Chasing Pussy

There's this weird cat in my neighbor. No idea who it belongs to, if anyone. Big, black, with an odd square-shaped bushy tail, it has an unhealthy fascination with my dog.

We first ran into it next week. We were out for our nightly walk when I heard a meow behind us. Turning around, it was about 40 feet away, staring at Fred. Then it slowly came towards us. I stood there a moment, thinking it would veer off at any second. But it didn't. It was making a slow beeline for Fred. And Fred was just staring at it, as if also confused by its behaviour. When it got about 15 feet away, I pulled on Fred's leash and we walked away. And over shoulder, I could see the cat changing direction to follow us.
The morning on the next day, Fred and I were walking again and there it was! We stopped and I stood there to see what would happen. The cat slowly went all the way up to Fred- making no sound, no arching its back, nothing. And Fred was strangely inactive- no sound either, no wagging, just a sort of "WTF" look in her eyes. After several seconds, Fred made for an exploratory sniff.

FURRY FISTS OF FURY!!!!!

The action was so quick I couldn't make out the individual movements. Just a blur of black fur and a sharp YIPE from Fred. The next second Fred was cowering behind my leg and the cat was charging Fred then backing off, as if just then noticing I was between them. Again and again, the cat tried to dive-bomb Fred as we made our way back home.

We now see this cat almost EVERY time we go out. Sometimes it's just sitting there watching us, sometimes it slowly follows us, sometimes it chases us when we are jogging. I've noted that sometimes it tries to hide and spy on us- quickly dodging behind trash cans or trees when I turn around.


Beware the Stalker-Kitty!!!

Polling For Crocker

Last year, a friend and I went to the Crocker Museum early on a Sunday morning (there's free admittance then). My friend was a very strong-willed, liberal, independent woman (I bet she still is too). I clearly recall her berating me over my socio and political apathy on more than one occasion- particularly about the 2008 election and my views on such films as "Sicko".

Anyways, we wandered around the museum for about 2 hours, checking out all the levels. As our interests in art are not identical, we did not stay together the entire time. I, myself, spent over 20 minutes sitting on a bench in front of a Kaltenbach (the pic). I do this each and every time I go there. It was there that my friend found me and we departed.

As we exited, a rotund man stopped my friend and asked if she would take a poll concerning her experience at the museum. She agreed and answered the man's questions, laughing aloud at her own answer of "it was free" when asked why she came to the Crocker that day. I leaned back against the railing, watching the exchange and observing both my friend and the poll-taker. When he was done with his questions, the man gave my friend a free pass for two to any of the museums in the city.

As we walked back to my vehicle, I asked "so how did that feel".
"Pretty straightforward," she replied.
"No," I said, "being interviewed by such a favorite of yours."
"What are you talking about?"
"You didn't notice?" I smiled, "the man's name tag... you were polled by 'Mike Moore'".

To this day, I still laugh at such an absurd coincidence as my friend being questioned about the arts by a man sharing a name with one of her favorite directors.