So I go back to the shelter to exchange the paperwork ... and discover that his name was actually “Panther”, not “Midnight”. I just stared at them as though they had all lost their minds. Was even more angry than I was when they’d told me they’d given me the wrong cat and his name was “Midnight” and not “Blackie”. The only reason he’d even recognized the name “Midnight” was because they’d called him that for a month at the shelter, even though that wasn’t his name. He’d been called “Panther” for 4 years!
After hitting the roof –
AGAIN – (this makes “Roof Hit #3 or 4”, so I was getting a killer of a
headache), I came home and peeked at him, still under the couch and regarding
me suspiciously, as he must have been convinced I was the most clueless and
inexplicable human he’d ever had the misfortune to meet, by this time.
“Panther?”
First time I’d heard a definite and delighted vocal response out of
him. I swear, I am still about ready to
blow up all over the ceiling at those people, whether their animal rescue
intentions were good or not. Yesterday
was the first day that he’d actually ventured out from under the couch in
daylight, rather than wandering around after dark.
And probably muttering, “Wow,
miracles never cease, (bleep!)ing human
finally got my name right!” to himself.
Not that anyone would blame him – I sure don’t.
Next morning ... the very
same cat who had been hiding under the couch wondering who the ^&*^ I was
talking to for a week ... came out from under it and rubbed up against my leg
quite happily, purring like a well-oiled engine. Goes to show you that calling any animal by
its right name is generally a GOOD thing.
Rescue centers take note. I mean,
really – how would you like it if you walked in the door and was told, “We don’t
like your name, Betty Lou Smith. We’re
going to call you Mabel Horseface Abernathy from now on.” Yeah, you wouldn’t like it, either. Just saying ...
Feel like this entire
country has gone raving insane, anyway.
Police officers assassinated in Dallas.
Black Panthers calling for the assassination of all white people. White Supremacists calling for retaliatory wholesale
extermination of black people. Neither
side ever learned how to spell properly, so it’s nearly impossible to make
sense of anything they’re saying. The
vast majority of the country (white, black and everything in between) is
typically just staring at both extremes in bewilderment – nobody wants the
extermination of anybody, but the media seems to be only paying attention to
the lunatic fringe on both sides. I can’t
read the news anymore, I just can’t, it’s too ugly. (And illiterate).
