I’ve been asked to start writing again.
Or should I say, bribed?
What? It’s only been about a year and a half. I’ve been busy.
I don’t think I’ve told you much about Tranquility House. That’s where I live—where we all live, to be precise. It’s hard to tell how many of us actually live here, and how many are just visiting. They come and go, these people…these dogs…these cats. Just when I think they’re here to stay, here come the suitcases or the moving trucks.
Whatever. Just make sure I get my dinner.
I’m not sure why they call it Tranquility House. What with all the comings and goings, the barking of those pathetic dogs, the screaming at the television during football season, the crying babies, the singing and laughing with the birthday cakes. It’s anything but tranquil.
Except when the sunbeam makes it to the big bed on a winter afternoon. Or when the water trickles down over the rocks by the pond. Or when the people sit around the fire on summer evenings, roasting marshmallows. Or when the baby that was crying now sleeps quietly beside me on the bed in that sunbeam. I guess that’s tranquil.
So. You’re waiting for the news, I suppose.
They’ve had a busy year, these people. Ben and Laura took the Willow dog with them in the moving truck, but they come back sometimes, so they must not live too far away. Ben doesn’t read his big nurse books anymore, so I guess he finished school. I think I heard he has to work in a hospital now. Laura still likes to watch the documentary called Grey’s Anatomy. I thought she was a teacher of kids but maybe she wants to work with Ben at the hospital.
Cassidy comes by now and then and brings the Bosley dog. He’s okay now, except when he chases the little cats. (I don’t think he can help himself.) She works at some kind of a deer place with little kids and then she runs around outside a lot. Maybe she has to run the deer off and keep them away from the children. Deer can be very dangerous.
Megan and Aaron brought the boy Jak back and a new baby from someplace called Senix. They were here for a while but then a truck came for them. I still see them sometimes when Jak comes to play with me. I like him. He tells me, “It’s ok, Simon,” when a dog steps on my paw. I think Megan works at a hospital, too, at night. She also likes vegetables. Aaron goes to soccer games and I don’t know what else. I think they went to Senix to learn to dance, and they plan to go on Dancing With the Stars. The baby is a girl and looks like the moon when she smiles. Pavid calls her “Moonface.” Her real name is Baby Addie.
Ryan and Jessica came here around the pumpkin time when everyone was dressed in capes for a birthday cake. They haven’t been around for a long time. They told stories about living somewhere in the sand, and Ryan driving a mailman truck. I would like to live in a big sandbox, too. Jessica is nice. She offered to take me to the sandbox in her bag, but I didn’t go because I wasn’t sure if she had any food in there for me.
Big Dane comes more often than Ryan, but not as much as the others. He told me he goes to school on the other side of the mountains. The mountains look too big for me to climb over to visit, so I’ll just wait on his bed until he comes back. I think he might be a big cat because he likes to sleep in sunbeams, too, when he comes to Tranquility House. Maybe they don’t have sunbeams on the other side of the mountains.
Pavid still shouts at the football games on TV, but Sophie doesn’t get so scared anymore. He can’t make the neighbors’ dogs stop barking, but he finished his Stats class. (We’re all glad about that.) I think Carly and Lucy helped him. Whatever. He doesn’t like it when I push the lamp off his nightstand. How many clues does he need to get me my breakfast? Still, he makes good chicken—I’ll give him that.
Something’s changed for Nana, but I’m not sure what exactly. She’s just here a lot more now…and then gone with the suitcase for a few days. I think she switched jobs, and works at home like Pavid now. That’s so much better for me. I can usually get her to feed me six, maybe seven times a day when she’s really busy or not paying attention. I just do my starving cat routine and there it is…another scoop of kibble.
Should I waste my time telling you about the other cats and dogs who have invaded my space here at Tranquility House? Just for the record: Casey the dog had a run of bad luck in the summer. He went on a nighttime jailbreak (Duh!) and came back pretty beat up. They took him to the vet and he came back with his legs all bandaged up. I guess he got run over by a car. He’s not the brightest crayon in the box.
Sophie is trying to climb the totem pole. She’s taken up growling at Bosley when he comes over, but it’s just an act. She’s a softy, and besides, she can’t hear you most of the time anyway. Sydney is slowing down a lot these days, but she’s still the Mama Bear, and don’t you forget it. Even though she doesn’t acknowledge that I’m the true Alpha in the house, I’m smart enough not to walk in front of her nose for the challenge.
The little cats—Carly and Lucy—are so annoying I can’t even talk about it. They are total suck-ups to the Big People. They give cats a bad name. I could fetch paper balls long before they were even born. And Winston? Weeeeeeellllllllll, he’s still Winston. Just open the door and let him out, for heaven’s sake.
I can’t begin to describe all the temporary members and visitors to Tranquility House, so that’s going to have to be enough for today. No inspirational messages or insightful poetry from which you can quote me this time; I’ll save it for my next post. My paws are tired from typing and the sun is coming in at just the right angle…
Follow Simon Says at http://simonbolifur.blogspot.com/. Maybe I’ll write again next year.
(There. Does that qualify me for the extra bowl of food you promised?)
Simon
