These are the thoughts of a Texas transplant in West Michigan who makes his living as a newspaper reporter by evening, and a struggling novelist by day.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

it's a cat's life

for those who don't know, we've got two cats: kit and katrina. kit is dawn's cat and he's about 14. katrina is my cat and is 6.

each cat has a distinct master (or servant, depending on how you look at it). with my new schedule i hang out quite a bit at home with the cats all day.

however, i rarely see kit. or he'll be asleep on a chair all day. katrina will do a variety of things during the day, from sleeping to following me around or staring out teh window.

but dawn says that when i'm not home, katrina is usually gone, tucked away somewhere in her little nest asleep. dawn won't see trina all night. until...i come home.

i've come to realize that cats have a "secret" time sense. it's eerie. they know who's coming and who's going.

dawn says that katrina will be out all night. then just when it's time for me to come home, katrina suddenlyl appears and at times even waits by the door for me.

friday i had the pleasure of experiencing this phenomenon with kit. he gets fed at 4 or so. usually dawn feeds him. he needs extra food because of his condition. when dawn comes home, he meows and pesters dawn until she feeds him. if she's late by an h our, he doesn't bother pestering me.

well, friday, i'm folding some clothes onthe kitchen table. i see kit out of the corner of my eye as he headed toward the living room. i checked and he was by the front door. i didn't hear the car. i went to the kitchen and checked the clock. it read 3:29. dawn gets home just past 3:30. i walked back to the living room to fold. sure enough, a few minutes later, i heard the car pull up. kit knew the time. do cats have internal clocks? it's crazy.

gotta love em.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

the silent module

the silent module
tells the tale,
an oval shape,
no color scheme, no scent at all,
yet feels like spring or summer,
despte the cold.

poke at it or stare at will,
the silent module still is there,
can't escape, it plunges forth,


until one day, you're it,
the silent module

Sunday, January 11, 2009

old man

a scattered brained world
where night is day and day is night
the works don't work,
the pipes are clogged,
can't feel a thing,
can't chew a thing,
sucking on meds and meds,
life's a routine, can't skip a day,
low this and low that,
why can't i remember my name,
why can't i see the snow,
hear the phone ring
or walk the block.

i'm a useless old man