It's Spooky!

Years ago, I had a cat flap affixed to a bedroom window so my cats could be in or out at their pleasure. But I did not realize this handy contraption also attracted neighborhood cats to visit uninvited. Luckily most of them decided not to over stay their welcome. One of them, I think is a boy, was a sleek tabby with evenly marked dark spots on his fitted body. One afternoon I found him lying unperturbed in the middle of my bed. Because of his spotted tawny fur, at first I thought, I had a snow leopard in our place! Since he did not cause any havoc with other cats, from that day on, he became a regular visitor to our place for many months.

Not long after his first visit, while petting him, I discovered a gruesome raw patch under one of his arm pits. The area size of a large human hand was entirely bare without any skin or fur on it. Thankfully, the affected site was clean and not infected. And this good-natured feline did not seem to be in any pain either. I was tempted to help him with some natural remedies. But being ignorant of his illness, I refrained myself from doing so. However, I did notice sometimes a patch of fur was shaved off from one of his front paws. This suggested that he was under certain care for the hideous malaise that ailed him.

For the ensuing months, I could always find him napping in the middle of my bed upon my return from the office. He would then take his leave in the early evening without notice to anyone. I never saw him touch any kibbles. He did not demand any extra attention from us other than a comfy spot to doze off for a few hours. I thought we could be friends like this forever.

Then a dreaded day came. On this particular afternoon, I did not see my handsome friend resting on my bed waiting for a pat or two. Since I got used to having an undemanding feline like him around me, I did miss him of his quiet presence a great deal.

While still counting on the return of my unassuming furry friend, one night I got a big bear-hug from him in my dream. This unconscious encounter between a spotty cat and myself gave me willies. This spooky feeling nearly jolted me out of my warm bed. A hug from a neighborhood cat I knew had somehow lessened my anxiety over the whereabouts of this beautiful cat. Through this timely embrace, he told me that he was in a happier place by the rainbow bridge where the grass is greener.

A Happy and Safe Halloween to Everyone! - Ayee

Purdy Is Back!

A week after our Purdy’s untimely departure, I attended an event that was taken place in a church basement. When I was ready to leave, I decided to use the lavatory. And something strange happened as soon as I stepped into the church’s Spartan bathroom. For no obvious reason, the toilet paper on its wooden holder started to cascade like a waterfall. By the time it stopped, almost a half a roll of the paper transformed into large s-shaped ribbons piling up on the linoleum floor.

Of course, I felt eerie on what had just happened. My initial answer for this odd occurrence was that I had stirred up the calm air in the room when I closed the door behind me. Then immediately I remembered this was exactly what Purdy did to the toilet papers in our bathroom.

Soon after Purdy joined the household, we often found streamers of toilet paper all over the bathroom floor. And we could not figure out how this extremely flimsy paper could free itself from the sturdy holder on the wall. Then one day I caught Purdy red-handed. She was using the paper roll as her treadmill. While standing on her hind legs on the toilet seat cover, her two front paws were busy treading on the soft paper as a gerbil on its treading wheel. This was why we never shorted of white streamers in our bathroom for a long time.

Too bad, I did not capture Purdy's fitness routine on the camera. Otherwise, she would be an instant star as a treadmill cat in the cyber space.

Putting the uncanny apparition in a church basement aside, I realize it is very likely Purdy will not be home again. But she had certainly chosen a most appropriate place to remind me of one of her many endearing antics. - Ayee

A Life Lived Well

Last Friday was the saddest day of my life.

It was that day I lost my dear cat, Purdy, it was also the day I had to bid the last farewell to my 88-year-old uncle. He caught pneumonia while visiting relatives in China but did put in a good fight to fend off this deadly disease for two years. I realize no one including our pets can live forever. But I hope the many fond memories I have of him will help me get over the loss of my enlightening mentor, and nurturing supporter. Instead of lamenting, I will celebrate his caring and productive long life. During the last week of his good life, he asked for his usual newspapers so he could read and know what was going on around the world.

Once in awhile I asked myself who would I choose to be my idol? Sometimes I picked Bill Gates of Microsoft or Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway. But often I picked my dear uncle. He is not a rich person by all means. He led a simple and modest life. But he is an intelligent individual with utmost integrity. During his lifetime he and his wife, my auntie, worked together, a businessman and a banker, raising a loving family of two children and three grand kids.

My uncle, a self-taught individual, joined our family when he was a teenager. He lost his father, an uncle of our father, when he was very young. During his apprenticeship with our family to become an electrician cum plumber, he learned to read and write better. He also knew how to build radios. He listened to classical music and had many LP's in his collections if I remember correctly. By the time he and our father parted under an unforeseen circumstance, he was a first class craftsman in both the electrical and plumbing business.

About four or five years ago, my uncle started to correspond with me by e-mail. At the first, we wrote to each other in English. With extremely poor eyesight, a few months later he taught himself a new program so he could e-mail me in Chinese. He never stopped to learn even in his old age!

When we were kids, I remember my late uncle took us to many different fun places on weekends. It was he taught me how to swim. On a particular occasion, he got a traffic ticket when he was driving me to get some ice cream. He also helped me choose the right high-school to attend. Among many other kind things he did for me, he financed my first three university years. I remember on another occasion to lessen my homesickness, he sent me an SOS box full of goodies after I wrote to tell him from the school that I got sick from eating some home-cured salty eggs.

Indeed, I am blessed and grateful to have a wonderful uncle like him! - Ayee

The Feathered Apes

Lately, an injured crow caught my attention.

This year, I noticed there was a crippled crow among the many birds who raided our back yard squirrel feeder. It has lost the uses of its right foot. The claws on that foot are curled up inward. Its plumage also lacks the normal lustrous sheen that other crows sport. When swooping down to pick some feeds, it lands only on one leg. Obviously, lacking a healthy and strong leg had hindered its mobility to move around. This explains why it’s not as big as its peers in size. But despite its noticeable disability, it has survived against many harsh elements in the wild.

Now this crow hopped into our back yard almost every day. I saw it lounging around the treed neighborhood too. On one occasion, it with its mate, I assume, was enjoying a freshly cracked walnut in the middle of the road. Luckily, the driver in an oncoming car slowed down to give the wobbling jaywalker enough time to escape to a nearby fence. At other times, it somehow recognized me when I was refilling the feeder. It awaited the treats I left for it. When there were no cats in sight, it zoomed down to where the treats were. Then it flew away to a neighbor’s roof to digest the many peanuts it managed to hold in its short beaks.

I have heard that crows are one of the smartest creatures in the animal kingdom. This is the reason some biologists called crows feathered apes. From what I have observed over the past several years since we moved to our present residence, they are indeed clever creatures. I saw crows throw nuts onto the road and let the drive-by traffic crack the nuts’ hard husk for them. In our backyard I saw crows  follow the grounded squirrels and watch where the bushy tailed rodents bury their peanuts. Once the furry ones are away from the cache, the feathered ones come to raid the safe and harvest the loot. How clever! - Ayee

Jumbo, The Great Croupier

Talking about the smart elephants.

Years ago, one of our stepmother’s brothers told us stories of working elephants in Burma, now Myanmar, on the Sino-Peninsula. Our uncle served in the Air Force in World War II. He was fighting the Japanese in dense tropical forest. Fortunately, he was not injured during the war. So we got him back home unscathed. When visiting the family, he often amused us, the kids, with elephant stories from the war zone. We thought they were hilarious. And we never tired of hearing one particular story over and over. Imaging! A monster-sized beast like an elephant could work willingly along with its human handler.

Back in the 30's, Burmese forests were full of teaks and other oil-rich woods. Without powerful harvesting tractors like the ones we have now, the natives bred the local elephants in captivity and trained the docile resident pachyderms with their lumbering snout and curved tusks to fell and haul heavy trees. Surprisingly to know, in the old day the elephants also got paid for their hard works in the woods.

And the story goes like this:

After a day’s toiling in the humid jungles, both the elephant and its handler got paid for the day’s work. With Kyat in their pocket, or should we say in their "trunk," they returned to their camp to relax. And it's also time to get the money out of the elephant's snout for the provisions they needed. To get the elephant dislodge the money, its handler taught his workmate gambling with dice. To throw the dice cubes, the elephant must first let go of the cash held in its trunk. When the bet was placed, the happy giant was ready to roll. After each throw, to express its immense pleasure, the lumbering thrower would whirl around like what Jumbo, a circus elephant, did under the Big-Top on a small round platform. During its celebratory spin, its handler got chances to turn the dice face over to his advantage. At the end of the day, the most joyful croupier lost all of its wages to its trusted handler. - Ayee