So the Spin Cycle this week is pets. My family has a thing for getting “special” animals. Here’s a few stories I have. The Old Wolf can add to them.
My parents bought my sister and I parakeets. I can’t remember why, but they did. I had a bright blue one, Skylar. My friend Julie and I were playing with Skylar on the carpet. My Mom told me a gazillion times that playing with Skylar in a high traffic area wasn’t a great idea. Because, I figured how can you miss a neon blue bird? As it turns out, it was pretty easy to miss. My Mom stepped on Skylar. Blood everywhere, and me screaming, “MOOOOOM!!! YOU STEPPED ON SKYLAR!”
So, my sister and I held a funeral for Skylar. We glued two popsicle sticks together to form a cross and wrote “Skylar” in red magic marker. We’d never been to a funeral before, so we sang what we knew of Amazing Grace, (which was just those two words) and said what we knew of the Gettysburg Address. (Which was, “Four score and seven years ago….Um, yeah…”) And then we played tetherball. Grief does funny things to you.
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My Dad’s friend Larry lived with us for awhile. Uncle Larry had a “special” cat named Pooter. Pooter was blind in one eye and couldn’t walk a straight line. He’d walk in circles in the general direction to where he was going. He’d get there, eventually. He’d also walk into a wall, back up, and do it again. He’d continue to do that until you moved him. I shouldn’t laugh but….COME ON! The cat was retarded!
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One summer day my Dad went out to his truck to find the cutest little black kitten on his hood. So, he brought it in, and we adopted it. Everything was going well, the cat appeared to be house trained. We left one night, and the cat somehow got locked in my bedroom. We came home and I was on the phone with my new boyfriend. I wasn’t paying attention, and flopped down on the bed. Soupy kitty crap goes flying up everywhere. I screamed bloody murder. I threw the phone and whipped around.
There’s soupy kitty crap in my hair, running down my shirt, into my bra. I’m freaking out and spinning around, thus sending crap all over my walls. My Mom and Dad come running in, as does H1. They’re trying to get me to stop and trying to stop laughing. I ended up being hosed down outside. The kitty quickly found a new home.
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My ex husband and I had a cat for awhile, Spook. Spook was such a cool cat, personality plus. Spook didn’t start out special, she ended up special. My ex and I were transferring the navy blue sheets from the washer into the dryer. We slammed the dryer shut and prepared to leave. We heard this thump, thump, thump in the dryer. Thinking a shoe had somehow gotten in there, we opened it up.
Out shoots this black fur ball. Apparently, Spook being a curious cat, had gotten in the dryer and we hadn’t seen her jump in. We’d accidentally locked the cat in the dryer. After that, she never was right. Her balance was off, she couldn’t walk a straight line, and she was cross eyed.
So yeah….We’ve got special pets. Never a dull moment at my house.
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