Funny Cat

The Story
At times the unexpected happens. More mysterious is when the unexpected keeps happening. Thus the story of THE CAT (and her Mom).
After selling my house (you can guess why) and a teaching stint in Mexico City I returned to the university I hoped to retire from soon. I rented an apartment on the spot. The walls were covered with mirrors (another story), a bit of a shocker for a coal-miner's son, growing up in a household that had one prominent mirror with a stuffed head of a buck on top and two upright paws on either side. In all honesty the house I'd sold had some well-placed mirrors but nothing like 20 to 25 linear feet of ceiling to floor mirrors that caught every movement as well as every silence. I miss them now.
I was sitting on my balcony on a warm winter day, probably having a smoke since everyone smoked in La Ciudad and I had started again (only briefly). Suddenly to my eft I heard through the plastic barrier that separated the adjoining apartment, I LOVE YOU! Not having been told that often in my life, I turned to discover a young toddler, about 3 years old and as tall as 3-year-olds are with a smile that melted the plastic between us. I’m not telling the whole story, but I’m telling enough. And when her Mom appeared to apologize, we ended up laughing uproariously and introducing ourselves.I'd met Alley Cat and Nikki.
During the next two years when Nikki, an engineering student (engineering students are busy folks, but engineering students with kids sleep on the fly) had a few minutes, we would drink some Peet’s, share some stories (she had scads) and watch THE CAT poke around in boxes with my kids’ childhood  toys. Nikki graduated and I retired, and our paths went in opposite directions: she moved back to Eastern PA, with THE CAT, a new husband, a new son and a new job, and I moved to Lake Tahoe to become a financially-secure ski bum (better that way).
And now 15 years later and Ann Arbor being a day’s drive from Eastern PA, we have discovered the magic of Facebook. We've always stayed in touch, but long periods ensued without any contact. Now Nikki, THE CAT and I are “friends”, we write on each other’s “wall” (have I got that right?) and we are telling stories again. THE CAT will graduate this year, head off to college and start the next phase of her life. Old guys like to stop time, but despite my best efforts THE CAT is galloping ahead with more brim and brio than I ever knew at her age.  No complaint, just admiration. I should not be surprised, given her grand introduction, but I'm astonished at the degree of engagement.
Nikki: could we ever have imagined how it turned out?
Alley Cat: learn those laws of thermodynamics, your creativity will enter a new dimension.
A tribute to I LOVE YOU and what can follow.

Serious Cat