MERRY CHRISTMAS
There once was a kind old lady who lived all alone. She rarely went out and knew only a few people in her community, as most of her friends were either living in nursing homes in cities close to their children, or had already passed on. She was lonely. Very lonely. As it was getting close to Christmas, the lady was getting a bit depressed over the situation. Little did she know her life was about to change.
One day, a few weeks before Christmas, a cat showed up at her back door. As is usual for that time of year, it was rainy and cold. The old lady felt sorry for the cat, so she let the cat into her screened porch, opened a package of tuna, and fed the poor thing. He eagerly ate every morsel. Then the lady realized how cold the cat must be, so she did something she had never done before. She let that stray cat into her home! She dried him off and then he curled up in her lap. He was so content, he stayed there purring while she read to him from a book she was already halfway through. He didn't seem to care that he had no idea what the story was about. It was just nice to be fed, dry, warm, and in good company.
After she had read a few chapters, she realized the cat would eventually need to use the facilities (if you know what I mean) and would need to be feed again. She still wasn't sure how he would behave in her absence, so she put him in an old dog carrier (left behind by her daughter when she moved to the big city) and headed out to the pet store.
That was where she met Lanah. Lanah worked at the store and guided the lady to the best cat food, a litter box and some litter. She even told the lady that she could train the cat to walk on a leash and take it for walks all over town. Most of the shops would let her bring him inside as long as he was on a leash. So they fitted him with a harness and walked him around the store. It was a little awkward at first, but after a few minutes, he found it wasn't bad. Certainly better than the carrier. Lanah told the lady to bring the cat in anytime for a visit. That was the first friend she had made in years. (She and the cat visited Lanah every week from then on. The three of them have quite a lovely friendship.)
The next evening was cool, but dry, so the lady decided to take the cat for a walk around the neighborhood. They could look at all the Christmas lights as they came on.
They were enjoying their walk when the old lady got a bit tired. She decided to sit for awhile before heading home. That was when she met Raymond. Raymond was out walking his cat Cleo.
The lady could hardly believe it. She had never seen a cat on a leash before Lanah told her about it. Now here was someone else with HIS cat on a leash watching the lovely lights. Amazing. Raymond also had never seen anyone else walking their cat, so he stopped to chat. They quickly realized they had lots in common besides the cat walking thing (like a love for Beethoven, mystery novels, and Italian food).
As they talked, they wondered if anyone else in their town walked their cats. They thought if anyone would know, it would be Lanah. So they went to the pet store to talk with her. As they talked, Raymond had a wonderful idea. Why not start a cat walking club. Membership would be free. They could just walk around the neighborhood or the park a few times a week talking and enjoying their cats. The kind lady loved the idea. They put up signs in the pet store. That is how the lady met Susan and Michelle (and their cats Meowser and Leo)
along with Dan and his cat Pete,
Amber and her cat Jasmine,
and Mr. Williams and his cat Sir Alfred Henley Livingston III.
The lady also took the cat with her when she did her regular shopping. Before, she just went into the shops, picked out what she wanted, paid and left. She rarely said more than five words to anyone. Now, with the cat by her side, everyone wanted to talk to her and pet the cat. The book store owners loved the cat (Mike and Linda and their cats Tom, Dick, and Harry, all brothers).
The market keeper Mr. Müller always gave her a little cream for the cat (turns out he has a cat named Gretchen).
When she first brought the cat to the fish market, he was so well behaved. He didn't go after any of the fish until given permission. This so impressed the fishmonger that now, well let's just say the cat and the fishmonger got along VERY well. (The cat gets quite a lot of fresh fish.)
As you can see, the lady met a lot of new friends. So about a week and a half before Christmas, the lady thought it would be nice if she had lunch for all her new friends, a Christmas lunch! She quickly wrote out invitations, specifying that pets where also invited. She dug out a few old Christmas decorations and hung them up around her house. Then she and the cat set out to the post office to send all the invitations. Once they had finished their walk and all the invitations had been dropped in the post, they went home. In just 2 days the RSVP's started coming in. Everyone loved the idea, and because it was to take place two days before Christmas, it didn't interfere with anyone's plans. Lunch was on!
The old lady served crab toast with a lemon sauce, shrimp and pasta, and a tuna salad. Of course there was shrimp, crab and tuna for all the cats, thanks to the fishmonger. Everyone brought a side dish or a dessert. They talked, laughed, ate, and sang Christmas carols. It was such a wonderful time, they agreed to start meeting like this regularly. That is how the weekly luncheons started along with the walking club. Now the lady met with someone to talk, get coffee, walk, or have a meal almost everyday!
As you have probably figured out, that cat gave the kind old lady just exactly what she needed. He gave her great companionship, got her out of the house, and encouraged great friendships. The lady was never lonely again (although she did miss her daughter who lived in the big city, but they did talk on the phone frequently).
Now, she never did find out where the cat came from, though she did often wonder. Many theories were made, but most will swear they saw a large man wearing red near her house that day. Man in red indeed.
The End.
Well, I hope you and yours have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year! (2020 is no longer welcome here!)
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