There is a Twilight Zone episode “The Howling Man.” A seemingly innocent man is held prisoner. There is no lock on his cell, only an easily removable wooden stick across the lock. hold. The monks that guard the tower where the man is held tell a visitor to leave the man alone. The visitor having sympathy on the man lifts the bar off the door and the innocent man is revealed to be an evil being who once freed, injures the man, grows stronger and dissapears in a puff of smoke. Sometimes it’s best to leave the stick on the door and let the person who seems to need help stay where they are so they don’t damage or destroy you in the course of you helping them. As a friend said long ago “If a person can’t bring you up don’t let that person bring you down.”
Know Thyself
Many of you have been following this blog for awhile and so you know the behaviors of the two cats. But one of the things that is interesting is when their behavior goes too far. We all have limits. There are limits between parents and children, work colleagues and limits placed on us by society. With animals, you have to set the limits early and keep reinforcing them. One of the days to do it this is through consistent reward and punishment. You reward behaviors you want and punish those you don’t want. The trick is that if you are punishing a behavior, you have to catch the animal doing it in the act. Unlike humans, cats and dogs have no real memory from an action and a consequence. If your cat jumps on the furniture, you can’t punish her an hour after the fact. Pavlov proved this and it is has been repeated.
So the reason for my long-winded story is that there are certain limits the cats have at each of our houses. For example, Roxie has very rarely peed at Azeena’s house, but she does so at my house with impunity. Window blinds are literally purchased by the multiples at Azeena’s because Jean-Claude breaks them at his grandmothers, but leaves mine alone.
In life the one thing you can control is your behavior. You cannot control others, but you can control yourself. There are times when we all feel like we want to push our limits. Test the waters and see how far we can go. In some cases, this is a good thing – Can I go back to school full-time while working full-time and other times, it’s best left alone.
As a Libra, I spend my life looking for balance between stretching my mind, my self-examination and trying to stay grounded. Like Jean-Claude walking along the fence railing it is a hard act and requires constant attention. But I’m up for the challenge.
Cat Drama
Roxie and Jean Claude are now at CCL’s house on a more permanent basis. I’ve received rather humorous reports of their recent behavior from my daughter CCL. Mornings before she leaves for works the cats are particularly frisky. Jean Claude, the male black Bombay, slips out any open door to freedom, prancing round the hood til he’s ready to come back home. Roxie, the female Japanese bobtail, has once again taken to her sky-diving routine, jumping not once but twice in the last week from the second floor deck of CCL’s house . She landed safely both times in the neighbor’s yard below. Here’s a youtube video where the “Jedi Cat” looks very much like Roxie…hmmn.
Time Passing
I paid a visit to Roxie and Jean Claude today. Last night during a cocktail party at CCL’s house JC came out to greet me, Roxie stayed hidden. Today she came out for a brief spell, let me pet her and then dissappeared into CCL’s bedroom where she rested comfortably on the middle of the bed. Clearly, she has adjusted to her new/old space and it was time. It’s funny about some things in our lives, people come and go. If we are lucky we have people (and animals and a couple of pairs of jeans) that grow with us. Change is inevitable – as is the passing of time. Sometimes one lingers in a spot for a long time, it’s comfortable or it feels like if we give the situation more time there might be some magical transformation. Eventually reality and acceptance steps in. We have waited and it is still the same old, same ole but we have grown and expanded emotionally, mentally and spiritually – and the situation just doesn’t fit. It’s time for new adventures.
Mad Men, Cultural Change
I am a big fan of television program “Mad Men.” It exemplies the culture of years past and captures some the rituals and tension I felt in my own life growing up. There’s been a lot of discussion about women and our rights as women in the news. Some would prefer that things revert to the way they were during the 1960s. A lot of those advocating those ideas grew up in that era, perhaps their backward thinking is waxing nostalgia or a refusal to grow up and accept that things, the way we live are vastly different now.
During the 1960s my sister and I would “go-go” around the house dancing the “swim,” “the cool jerk” or the “pony”. One memorable evening , the week my brother was born, my aunt J, my sister and I had a “pony” procession around the house to go-go song “El Pussycat,” pausing and going completely still at the bridge (where the cats begin to meow). Here’s the song for those of you who have never heard it or those who just want to remember.
Cats & All That ™ 