I still think it came from the laundromat...The insta-slum in Kingsport has caused great deterioration in the quality of local laundromats. I washed some laundry in one early on a Sunday morning when the insta-slum people weren't around. Several machines showed damage from where insta-slum people had tried to break into the cash boxes, though, and after I'd been wearing one shirt for a few hours the shirt began to smell of live, growing bacteria and I broke out in a rash and even felt fluzly. Well, the long and short of it is, I've got shingles. Anyone who has not had chickenpox, or had a terrible time with it and is afraid of having it again, should stay clear of me through February.
It's not painful. The rash itches at times but is more of an embarrassment than anything else, just the way I remember the original chickenpox being. Most of the little blisters don't even itch; all they've done has been to form that "shingly" crust of dried serum that flakes off and re-forms after bathing. The unpleasantness of shingles has, I think, been greatly exaggerated in order to sell vaccines and medications. Like chickenpox it looks a great deal worse than it is. It has reacted well to the two antiviral medications I use: garlic (taken internally) and Listerine (applied externally).
Shingles is caused by chickenpox virus, which lingers in the body and reactivates in this new form if the body is exposed to stress. I would have expected to have had it sooner if I were going to have it, but there's a first time for everything. My days have been relatively mellow compared to the stress I felt when I was paying rent and dating and living with teenagers. Physical stress is a different thing from the emotional kind. I suppose all those reactions to "New Roundup" have taken their toll.
Anyway...one night when the overnight temperature dropped to 18 degrees, I didn't call Silver to come in immediately after she'd used the sand pit. Some neighbors do a lot of laundry, using a lot of scented dryer sheets, in a basement with a vent under the porch. Silver is a small cat and can get into places where larger cats, like theirs or like Drudge and Serena, can't go. She came in, when the air warmed up the next day, smelling like dryer sheets. Serena was out hunting that day and smelled, when she came in, like a recently dead squirrel. When they came in and started to snuggle up together for the night each cat nonverbally said the other one stank.
Next day, they hunted as a team. Silver occupied a position indoors that Serena can't easily reach. Serena went outdoors. Apparently Serena caught a big fat squirrel that was trying to get into the house; they sometimes do that in cold weather, and people have remarked on the squirrels venturing as close as they've been doing to the cats. She came in briefly, nibbled at dinner--she was visibly stuffed--and went out to the sand pit. I went back into the office and fell asleep.
When I woke, Silver was curled up on top of the blanket beside me. She soon woke up and wanted to go out. I called Serena. She didn't come. I called her a few more times, at half-hour intervals. No sign. I walked down the road calling her. Drudge and Silver followed.
"Let me show you this wonderful warm place I've found!" Silver nonverbally said as we approached the neighbors' house. "You should come to this house too!"
"Don't be silly," I said. The neighbors were bustling about. It looked as if they were packing for some sort of trip.
"This house is also good," Silver said, positively leading me up the next driveway. "They have a big dog but I can keep out of his way and eat his leftovers. The sun shines bright and warm in the driveway."
"It is certainly an improvement," I said. "When we left the house the temperature was ten skinny, shivery little Fahrenheit degrees. Down here in the sunshine it might be up to twenty degrees already. But we can't stay here. We should catch those other people before they leave the neighborhood."
We hurried back past the first house in time to catch the neighbors outside and report that Serena was missing. Silver and I did, anyway. Drudge was not in the mood for a fight and didn't follow us across Wild Thyme's territory. As we walked back up the road he ran down the road a few yards to meet us.
"Serena is at home, waiting for you," he nonverbally told us. "She thinks it's a good joke that you're worried about her."
"How mean of her," I said. "I wouldn't have worried about her, knowing she can always go down cellar for a nap, if youall hadn't checked the cellar and reported that she wasn't there, and it hadn't been so cold, and she and Silver had been on better terms...and if she'd come when called to breakfast! Serena almost always comes when called and she NEVER misses breakfast."
"There was another squirrel," Drudge explained, rubbing his full side against my leg. "She was hunting. She'll come in for breakfast as a favor to you. Then we'll all go and hunt squirrels."
Our ancestors got much of their protein from chestnuts, black walnuts, white walnuts (butternuts), and hickory nuts. The chestnuts are probably gone forever and we never managed to raise a butternut tree but my parents let black walnut and hickory trees grow wherever they would. Where there are walnut and hickory trees, there are squirrels.
Serena was indeed waiting for me, sitting on the front porch. She was cold, and let me snuggle her against my shawl and bring her indoors. This time neither cat had any complaint about the other's smell.
Petfinder annoyed me once again by trying to find out too much. I like a web site not to try to find out where or who I am. The Internet is a healthier place when nobody knows who might be a child, a bully, a homeless person in a public place, or their employer. The thought that "This person might actually be a dog. Or my wife. Or my boss who allows me to use the computer for business only" has a salutary effect on cybercommunication.
The site wanted me to look at animals in local shelters first. Well, some readers may be local, and in fact a new arrival at a local shelter does deserve to be highlighted. Unfortunately the quality of the photos cannot be presented as a contest winner. Maybe that is no reason for this web site not to promote a deserving pair of animals' search for their Purrmanent Home. Readers can decide. First, the contest winners...Since the local pair are Siamese-mix, let's consider Siamese cats. To go with the theme, on the dog side, let's consider hounds.
Zipcode 10101: Apple Jacks and Lucky Charms from New Jersey
These brother kittens are described as shy, gentle, and playful. Give them a chance to get to know you and they'll be trailing after you around the house. Both are part Siamese, though only one has the Siamese look.
Dusk from NYC
As of yesterday this "dusky"-colored Coon Hound mix was four months old and weighed 24 pounds. His ideal human would have some experience rearing and training puppies. Coon Hounds are smart, tough, and usually willing to please, but they can get large and rambunctious. If you can handle a dog who is likely to make lots of mistakes just because he's full of adolescent energy, and to be big enough that his overenthusiastic greetings may literally knock someone flat, adopt Dusk. If not, well it's not as if there aren't a lot of other hounds looking for homes in the Big City. If you're not sure, Dusk is available as a foster pet--they'll provide food and veterinary care while you give him a homelike environment and try to market him to someone who's ready to adopt now, or, more likely, scrape up the money to make the commitment and keep him.
Zipcode 20202: Freyja from DC
Freyja is a largish cat, thought to be eight years old. She's been an indoor pet and is comfortable with that, watching wildlife on "cat television" perhaps, not hunting. She wants to have a close relationship with a well trained human whom she can follow around the house, sit beside, and pat when she wants attention. They think she'd do better as the only pet for someone who works from home than in a house with other animals and children. She is described as gentle, affectionate, and well behaved. About Serena's age, she's probably making the transition from brief naps to long deep sleep.
Sadie from DC
She's photographed in a big fenced yard to emphasize that they want her to be adopted by a family who have a big fenced yard. Sadie is on the nervous side, as Beagles go, and is most likely to fit in with a family who keep friendly Beagles a little smaller than she is. (She weighs 45 pounds.) She is not recommended for families with small children. She likes to be petted and is described as "sweet as can be" when she decides to trust people. She's run up a substantial vet bill but not had real training--this is the organization that like to recommend training courses, and, naturally, they think she can benefit from a good training course. The adoption fee is high but does cover a lot of veterinary expenses.
Zipcode 30303: Hope from Atlanta
When they were little alley kittens, Hope was trapped in the wall of a building. Practicing the virtue for which she was named, she kept yowling until rescuers were able to open a hole in the wall and bring her out. Now she's a half-grown house pet who likes to "jump into the cuddle puddle" when people are cuddling with other cats. So she gets on well with other cats, but she will be the Queen...plan accordingly. (That is: I wouldn't try to bring a developing Queen Cat into the same house with e.g. Serena.) If you want to be gently dominated by a sassy kitten, Hope is for you.
Piston from Decatur
Piston has been a pet. His human became ill and is offering him for adoption or foster care, but while able Piston's human trained him to sit, lie down, give a paw, sleep through the night in his crate, tell his human when he needs to go out, and, most important of all, go out rather than making a mess in the house. He's friendly with other dogs and humans and even polite with cats. Part Pointer, his ancestors were hunting dogs, but he doesn't demand that his human hunt. Lots of love, lots of dog food, and lots of long brisk walks will do. Piston is two or three years old and already, though slim, weighs 45 pounds. You can find out whether you're the right human for him by boarding him, at the organization's expense, as a foster pet--but be warned: if you think you might be the right human for him, you probably are and you'll not want to "market" him to someone else.
Bonus Cats: Zipcode 37660: Pretty Girl and Jack
She's four years old. He's nine. They are a bonded pair and must be adopted together. They've already been altered and no doubt very well trained to fit into...a home that has been broken up. Their human died recently. They are grieving, and they need a place to live. They are Siamese-American mixed breed. Pretty Girl has some vision problems; they're used to being indoor pets and should be indoor pets again. The pair are currently being sheltered in Petworks.
