Throughout most of our lives, accept for the military, and higher education, both Tim and I have always lived on or near the farm. Now we both are living on the farm "for the duration"! One of the very minor drawbacks (the ONLY one as far as I'm concerned) of rural life, is when you are young kids, you rarely have any other playmates other then yourselves. Aways having your twin brother as a playmate, was to me, akin to "kissing your sister". In an effort to bring in variety to my play situations, I often resorted to many creative and unique ways to amuse myself by playing with the many cats that were omnipresent. Even now I prefer the company of animals to some people I know. (I will expound this in detail AFTER I retire on Dec. 21, 2003 at 11:59:599999 PM). On several occasions I played "Cops and Robbers", not with Tim, but with one or several of the cats. I would get a cardboard box, make window bars in the side, and cut the front to make a hinged jail door with a barred window. I always called it "The New York Central Kitty Jail." Why, you are thinking, did I call it that since it was in Ohio? Hey, if at least 4 psychiatrists over the years don't know, than I sure don't either! I would even make "Wanted Posters" that I posted on the front of the "Kitty Jail", and even had a "Most Wanted", which was a cat we called "Slimey George". This was long before "America's Most Wanted" ever hit the broadcast airwaves! I suppose my version would have been called, "New York's Most Wanted". I then would figure that the "prisoners" would be extradited to Ohio to "serve their time". You see, by making other criminal cats think the jail was in New York, that would greatly reduce the chances of an abetted jailbreak! AHA! THAT must have been the rationale I used for the name! Hey, remember, I WAS a very creative kid! There were many "jailbreaks" as the "prisoner" would start to push the whole jail across the room, or if I held on to the "Jail", the prisoner would push its way through the bars on the side window and escape! I then sounded "the alarm" and yelled, "Escape, Escape"! It thus remained a fugitive until I later recaptured it. The massive "Cat"hunt would commence right after I first made a new "Wanted Poster" to post on the front of the jail! I spent a good deal of my childhood years searching for Fleeing Feline Felons! It was always especially exciting when "Slimey George" would clandestinely sneak up and jump on the table and lick the butter, at least THEN, I had a REASON to sentence at least ONE that deserved a (short) stretch in the "Joint"! I must confess at this point that almost all the other "prisoners" were no doubt innocent of any wrongdoing, other than they were at the wrong place (when I was around) at the wrong time (when I decided to construct another "Kitty Jail")! Alas, those days are "all behind me" now. Not too long ago, I stated to Tim that one concrete example that I had FINALLY "grown up" was the fact that when I get anywhere near any of our cats, they don't run away at full speed (like they all used to when I was a kid)! Reasons for this dramatic turn around are maturity, good medication, and a good psychiatrist. In addition, I am always VERY careful not to have any large cardboard boxes around!
|
