P CAT

Transcript

_{My father was a tidy person. Even if he made a big mess during a project, you could be assured that when he reached the amount of time he intended to spend on that project, everything was carefully put away.}

_{In his retirement, he did exactly that with his woodworking. When he made desks or signs, at the end of the day’s work the shop was swept, all the tools were back in their holders, and every piece of equipment was turned off. I think maybe that came about because Dad was a pilot. When you’re a pilot, you need to know exactly where everything is—on your body, in the cockpit, or back in the belly of your airplane. It served Daddy well, his habit of being neat and tidy.}

_{My daddy also really liked being around animals. He grew up on a farm, plowed behind a mule, and he spread that love of animals to his offspring. It was hard having pets as a Marine Corps family. We were often moved abruptly, and the Marine Corps did not pay to move critters. No, it did not. So there was some time in my earlier life—say, before I was in second grade—that I don’t remember having a pet at all. Now Daddy certainly interacted with everybody else’s critters, and they always interacted joyfully with him.}

_{Then, long about second grade, Daddy finally gave in to my quiet persistence.}

_{“Dad, can’t I have a cat? A cat is small. It doesn’t take much room. Couldn’t I have a cat?”}

_{Some of the neighbors down the street had kittens, and oh, how I adored playing with them. I’d come home and tell Daddy all about which kitten had done what during my visit. Eventually Dad gave in to my desire. Or was it that Dad gave in to his own desire to have a critter around the house?}

_{Out of that litter came a cat. I named her Princess. I think a lot of us have had a Princess cat... or a Princess dog... or maybe even a Princess horse. Princess looked for all the world like a little bobcat—an oval face, tufts on the ends of her ears, and eyes that always seemed to say, “I’m waiting to pounce.”}

_{So P Cat, as Daddy called her, came to live with us. Hmm...}

_{Daddy was a neat person, remember? A tidy person. One of Dad’s few great pleasures was to fill the bathtub with hot water, lower himself into it with a copy of National Geographic, and read in his own little private—although wet—library.}

_{Princess Cat had some odd habits. She liked to go swimming. I kid you not. If a puddle filled deep enough after a rain, she’d be out there paddling around. She’d get down into the ditch, paddle across, then paddle back. She liked to swim. Well... that caused a conflict.}

_{Dad filled the bathtub, and Princess saw that as an absolutely beautiful opportunity to jump right in and swim. And she would.}

_{The only problem was that every loose hair on her floated to the surface until the whole bathtub was covered with cat fur. Dad would come in, National Geographic in hand, ready for his soaking bath... and there sat the tub with a layer of cat fur floating on top. Nothing to do but pull the plug, drain the water, scoop out the fur, and hope that next time he’d remember to close the bathroom door after filling the tub.}

_{I can still remember the times Dad forgot. He’d walk in, National Geographic in hand... and you could hear his groan all through the house. My father never yelled. But he could groan very well. And I would suddenly understand why, just moments before, P Cat had gone streaking past me and out the back door.}

_{Daddy and Princess Cat had a wonderful relationship. She lived with our family for twenty-three years - that’s a long time for a cat.}

_{Well... next time you fill up your tub for a good hot soak, remember Princess—the water-loving cat paddling happily around until Daddy... well... Daddy just groaned.}

_{Thank you for coming through the Open Door today.}

_{Have a very blessed day... and a very clean bathtub the next time you have a chance to bathe.}