Mr. Freakout

Yesterday was the first pleasant day in a while - I came home from work and sat outside reading, and I didn't sweat to death! Later, my friend Julia came over, and I cooked us burgers for dinner, without passing out from the heat in the kitchen! (I honestly can't remember the last time I cooked something before last night - I have been living on hummus and flat bread.)

Julia and I ate dinner and were in the middle of a movie when the power went out; apparently someone had hit one of the poles on our street, and it just crumbled. The whole pole had to be replaced. Frankly, I'm going to be walking on my street with an anxious eye on the power lines from now on, and if anything starts creaking, I will RUN LIKE THE WIND.

Anyway, the power went out, and without the ceiling fan, the third floor started to overheat again, so Julia and I harnessed Floyd up and took him for a walk. I had Julia hold Floyd's leash while I locked the front door, and she walked him down the driveway a bit. It was funny how he kept looking up at her like he wasn't sure who she was or why she was the one at the end of his leash. But, for the most part, he was very well-behaved. He needed no coaxing - he just set off like a boss down the street, and we didn't have to pull him out from under any shrubbery.

Just as we got back to my house, my friends Ami and Jon came home. Floyd let Jon pet him but would not have anything to do with Ami - he didn't even appreciate her fabulous manicure. He actually laid down facing away from Ami, as far away from her as his leash would allow, acting for all the world like a petulant child. And then Jon brought out their dog Otis (a lovely, mild-mannered dog), and Floyd was just completely done being polite at all. So even though Jon very considerately walked away with Otis and was nowhere near us, Floyd decided that he was going to jet off and escape the social madness.

...Of course, he forgot about the leash, which he managed to catch around his back paw.He crashed through some of our plants, hissing and yowling the whole way. And yes, before you ask, I am that mean lady who laughs at her cat's distress. Because it was hilarious! And yes, I am the type who laughs at my nieces and nephews when they do hilarious, ridiculous things too. Also, Julia and Ami were laughing - it wasn't just me.

While I was laughing, I had firm hold of Floyd's leash, and I followed him through the plants until he fell on the driveway, hissing and yowling at the leash and at HIS OWN BACK PAW. You see? Hilarious. The memory of the look on his face is enough to get me giggling a day later. And as soon as I got close enough to disentangle him, he calmed right down and got adorably confused.

I tried to continue my friendly conversation, which was interrupted by Mr. Freakout (that is Floyd's new nickname), but he kept squirming around in my arms, until I finally had to get a little stern with him. His response was to lay his head down on my shoulder like he was exhausted - such a manipulator - so I had to laugh and bring him inside.

Other than Floyd's antisocial behavior, it was a pretty good walk.

On a related note, Hey, look at these! Some pictures of auditions for black cats.

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