Today's Special: Nothing But Trouble

Last night my extra fav peep put on an old shirt and noticed there was a jagged hole in the side.  After looking at it for a moment, the light bulb went off and they remembered where they'd gotten that hole...

The Joy of a Good Window

It was, for all intents and purposes, a normal Friday morning in August. The year was 2009.  Peeps were getting ready to eat breakfast and my sibs and I were all lying around the family room waiting for morsels.  It was hazy and rainy, but a bit cooler than normal. Peeps had even opened a window for us to enjoy a little fresh air (not really possible in August, but I digress) before the oppressive heat and humidity returned.  I, being a bit of a bully, had pushed everyone else out of the way so that I could actually sit in the window.  It was sublime.

As the daily activity went on around me, I was mesmerized by what was going on in the tree directly in front of me.  There was a birdie.  A pretty birdie. Hopping around in the tree. I knew I could reach out and touch it...if it weren't for the window screen.  But then the birdie started flitting around. Flit. Flitflit. Flit. Flitflitflit.  Little wings flapping. Chirping. It was more than any self-respecting cat could stand for! I decided then and there that I wanted to get up close and personal with the birdie.  You know...just to say "Hi. How ya doin'?"...that sort of thing.  Well, the next several seconds are all a blur to me, but here's what I remember:

I lunged for flitting birdie.
I heard a very strange sound - like a loud rip.
I was in the tree with the birdie.

I was sliding down the tree and the birdie had flown away.
I heard a scream.
I hit the ground.

The ground. Not the floor. Not the safe family room carpet. But the wet ground of...OUTSIDE.  I heard footsteps rushing down the front steps and got really scared so I ran. Ran fast. Very fast. Faster than peeps thought I could.  Thankfully I ran around to the back of the house, but I was out of sight before peeps even knew what hit them.  I was gone and peeps had no idea where I was. They were frantic!  As they ran around looking for me in the pouring rain, extra fav peep got in a fight with a fence (and from the look of things, the fence won), got a big scratch on their side and a jagged hole in their shirt.  They didn't even realize it at the time.

Naturally, I knew I was hiding under a bush several houses away, but peeps didn't.  I could hear them yelling for me. "Heeeeerbie. Heeeeerbie where are you?"  I was too scared to go out and find them so I just started meowing. I was soaking wet from the rain and absolutely miserable. I was thinking many things as I lay there.  My home that I loved so much was gone. I was on my own again...like before I lived at the shelter.  Was there somewhere out here that I could get my whipped cream?  What about my canned dinner at 6pm?  Would someone deliver my bedtime snacks?  And where did I line up for hugs and kisses and warm blankets?  And what if...wait...hands.  There were hands coming thru the bush I was hiding under.  Familiar hands.  And a familiar voice was saying "Come here Herbie. It's ok. Come on."  And then I was out from under the bush.  And I was getting hugs and kisses and all sorts of good things.  And peeps were quickly carrying me back to my house. Oh boy! My house!  I didn't move a muscle while they carried me.  And if you know me, you know that I don't like to be picked up so this wasn't normal behavior for me.  I was so glad to be found. And when we got inside, peeps dried me off, all my sibs welcomed me home and I got...you guessed it...a little dish of whipped cream!  All was right with the world.

"The Window" (you can see the rip where I fell thru in the bottom right corner above Max)

And so you see...that's what peep was thinking about last night when they saw the jagged hole in their shirt. They looked at me and said "Herbie, you're nothing but trouble" and they're right...but they love me anyway.

Until next time...
xoxo