth the long dangerous walk through the woods if he wasn't going to get to stay there.
Chairman Meow was a great mentor to both sKratCh and Sniff, but particularly to sKratCh. Sniff was a bit of a clean freak, and didn't waste his time hunting, although he was happy to share a mouse with his brother.
When sKratCh and Sniff were about a year and a half old, our economic situation required us to leave our pricey abode, so we begrudgingly moved from Heaven to a place that had once been a school, and was converted into a home. It wasn't nearly as cool as Heaven, but it was located on forty acres of trails, with lots of giant Redwoods, a creek and an ocean view from the top of the property.
We were careful to keep the cats in the house for at least two weeks... at least that was the plan. After about a week of being cooped up in the house, sKratCh figured he had had enough, and broke out by pushing against an open screen window above the kitchen sink until it gave way. He squeezed through the opening, and disappeared into the night.
Two weeks passed, and we hadn't seen sKratCh since his great escape. It was dark, and I was doing some cleaning around the house. I like to listen to music while I clean, so I chose five discs for my carousel, to play randomly. All the discs were latter-day live King Crimson, (B'boom, Heavy Construction, and A Beginner's Guide To ProjeKcts), and the windows were open wide as the loud music boomed in the night air. As I walked into the kitchen, there was sKratCh outside the very window he had escaped from two weeks prior. I walked outside, helped him down from the window sill and took him into the house.
King Crimson is no stranger to our stereo, and no doubt sKratCh recognized the music, and was able to navigate home once he heard that familiar sound looming in the darkness. Now that sKratCh was back, it seemed like it was time to let all three of the cats out, so the next day, we granted the cats their freedom. By the end of the day, all three cats were gone. sKratCh soon returned to the same kitchen window the next day, but we never saw Sniff again.
Chairman Meow was missing for two months when one day I got a message from a woman who said, "I think I have your cat." Apparently she had seen one of our "lost kitty" flyers. I called her back ASAP, got directions to her house, and quickly drove there. As I pulled into the driveway, the woman greeted me. I got out of my car, and was escorted to where she had seen the cat. She said, "He's been hanging out under that old car there for a few days... we haven't seen him come out." I knelt beside the car, peered underneath, and said, "Chairman Meow! What are you doing under there?" He said, "Meowah," and immediately came out from under the car. I picked him up and told him "I am so happy to see you."
This particular day was July Fourth, a special day in our family because it is Mighty Mo's birthday. She was shopping at the time, and I wanted to get home before she returned, so I thanked the woman, and hurried home. Knowing that Mighty Mo would be home soon, I sat on a chair in the middle of the living room, with Chairman on my lap. We would be the first thing she would see as she entered the house. Chairman was happy and purring when Mighty Mo walked in. "Happy Birthday" I said as she viewed our prodigal cat on my lap. "This is the best birthday present I have ever had" she said. Likewise, Punk Girl was thrilled to have her wish cat home. It was a joyous reunion.
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