This story goes a long way back; to the time I lived in Colorado. I was married to my late wife Sharon at the time. I am not a cat person, never have been. When I married Sharon, she had two children, a dog, and a cat named Sparkie. Now this cat was not friendly and would not let me near it; probably was a brilliant idea on the part of the cat. Well, anyway, this cat would poop in the flower pots in the house and kick the dirt all over the carpets while trying to cover it up. As one might expect, this drove me crazy, and it went on for years. Soon I started hating this cat.
I saw the cat, sparkie, setting in the driveway, one day as I was leaving for work. I stopped the car, got out and picked up the cat and put it in the car. I don't know what came over me. I should not have done that. I began looking for a new home for the cat as I drove to work, I wanted a place where he would find a good home. I went into a neighborhood that I knew had upscale homes. I stopped the car and let the cat out. As I drove off, I looked in the rear-view mirror, and the cat was just setting in the middle street looking around.
I never told the family about what happened to the cat, and at the time, they thought it had run off. It left the house often for days at a time, so it was not unusual for it to be gone for a while. One night during dinner, the phone rang and when I picked it up, there was a lady on the other end and she asked if we were missing a cat named Sparkie. I told her we had lost a cat named Sparkie, but that we were not missing it. I could hear her kids talking and laughing in the background, so I asked if she wanted to keep the cat. She said her kids really did liked it, and she would be happy to keep it. I don't know how she got the cats name because while driving the cat to it's new home, I removed all of it's tags except the rabies tag. Maybe she called and got the name that way.
Years later, while cooking out in the back yard, I had a few beers and made the mistake of telling Jodi, my step-daughter, who was grown now, the cat story. I thought she was old enough to think it was funny, but she really got mad at me. She was mad at me for a long time and maybe she still is, who knows. She told me recently that when I told her that story she almost burned an old picture of me and my mother that was on the wall in our house. Sure glad she didn't!
I don't know what came over me for doing what I did to that cat because, it was not a very nice thing to do. It sure is funny now when I tell the story to people that don't like cats. We have a wonderful big black cat now, but I still like dogs much better.
I saw the cat, sparkie, setting in the driveway, one day as I was leaving for work. I stopped the car, got out and picked up the cat and put it in the car. I don't know what came over me. I should not have done that. I began looking for a new home for the cat as I drove to work, I wanted a place where he would find a good home. I went into a neighborhood that I knew had upscale homes. I stopped the car and let the cat out. As I drove off, I looked in the rear-view mirror, and the cat was just setting in the middle street looking around.
I never told the family about what happened to the cat, and at the time, they thought it had run off. It left the house often for days at a time, so it was not unusual for it to be gone for a while. One night during dinner, the phone rang and when I picked it up, there was a lady on the other end and she asked if we were missing a cat named Sparkie. I told her we had lost a cat named Sparkie, but that we were not missing it. I could hear her kids talking and laughing in the background, so I asked if she wanted to keep the cat. She said her kids really did liked it, and she would be happy to keep it. I don't know how she got the cats name because while driving the cat to it's new home, I removed all of it's tags except the rabies tag. Maybe she called and got the name that way.
Years later, while cooking out in the back yard, I had a few beers and made the mistake of telling Jodi, my step-daughter, who was grown now, the cat story. I thought she was old enough to think it was funny, but she really got mad at me. She was mad at me for a long time and maybe she still is, who knows. She told me recently that when I told her that story she almost burned an old picture of me and my mother that was on the wall in our house. Sure glad she didn't!
I don't know what came over me for doing what I did to that cat because, it was not a very nice thing to do. It sure is funny now when I tell the story to people that don't like cats. We have a wonderful big black cat now, but I still like dogs much better.
Joe- you forgot the part that you took my cat away twice . The first time way not far away. He loved us so much he found his way home. I will never forget how happy I was when Sparky came back after missing for days .. So then you took him farther away. and I was sad for a long time That cat had been in my life long before you came.. and yes It still upsets me, but I forgive you. The fact that you wrote about it makes me realize you now know you were wrong. We all make mistakes. Thank goodness Sparky got a good home. Today I have a cat that looks just like Sparky. He is awesome!
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