CAT

 

You might remember the story of The Specialist And The Cat, in which a lowly enlisted man befriends a tiny, abandoned, defenseless kitten and takes the helpless creature home to the old family Compound, for healing, and a new start in life.

It's a moving tale of cat, soldiery, animal rescue and country life in Texas, but how's it going, how is the kitty? I was worried at first, because the kitten ran foolishly from the safety of the Compound. "The golden little cat?" offered one neighbor, "He's probably been eaten." Such is nature, red in tooth and claw.

But not to worry, the next day at around Noon, a woman was singing over her laundry, what a sweet sound, and up bounded the cat, who galloped across the road in search of food and water. He found it and played ridiculously.

Since then, the cat spends his time between several local porches, visiting the Compound's in early morning and late evening, typically. I like that. Fierce little creature and an asset.

Felix,

LSP

CAT

 

OK. Mindblog consensus says LSP, keep the kitten. WSF bets on it, Wild quietly approves, Adrienne demands it and DOS offers practical advice, "Blue looks like he's like some company. Just keep the cat as an outdoor variety to keep the mice, chipmunks and squirrels in check. My $0.02."

Who am I to deny your collective wisdom? The cat stays, per DOS, ON. THE. PORCH. He's happy there and keeps mice and all the rest at bay. But what do we call this CAT? "Bobby" clearly won't do and my first instinct was to call it Cat. Simple as that, but maybe Private is better. After all, he's obviously a battlecat.

In other news, a friend from across the pond sent this in, go on, have a look.

Perhaps someone should contact marketing?

Your Best Friend,

LSP

On The Way

 

One of the crew ended up in hospital the other day with a heart condition, but by the grace of God he survived and one pacemaker later was back in his newbuilt home today, recovering. I drove out to see him, and I tell you, it felt good to be out in the country. There it is, lying there in the searing heat, Texas. Good too to find my friend in good spirits and recovering, though weak. We prayed for a full recovery.

In other news, the Russkies had a good week, capturing Sverdonetsk along with neighboring territory and look set to capture Lisyshansk (across the river from Sverdonetsk) shortly. Smart UKR troops made it out of the encirclement, on foot?, and fell back to the Bakmut/Kramatorsk defense line. Expect RF forces to move West to test this after securing their rear. Or not. Here's a map from Rybar:

It's similar, when you think of it, to a mini version of Operation Bagration, but at a company and battalion level as opposed to divisional, and both sides seem to be operating on something like the 1944 playbook. Mini or not, it's no joke when it's your kid who dies in the fury of thing. And die they have, to the tune of tens of thousands. 

This is hideous, unlike Blue's new friend who's cute as all get out. But here's the thing. No cats in the house and this one's going to a different home after being rescued from ghetto street life by a soldier. 

He calls it "Bobby," which is sweet, but "Bobby" is not taking up residence, plaintive, sentimental, unrealistic, pugnacious protests notwithstanding.

Your Pal,

LSP