Cat Sitting - by misterreereeder

** Equal Time For The Feline

I am back from taking care of Alex. Boy did she give me the what for!!! When I opened the door and she came and saw me, she was mouthing off at me. She did not look at me long before she turned around and headed to the kitchen, all the time fussing at me. At first I imagined she was saying, "It's about time you got here. I've been waiting. Why are you making me wait so long? Hurry up, come on and take care of me." When I reached the kitchen she stopped and I reached down to touch her. But she let me know this was NOT going to make her happy!!!

Well ..., I picked up her food bowls and put them on the table and took her water bowl and put fresh clean water in it. Still she fussed as if she was saying, " This is not going to take care of my stomach - it is not solid!!!" Next I filled up her hard food bowl and set it down. She continued letting me have it with, "Don't you know this is NOT going to satisfy me!!"

Finally I opened the can of food - the good stuff - and put some in her plate. She shut up when I set the plate down in front of her. I did not hear another word from her after that. I guess expecting a "thank you" was just a little too much. :D

Finding My New Home - a Misterreereeder Original

Hi - my name is Annabelle. Well ... this is my new name and this is a story about how I got my new home and new name.

You see ... I had been staying at a place for the past few weeks that was not my home. I do not know what to call it but there were a lot of other noisy dogs and cats there. I certainly was not a happy camper there. The only nice things worth mentioning is that I was given food and water while I was there. Occasionally I would see a nice friendly face but I would definitely NOT call this place a home.

Then one day I had a couple of visitors - two ladies. They were both pretty and one was younger than the other one. At first I was resistant. One of the ladies had to pull me out of the cage and take me to the back. But when she got down on her knees and started talking to me I couldn't help but warm up to her. I liked her voice and she was so nice. The other lady with her was nice too. She spoke to me and played with me. For some reason they both called me Annabelle. This was a very happy time. I was upset when I was returned to the cage I have been spending the past few weeks in because they left me there.

Just a while later, another lady came by and asked for me. It was great because I did not go back into the cage but went in the car with the lady to a nice house. I could not be happier. I had a nice place to sleep, not so many noisy neighbors, and food and water. I did not realize this was only going to be a temporary stay over.

After a couple of nights I was loaded back into the car and taken back to the place I had spent the previous few weeks. This was a little bothersome. We walked into the door and the lady started talking to the guy who was there. I overheard the lady who brought me back saying she was allergic to me. I do not know what that means but it did not sound good. That is when I noticed the other lady. She came out and saw me. I do not know who was the happiest - me or her. They talked for a while and that was when I discovered I would be going to my new home. I got into a car with her and she talked to me until I got to my new home. The lady left me in the car for a little while but then she came and brought me into the house. Then she took me to the back yard. Boy ... was I glad. I really needed to go.

Afterwards, she brought me back into the house. I was still nervous. Although I had not seen anybody else yet I did not think I was alone. She lead me to this crate with a cover over it. I was not eager to go into it - even though she told me to. She put my front paws into it but I still resisted. She even tried pushing me in. Next thing I know she picked me up from behind and shoved me in before closing the door. I laid down as she covered me up and wondered what was in store for me later. There was nothing else to do but to go to sleep.

Later I was awakened when I heard some doors open and close. I heard some voices and one of them sounded somewhat familiar. I also heard a deep bark in another room. Where did that come from? I waited in anticipation.

Finally, I heard the other voice from the other day. She came over to the crate and was sweet talking to me. I could not help it - my tail gave me away as it wagged and showed how excited I was. I have to get used to my new name. They keep talking to me so it must be my name.

A little while later the other lady came back. This is when I was introduced to another dog in the house. They call him Mosey and we briefly had a little tiff but things settled pretty quickly. That is because I'm a lover not a fighter. Looks like I am gonna have to share the attention with the other one.

I've heard something before and now I think I know what it means - Home Sweet Home.

MRDB Reviews "Dead Air"

Misterreereeder looks up and speaks. “Welcome to the virtual studio of MRDB. I just finished reading a new book by Deborah Shlian and Linda Reid and it is called Dead Air. I wanted to do something a little different to review this book so I decided on a format somewhat influenced by the book I read. This is how I came up with a question and answer talk show where I can ask questions of my guests – a couple of the characters from the book.”

He turns to his left and says, “Please welcome our guests with me. First let me briefly introduce you to Sammy Greene who is the host of The Hot Line, a talk radio show on the Ellsford campus station WELL. We are glad you joined us Sammy.”

Sammy returns the glance and replies, “Thank you. I am glad to be here.”

Misterreereeder continues, “ I am also glad to introduce our next guest Sergeant Pappajohn the Chief of Police for the Ellsford campus. This is a first for me.”

With a straight face, Pappajohn comments, “It’s a first for me too.”

Facing Sammy again, Misterreereeder says, “One of the things I enjoyed in the book was your occasional use of some words I do not hear everyday. I think they are Yiddish. Tell us how you picked up these words”.

Sammy grins and says, “I was raised by my Jewish Grandmother and these are just a part of the influence she has left on me. Even though she is gone, she still has a little influence over me.”

He smiles back and continues, “I understand. Our family is one of the biggest influences on our lives. I noticed in the book that you did not appear to be to fond of something else that has a big influence on people’s lives – specifically religion. You certainly were not very fond of Reverend Taft. Is this a correct observation?”

She ponders his question briefly and responds, “I do not have anything against religion. Sometimes I just do not trust when things are done in the name of religion. Sometimes people will say and do things due to the influence of somebody else’s religious persuasion. The Reverend Taft definitely has a lot of influence over his ‘flock’ and sometimes his religious principles definitely stirs some mixed-up passion. I think it’s about time for a little less passion and a little more compassion.”

The host turns to Pappajohn and says, “I understand Ms Greene spoke to you a few times about the Reverend Taft and his group. Is there a reason you did not take a more visible and aggressive follow-up to her remarks?”

After loosening his collar Pappajohn answers, “Yes … she did speak to me on a few occasions. She is certainly entitled to her feelings and thoughts. However as a member of the law enforcement community I must follow-up in an objective manner. I need to gather real evidence to support the appropriate conclusion.”

“Are you suggesting Ms Greene was not objective?”

Pappajohn comebacks with, “No! She definitely was passionate about uncovering the truth. She just did not have enough for me to warrant an aggressive investigation.”

He admits, “Ms Greene is definitely an intelligent person and I did not want her to get into trouble. As a law officer I want to protect my community and … there is some similarity between her and my daughter who is off somewhere else.”

Returning to Ms Greene, Misterreereeder asks, “Did you realize this?”

Sammy turns a shade darker and answers, “No I did not really. At times I thought he was incompetent or lazy in his work. Other times I felt his concern for me. Then at one point I thought he was involved and perhaps keeping tabs on me. You’ve heard the saying ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.’ Well … I just was not sure!!!”

Misterreereeder jumps in and says, “As you may know, I do not like to give away the whole story. I feel there is just too much I could leave out that is interesting. But I do agree with you about friends and enemies. Sometimes it is hard to tell which is which. Thanks for letting me talk to both of you.”

As he looks back out, “I hope after hearing this conversation with my guests, you will go pick up the book – Dead Air – and read it. That is the end of this program at MRDB. Thank You!!!”