Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Let's Hear It For The Cat Lady


It is a truth universally acknowledged that a woman of a certain age who has never been married should be living with 56 cats.

I am an unmarried woman of a certain age, and there are more people that I'd like to mention who would verify that I'm a tad eccentric...if not all the way crazy...so it stands to reason that
what I really need is 56 cats.

I'm not going to fight it any more...
I am a crazy cat lady.

I had no idea when I was living with Goldie that I was a single woman. Goldie turned 'me' into a 'we.' When people asked me about my weekend, I'd answer" "we slept late on Saturday." No further questions were asked. When people invited me out somewhere I really didn't want to go, I'd respond, "We're staying in and watching something on PBS." And I had a great time hanging out in my apartment, reading books, and watching the television. Goldie did her thing. I did mine. I was never alone -- or so I thought. But now my apartment seems empty. I feel extra special needy and I'm afraid I'm going to make a nuisance of myself to friends and family. Sometimes, late at night or early in the morning when I'm not quite awake, I'll catch a glimpse of a phantom cat tail in the bathroom. It'll startle me into full consciousness, until I realized that it's just my mind playing tricks on me with light and shadow. I know eventually I'll adjust to being a crazy cat lady with no cats, but in the meantime I have to say that I had no idea how difficult it would be to live without six pounds of cranky tortoiseshell fur underfoot. No, I don't worry about racing home after work to feed a sick cat anymore...and no, I don't have to run the vacuum cleaner as often, but it's just not the same being a 'me' and not a 'we.'

So I'm finally ready to admit the obvious --
I am a crazy cat lady.

The photograph above is of eccentric actress and crazy cat lady-in-training, Evan Rachel Wood, going through airport security with her cat. I used to do the same thing when I traveled with Goldie. People would coo and tell me she was the most bee-YOO-tiful cat in the world. Goldie would look them dead in the eye and hiss loudly and passionately, much to my secret delight. That's right, don't mess with me -- I'm traveling with my cat. That's right, we're flying across the country.

Meanwhile, the most famous crazy cat lady in the world, Susan Boyle, has been
reunited with her cat, Pebbles. Doctors report that Pebbles is going to go out on the road with Susan for the duration of the "Britain's Got Talent" tour. Go Pebbles!

Frances Ring isn't a cat lady or anything close to crazy, but I was delighted by this article in the LA Times about the former typist to F. Scott Fitzgerald. I am always a fan of hearing someone tell their story in their own words. I also missed celebrating the anniversary of Miss Jane Marple at the end of May. She is a founding member of the spinster hall of fame, if not an honorary crazy cat lady.

No comments: