Kitty in a box

Before I get to that, Happy Birthday, Mr. President!

Apparently, to celebrate his birthday, albeit a day late, he is coming to experience the joys of Wakarusa, Indiana tomorrow. Ha! I'm not sure what he'll do there...maybe visit the slaughterhouse where I used to go to pick up cow blood for protein separation of coagulation factors at one job I worked at for a while. Not fun, and I'm glad I didn't work there long! Anyhoo, he is coming to this tiny town (lucky if it's 2000 people) in Elkhart County (one county east of us) to talk about things, and is speaking at one of the businesses in town. We're hearing that there is to be some sort of announcement, and speculation is that it's about another company setting up shop there, although that could just be wishful thinking. Elkhart County is the home of RV manufacturing, and has been particularly hard-hit by this economy. Unemployment is up around 18%, so people are really hurting there. I think everyone in the area is hoping for good news for the county, because we all know someone who is out of a job. Economic factors are certainly looking up, indicating that the worst of the recession is over, but that doesn't matter to the person who has been out of work for months and sees no end in sight. Jobs are always the last to recover, and I'm sure that will be the case now. I just hope everyone can hang on until places start hiring again, and new companies start up. [fingers crossed]

The event is not open to the public, so there was no chance that I might get to go. I was intending on going grocery-shopping tomorrow, but did it today so I can watch the local coverage of his visit. He'll be flying into our local airport at South Bend, then heading over to Wakarusa to speak. There are some in Wakarusa that don't give a rat's ass that he's coming to their town, but most folks are pretty excited. When you're a town of maybe 2000, a Presidential visit is a pretty big deal!

I finished Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad today, and I have to say I'm rather proud of myself. It's one of our book club books, and I gave up on it (temporarily) when we were in Florida. It was just not beach material! I picked it back up when we returned, and I'm glad I did. Definitely a gripping yarn, although tragic. Next up is The Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen. It was first published in 1938, but the edition I have is from 1961. It's a hardback with sort of a funky, patterned cover, and it's old enough that it has that pleasant old book smell...aged paper with a hint of mustiness. Not unpleasant at all, more of a secret smell. As if you found it in dusty stacks, pulled it off the shelf, blew the dust off of the spine, and opened it to find...what? That's the magic of books. I know that my fellow readers will understand. [grin]

So...the kitty in the box. This is our cat Sheeba. I know this isn't a box, it's a bag, but like most cats, he loves to crawl into empty bags and boxes of all kinds. One of his favorite games is, if we have an empty pop or beer carton at the top of the stairs, to push the carton over to the basement stairs and let it tumble down to the bottom. It cracks us up every time, and he never seems to get tired of doing it. Yesterday, I was sitting here and he was playing with an empty box. He crawled inside it, as he often does, but next thing I knew, he was pushing with his back legs right over to the top of the stairs, and BAM! Down he went. What is that phrase? Ass over teakettle?

I gasped, "SHEEBA!" and went running downstairs (I'm lucky I didn't fall). I'm not sure exactly when he came out of the box, but by the time I got to the stairs, he was at the bottom of the stairs and out of the box. He quickly trotted under the pool table. I imagined him saying, "I meant to do that." I got him out from under the pool table and gave him the once over. Nothing was broken and everything seemed to be intact--other than his pride. I think cats definitely have that attitude of embarrassment after they get themselves into trouble, don't you?

I watched him all afternoon for any signs of trouble, or aberrant behavior. He slept a lot, but...pfft, he's a cat. When Ken got home and I told him the story, and said that I was worried and watching Sheeba, well...Ken just couldn't leave that one alone.

Ken: [speaking as Sheeba] Mama? Is that you? I'm having a hard time seeing....

Me: Stop it!

Ken: [as Sheeba] Mama? I'm feeling a little dizzy and nauseous. I think I might have a concussion....

Me: Cut it out!

Later on, Sheeba was curled up on his perch, snoozing away, and I got this:

Ken: [as Sheeba] Mama?

Me: [resignedly] Yes, Sheeba.

Ken [as Sheeba] Look at me. I'm dead!

Argh.

I'm happy to report that Sheeba is doing fine, and if sleep does indeed hold healing powers, he is at 100%.

Note to self: Never take Sheeba to Niagara Falls.