Our Itty Bitty. May 30, 1958 to November 25, 2017. May she rest in Peace.
Light a candle.Say a prayer.Dance in joy.No longer in earthly pain, Our Itty Bitty, born May 30, 1958 (Potato Planting Day) passed November 25, 2017.
Itty Bitty’s a Momma!
No one is surprised (except Itty Bitty) that she went to her greater reward before all of her older sisters and brother because she always thought doctors orders were just suggestions.
We fully expect Itty Bitty to meet us at the Pearly Gates with an escape plan and a ‘To Do’ list. Still your loving family, friends and caregivers thank you Itty Bitty because you taught us the joy ofcolouringoutside the lines.
The Hot Dog Cool Cat Momma and her Itty Bitty Baby Sister towards the end and there always is ‘The End.’
Like a small boat On the ocean Sending big waves Into motion Like how a single word Can make a heart open You had only one match But you made an explosion…
(Paraphrase Kurt Hugo Schneider, Benjamin Kheng)
Oh, and I’ll tell you all about it when I see you again…. by Andrew Cedar, Justin Scott Franks, Charlie Otto Puth, Cameron Jibril Thomaz
Listen, listen to the trees! How they natter solemnly and sometimes giggle as they pass down the stories of the ages…if only you have ears.Long branches, stretching to the heavenly skies, with abundant lush green leaves whispering and swaying to musiconly they can hear, all supported by solid tree trunks, rooted into the intricate, deep earth, supplying, providing, sustaining life.
Oh… we got the goods on the Two Footed buried beneath us….like Russian Hackers, we know it all and one day we’ll share…the who,what, when and where.…but we are still not sure about the why!
And that ‘Whoever has the gold, makes the rules’ …forget-about-it…not in the cemetery! Here all men and women are equal...under the ground….
Weathered by time…
Right here a former Mayor and his family claim a prize plot, shaded by a big old tree with a stone erected so tall and wide, mere mortals stop to stare. But the marble has crumbled, along with their earthly dreamsand even if you squint, you can no longer read their names or dates of their birth or demise….. just that he had been a Mayor at some point in time. Good news is the stone is so deteriorated that it probably wasn’t paid out of the Public Purse.
Over yonder you see a gravestone proudly announcing the bodies therein were born over the pond….like being born in Canada made you less, more or less….but we were good enough to put food in your belly, a roof over your head, educate your children…but hey, we’re not bitter….just a bit hurt.
Next plot houses what is rumored to be a Godfather figure whose Holy Roman Catholicreligion did not want him defiling their sin-free resting place….not like the Mob were ever fussy about the graves they buried their dead in….this will do nicely, ever if you have to spend eternity with ‘mangia cakes’ other wise know as ‘cakers’.
Now that towering headstone is home to a family that goes back, and back and back….if you can believe them, their ancestors descended from King Henry V111 who had so many wives, anything is possible. In any case they are rich as Midasand want to be given the respect they believe they are due…. Our’s is not to question why…..ours’s is just to do or die.
Still simple folk have to be buried too….and there is row on row of them, with their sad stories, if you look closely enough…..predeceased by children, deaths occurring in short time spans…. every gravestone tells a story and we mourn them all.
We accept anyone..really..anyone..
But we never tell…well, except each other, the tears we see shed,the family fights at the graveside….even happy reunions sometimes…we just draw up our chair, make ourselves comfortable and listen…trying to somehow lessen the pain, diffuse the tension, help the mourners move past the moment, with the white noise rustling leaves whispering condolences…because:
They lived…They laughed…Saw sunsets glow…Loved and were loved….(Paraphrase John McCrae)
But we are on it…We take the rich, the poor, the huddled masses, all yearning to be free…at last! Your moneys worth nothing when your last breath’s spent….
You know I am all about the Rules…even the ones I have to make up on the spur of the momentwhen called for….but some of them are just common sense. What part of that does Momma not understand?
Take for instance (and this should be a given)when I have kept Wonder Boy company all night long…I believe…I firmly believe I should not be disturbed by Momma, even if it is for something like my favourite thing in the world, going for a walk. If Wonder Boy is sleeping in because he was up late, well, so was I, right by his side, all night long, all night…all night long.
I really don’t care Momma if you want to go for my walk in the cool of the morning air, before it reaches 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade…dress down a little…I mean, I am not one of those furless cats, yet do you hear me complaining?
Me and my Momma. She always wins…
So Momma stealthily enters Wonder Boy’s room, gives me ‘the look’…. I ignore her. By the powers invested in her by the Sweet Baby Jesus, she telepathically forces me to open my eyes.She holds her finger to her lips, motioning ‘ssssshhhhh’ with one hand, while the other hand indicates ‘Come on,walk time.’Sure Momma. Later Momma. I close my eyes.
But Momma is like those driven, doggedly persistent feral cats.…Maybe that’s why she is so attached to them…Giving up or giving in is not in her dictionary.She bends over, scratches my head, my ears and my belly and, well, I can resist cat food, doggy treats, food left on the coffee table in the living room but belly scratches, like an addict on crack cocaine, I can’t say no to a belly rub….I am yours 4ever….. I hop over Wonder Boy, splat on the floor and we are off….and darn, does this mean Momma won again?
If only Momma saw herself through my mirror…
Once up and at it, I feel fine. I hold no grudge. However, I have to say, it appears my work is not done yet on training Momma. Kind of like that song she sings, only Paraphrased to suit the Guilty as Charged:
Momma’s under construction – Maybe her paint is still wet….. Momma’s under construction – The Almighty’s not finished with her yet….(Bill Gaither and Larry Paxton)….But He’s trying….He’s Trying!…and GoodLuckWithThat!
So Momma comes home and tells Wonder Boy she pulled a Justin Bieber. Oh, no, no, no, the Paparazzi do not stalk Momma…but if she is in a car and anyone purposely gets in her way, well, she won’t run over you (maybe) but she will deafen you with her horn.
You see an Opportunist of Questionable Intent thought it was a great idea at 6:30am to wade in to the traffic and solicit tips, no services required… I know, I know, it happens in The Big Smoke all the time but not here…really, even if it is the 9th most populated city in the country…everyone knows someone who knows you…and you wouldn’t want your Mom to know you were panhandling down at the Four Corners…Shame, Shame….no Ho Ho Santa Clauscoming to you this Christmas.
The egg we came from…… From: Morguefile By: trisofficial
Still the Two Footed are a polite bunch which the Opportunist of Questionable Intent full well knew. It seemed the drivers of our city in front, behind Momma were like sheep being led to the slaughter. They dutifully dug in their pockets, even going for more, when the Entrepreneur of Questionable Intent told them what they had given wouldn’t even buy him a cup of coffee at Timmy’s.
Oh, but not Momma…Sometimes she wonders if she and her sisters should have to wear a sign that reads ‘DaughterofADragon’ to warn the innocent and ward off the disreputable because those girls…they burn pavement…ferociously…everywhere they go…when crossed, that is.
The smiling sisters look so…normal but Momma especially (back row left)…has that cut to the bone stare…
So as the Opportunist of Questionable Intent argued for the drivers to dig deeper (hands in your pockets 🙂,Momma laid on her horn… made not so subtle sign language ….the Opportunist, looked over, vexed….this was not going as planned and momentarily considered approaching the next car in the line. However, a second glance at Momma’s thundering face and he saw, heard, recognized ADaughterofADragon and disappeared in to the Light of another Morn. Better he lived to see another day. Because…
Don’t tug on Superman’s cape…Little dude! From: Morguefile By: Edens
You don’t tug on Superman’s cape…You don’t spit into the wind…You don’t pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger…And you don’t Mess Around with THEM…
Aliases: Sir Clement, Clem Kadiddlehopper, Clemmers, Clem
Last Siting: June 21, 2017
Just the Facts: Clem came for breakfast June 21, 2017, jumped on the table at the front door, waited patiently for the door to be opened and slipped way, never to return.
Our Lament:
Who could not ♥ me?
Oh our darling, oh our darling, oh our darling, oh our darling Sir Clement ….You are gone, maybe lost forever…Dreadful sorry Sir Clement….
Drove the ducklings to the water….Every morning just at nine…Hit his foot against a splinter…Fell into the foaming brine….All the Kitties that fought with him…Soon began to peak and pine…Think they oughter join their feral….Because one day all cats will shine….
We never knew it was Goodbye…
Oh our darling, oh our darling, oh our darling, oh our darling Sir Clement ….You are gone, maybe lost forever…Dreadful sorry Sir Clement…. (Paraphrase Percy Montrose)
PS:If anyone sees our Clem out there, please tell himwe love him, we miss him and we will never ever forget him…♥♥♥The Ultimate Earth Dog Jakita, Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte, Diva Calico Gen,Bad Boy Andy, Wonder Boyand Momma.
To know me…Is to love me…. Fr:Morguefile By: jdurham
I dreamed of her again last night……Her blonde shiny hair….Fell upon her bright jumper….And she flung her arms around my neck….And said…’I love you Auntie’…
Lovie, post radiation.
My father often says he wishes….He could bring her into his dreams….It would make it seem for a brief time…He had her back again…
Ah, but I am theLuckyOne….I dreamed of her again last night……
Sometimes…all it takes is a single grain of sand to tip theScalesofJustice…oh and fulfill a ‘To Do’ item or a Bucket List…just ask Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte (aka Charlie). Of course it takes Courage and Bravery, two Kitty Badges Charlie has worked hard to achieve as she watched the world catapult on around her at a break neck speed….so fast, she could never make it on the revolving Carousel of Life…or so she thought…till it happened.
It started early on, back at the Cat Colony when poor old tired Mama Cat had little time for the niceties of Motherhood. There was no Yuppy Momma to put food and water down in shiny, washed daily food bowls. No, Mama Cat had to go forage around Garbage bins, the best ones being at the Tim Horton / Wendy’s Outlet…one drawback, you had to cross six lanes of whizzing traffic, all the drivers late for work or late going home, or so it seemed… Kind of like crossing a field of landmines… Only the most strategic and strong cats made it back in one piece. Quite understandably, when Mama Cat returned to the nest, she was frazzled and tired. There was little nurturing poured on to her …and Charlie, shy and undemanding, waited her turn, only advancing after all the Alpha Kitties had their fill.
You can see why Charlie, a loner, was intrigued when Momma stalked her for days instead of just scooping up the friendly kitties. Once Charlie was introduced to her ForeverHome, she made a vow to herself…she would never walk out the door again…an Inside Cat by Choice…let the other Cats go Out and In and In and Out. Charlie may have been a tad paranoid but she had her brains about her. Danger in the form of the Four Footed or traffic, lack of food, fighting the heat of summer, the cold of winter was not her Thing. ‘So shut the freekin’ door….I am not going anywhere’ , her expressive green eyes screamed.
Cat Mandu looks so innocent…but she was a psycho kitty….
Everyone knows Charlie came under the influence of The Quite Mad Mandu Catbecause, well, Cat Mandu befriended her, yet, at the same time, deserted herto live her own life … Charlie only got a life when Cat Mandu caught her Pink Cloud to Paradise…but wow, in a few years Charlie is the prettiest Butterfly a Caterpillar ever produced.
With Cat Manda Gone.Baby.Gone, Charlie moved freely around her ForeverHome, staking Momma’s Bed as Home Base…still she had to somehow conquer the Living Room because…you live in there.
Don’t let Diva Calico Gen fool you…she is Genviscious!
Jakita, being the Baby of the Four Footed, and a privileged Ultimate Earth Dog had whatever couch she hopped on, or floor space she desired…no routine…just what suited her fancy on any given day.Diva Calico Genwould grab a spot on the couch or the arm of a chair and swat any interlopers silly.
Jakita & Bad Boy Andy Making it Work…
Bad Boy Andy preferred the top of the cat hotel or a couch, often glued beside Jakita…
Hang On, Hang On To Me……
Charlie she had her own devious plan…and it involved being an appendage to Momma…day and night, night and day…it hurts to love so much, they say…but Charlie’s… making it work…even if it takes a little longer…
Momma’s got a story ….(doesn’t she always) …you know the mega conglomerates suck you in and ‘say too bad…so sad’ when you look online (because of the services you pay them to provide) and notice rates much lower than you pay…so you call…and wait…listen to free advertising of their latest products no home should be without and aninane music loopthat repeats over and over and over again…like a three-year old on a xylophone because maybe only one Customer Rep made it in to work that particular day.
When you do connect, it is explained to you, the 25 year client, you must be a NEW customer to get those deals…huh…loyalty is worth what??? Sucks to be you….But if you would just get a package, bundle up,you could have breathtaking savings…for the next 6 months … if you sign a contract….for two years. No thank you, Mr. Rogers and Ma Belle….here in ‘a place to stand, a place to grow’, we are so on to you…
But that is not ‘her story’… No, she wants to talk about a fix for the land line. It started out asstatic on the line, progressed to dropped calls…well, except for the charity foundations and scam artists, with hands in your pocket who somehow always get though…. There was a problem, which of course Momma was warned sternly, if she had caused, she must pay and pay and pay for the expertise of hired help that would be sent for the fix. You Got It, Pontiac!
Baby Jesus…coming soon.
Now everyone knows an appointment must be set which keeps the customer home for a set period of time because like the return of Jesus, they could show up wheneverbetween 3 to 5 hours, depending on their schedule.
All went well…not that well…it took 3 appointments actually to back to business during which for a period there was no longer had phone or internet service….and who lives without world-wide web today unless you’re on some God forsaken island in the middle of a hurricane…or an earthquake.
Mr. Simple Man came first… he scared Momma with talk of hooking in to a neighbours service and having to dig deep and wide to replace cableand resolve the problem…no, he could not fix it…but he’d place an order for what was needed and request another appointment be set up within 24 hours. Okay….
I really love Rainbows and Leprechauns, Momma!
Mr. Young Man came next. He was totally bummed out because Mr. Simple Man was clueless and had placed an order for the wrong equipment. Digging, what digging…no new cable required but whoops, now there is no telephone line or internet…but Mr. Young Man would make sure we had it up in 24 hours. By now Momma is hyperventilating…her Wonder Boy would not he happy…nor would she! So Mr. Young Man called his boss to see if it could be done…like today…this afternoon…and that is how Momma met the one that Ma Belle keeps a secret…. a Top Gun in their arsenal, shrouded in mystery, living in a grand tree trunk, only sent out when all else fails…
The Little Leprechaun at work!
Meet Little LeprechaunMan…Not an hour later he showed… a twinkle in his eye, a bounce in his step, a 1, 2, 3, Bob’s your uncle and the fix is in. ‘What did you do’…Momma asked… ‘Oh, I just took a cloth and polished the wires and connectors’, he claimed….but Momma knew…he had performed some magical mending that only aLeprechaun of the highest Top Gun order can achieve. It seems Leprechauns have diversified…there are not just one-dimensional cobblers anymore!
The Little Leprechaun at home!Is that the Little Leprechaun peering out of the tree trunk hollow?
Now Momma and Jakita have a new missionto find out which big old tree trunk hollow or woodland the Little LeprechaunMan lives in (in case he is needed again)…no doubt close to a FairyRing because it is Momma’s understanding the Leprechauns play the fiddle as the FairiesTwirl….
Momma knows people will scoff at this tale but Ma Belle…we are so on to you! You’ll go to any length to beat the competition and keep dissatisfied customers happy!
Because: Ma Belle believes in magic, so come along with me…. We’ll dance until morning ‘then go hide in the tree…’ (Paraphrase the Lovin’ Spoonful)
N
