Odette

I had two cats, Bobby and Odette, brother and sister.  They were tuxedo cats with exactly the same markings except Bobby was black and a bruiser and Odette was silver grey and very beautiful. They had big personalities and were quite the pair.    I wanted one kitten but was told I had to take two, so I did.  Later I found out they had a sister, Miss Ellie who was a Pygmy cat.  Does such a thing even exist?  I imagine her as a runt many times over.  If I had known about this cat, I would have taken her as well.  Absolutely. 

Bobby and Odette were very friendly, they eagerly greeted all humans who entered the apartment, following them around and doing the necessary sniffing.  If a plumber came, they were on either side of the sink, looking up at the plumber and then back towards the sink.  A friend came over once and took off his Converse sneakers, they tried to get both of their heads into same shoe, and then settled on one shoe for each little snout.

Odette was very sweet and welcomed any dog that came in, where as Bobby would patiently wait for the right moment and whack them, proving that he was the boss.  This piece is dedicated to Odette and I hope to write one about Bobby soon.  Odette was a flyer.   Out of the corner of my eye I would see a whiff of movement, and it would be Odette flying from the bookshelf to the cabinet and around the room four times over. 

Odette particularly liked to jump from the couch to the top wardrobe shelf.  This she did with grace.  Except for one night.  I was wrapping gifts on the floor and my boyfriend at the time was on the couch.  The wardrobe door was barely open.    We heard a crash.  I asked my boyfriend to check to see if she was okay.  Ahh, she’s alright.  Please, I asked.  He didn’t.  So, I did.  I opened the door to see Odette hanging on for dear life with her claws stuck deep into my woolen winter coat.  I rescued kitty from coat.  This boyfriend didn’t last.

What best exemplifies Odette is what happened one cold winter night.  Bobby passed away at too young an age, and Odette wasn’t feeling all that well herself. She would nap by the radiator so I kept a towel for her to rest on.  One night Odette was on her towel and I was on the couch watching TV.  I am stunned to see a mouse creep from behind the refrigerator and walk straight up to the blanket.  The cat looks at the mouse, the mouse looks at the cat, and then the mouse walks on the blanket up to the cat.  The cat and mouse settle in and cuddle together. 

I scream, the mouse runs away, the cat runs away.  I clean every little step the mouse took, I throw the towel away and put down a new towel.   A few minutes later the mouse comes back and takes it’s place next to Odette.  I scream and scream.  Both run away.  I clean and scrub and decide I cannot live with this mouse.   I did what I had to, to make sure the mouse was not coming back. 

I then thought – how long has this been going on?  This couldn’t have been the first time.  They must have been sharing a towel for a while.   Eek.  You can’t give a cat a bath, but I cleaned the cat as best I could.   Well, so much for natural enemies.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

If you live in NYC for any length of time you develop extraordinary sensory perception.  It’s a necessity.  Having a finely tuned radar system is the only way to survive.  We live too close together and travel en masse.  You must be able to figure out that this is a crazy person but no need to cross the street, this crazy person you move far away from, and don’t even make a left turn here because you don't even want to know what's going on down that street.

One day at work I had to man the fitness desk.  I was hungry and had half a sandwich with me. I went to sit at a table with a boy sitting alone.  I asked if it was okay and he nodded.  I sat eating my sandwich for a minute or so as he stared at me.  He then said, “ I have a soccer ball at home.”  I said, “wow that’s great, do you play.”  Yes, he said.  I saw a book on the table and said, are you studying mandarin?  Yes.  Could you speak it for me?  He looked me in the eyes and said, “I really can’t do that. “ He was 6 and in first grade, we talked for a bit and then I told him I had to go back to the fitness desk but if he liked he come chat with me there.  He shook his head and said, “I have to stay right here.” This young boy probably intuited that I was someone who would appreciate his ownership of a soccer ball!

I was in the brand new Target looking at the men’s pajama bottoms.  They are much nicer than the women's which are made of modal, a fabric that feels like you are wearing an oil slick.  The men’s of course are 100% cotton.  As I looked among the selections I noticed an odd creature watching me and smiling.  He then approached.  The radar said – crazy but benign, so I stayed.  He smiles and says, “I like the mens and I like the womens.  The mens I love but the womens I marry.  I said something like, “how nice for you.”  He kept smiling, paused for a few brief seconds, turned and then evaporated, to whence he came.

I was walking in the West Village close to where I live.  A hipster couple walked up to me and the man said, here this is for you as he handed me a flower.  I said thank you.  It looked as if were picked from a shrub.  I put it in a vase full of water.  A few flowers fell off but a couple grew.  Well this little little shrub is still going strong and has begun rooting.  I plan on planting it in a pot all it's own.  A random act of kindness is beginning to take root!

I was at the Lexington & 53rd Street station, whose picture is in the dictionary as an example of hell.  I saw a blind man walking to the end of the station.  There are sections where the path is so narrow; it’s scary even with sight.  I offered to help him.  He needed to get to the back of the station.  So we walked together.  It always shocks me how oblivious people are but it’s very noticeable when someone is walking with a long white cane.  I had to navigate this man around preoccupied people.  The scene changed as we walked into the subway car.  It was another world, a glorious world - people gave up their seats, everyone was kind and thoughtful.  I told this man – we just landed on the nice train!

So my wish for all is that you land on the nice train, each and every day.  And let's practice random acts of kindness.