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"He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I ever met."
Curious Cats
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Curious Cats
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11 journalers for this copy...
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Journal Entry 1 by 
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Journal Entry 2 by
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Journal Entry 3 by
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Released 5 yrs ago (7/14/2006 UTC) at 1st Greek BookCrossing Convention in Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki Greece WILD RELEASE NOTES:
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I'll be passing on the book to StrangeEmily at the next meet-up.In the meantime, here's my cat story. -----> ----> Dr. StrangeBosh, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Hizbollah. It all began when J. came to Athens for a couple of weeks in the summer. This time he brought his cat with him. I’d been hearing so much about Bosh Bosh over the years. Her looks, her smarts, her caprices, her fearless personality. What do you mean? I’d ask. “She’s a rebel. A fighter. She’s got the Hizbollah spirit.” When I first set my eyes on her, Bosh Bosh resembled a woolly mammoth more than the Persian feline that she is. Her first response was to scare away the couple of strays in my yard. Bosh Bosh doesn’t gracefully run or sprint. She thunders through the vegetation, chasing away all intruders from what immediately became ‘her’ territory. This isn’t the Hezbollah; this is Hannibal’s army. Bosh Bosh had no reason to be like this; my indoor cats and the yard cats get along with one another and are not territorial in this manner. I kept my objections to myself; after all, J. would be staying for only a couple of weeks and the two of them would soon be back in Beirut. The neighborhood feline community would return to peace and harmony, free from the imported terror. Or so I thought. Several hours before his flight, J shows up at the office where I work and announces that Bosh Bosh is staying here. What? Her? Bosh Bosh? I adore cats, but this one is obviously in a league of her own. In the days she spent here, I couldn’t approach Bosh Bosh; she’d hiss and growl at me when I tried to pet her or feed her. The problem is figuring out a way to reform her. She had to learn to get along with humans and with her fellow cats. I put her up at my parents’ house in the beginning. I didn’t want to antagonize my own cats at home. Since she’s such a toughie, Bosh Bosh wouldn’t mind being on her own. All I had to do was pass by twice a day to check up on her food and water, and to groom her when I had time to spare. After about a week Bosh Bosh began attacking my ankle as I was leaving the place. I interpreted it as a sign that she didn’t want to be alone in an empty house. So I took her to my home. But the terror did not stop; Bosh Bosh insists on having her way, all the time. Every so often she expects me to open a cupboard or a closet. She stands by the door and growls, or pounces on my ankles, until I give in and do as she asks. Bosh Bosh inspects every single shelf and drawer, searching for enemies or god-knows-what. Sometimes Bosh Bosh will sleep in a drawer, keeping watch over her closet domain. Her presence is disruptive, to say the least. I let Bosh Bosh explore the whole house, hoping she’ll find a spot to her liking, and there I would place her basket and her bowls. Of course, Bosh Bosh chose the bedroom – the one place I don’t allow my own cats. I tried transferring her to the spare bedroom down the hall. As soon as I’d fallen asleep, by stealth she would creep into my own bedroom, and within seconds she’d be purring away by my pillow. I’d wake up, and set Bosh Bosh down by my feet. In a few minutes she was back, exhaling into my face. But the torture doesn't stop, for several times during the night Bosh Bosh awakes to prowl the entire domain of the bed, sniffing, inspecting, and scratching at whatever part of the bedcovers she takes objection to. Is this how she always is? I ask. Is this why you dumped her with me and never once bothered to call or ask about her? “Yeah, from time to time, she does that,” J. answers. Sometimes? This restlessness of hers is unbearable. I tell myself I still have patience to spare, even after these feline shock and awe tactics. I buy some toys to distract Bosh Bosh when she wakes me up, in the hope that she would get off the bed to chase the toy. Maybe she could even deign to get back into her basket after the chase. This strategy never worked. During the day Bosh Bosh does concede to nap in her basket; she invades the bed only when I am in it. In the midst of all this I became determined to prove a point - with me she will be happy, she will be content. I am prepared to do what it takes to make her affectionate towards me, and if this is what I have to endure, I will put up with it. What is it that makes Bosh Bosh happy? How am I going to get her to be affectionate? Bosh Bosh has been through a hard time adjusting, and I've had a harder time still trying to figure out what it is that she wants. It made me sad and helpless, not knowing how to please her. It brought feelings to the surface, feelings of anger and frustration. I want to explain to her that I know exactly how she feels and I understand her aggression and that I would like her to get over her confusion/disorientation, and I would like to make her feel ‘at home’ now that her former owner has parked her here, and that she has nothing to fear from me. Obviously she is unfamiliar to kindness and gentility. J. is of the opinion that Bosh Bosh desires rough play. He fondles her very aggressively until she hisses and claws at him. That she constantly attacks humans and other cats does not upset him in the least. This to J. is a good sign, a proof of her fearlessness. No wonder she became a terror. Gradually, though, I began to see another aspect to her feline personality. Since I don't treat Bosh Bosh as she had been used to before, she now does what she would 'normally' do, given a choice. Contrary to what J. believes, she actually runs and hides from other cats. For a while she refused to get out of the bedroom or go out in the yard. She wouldn't venture outdoors unless I remained close by her. I've had to really try to coax her into trusting me. At her age (10yrs) I understand this requires a serious behavioral adjustment on her part. Friends told me that for her own good – and mine - I should give Bosh Bosh away to another home where there are no other cats. But I couldn't bring myself to let her go. Over time, from the fretting stage I progressed to the ‘knot in my stomach’ stage. I was emotionally attached to her by now. It would make me feel even sicker knowing I gave up on her and didn't try my utmost with her. Patience, I thought, and in time she would learn to trust, maybe even become affectionate. Soon she began to venture out on her own. In fact, she became too good at this! She developed a liking for invading other people’s homes; I would receive word from neighbors that they had found Bosh Bosh exploring their house, napping on their sofa, prowling round their kitchen, and so on. Bosh Bosh did became gentler. The process of her acclimatization speeded up when I figured out she was hissing at me primarily when I be carrying the odor of my other cats. Once I began to wash my hands and change clothes before holding her, she stopped hissing. I submitted, and let her sleep on the bed; she enjoys that tremendously, more than I care to grant her. Obviously there are still traces of the sadist in her; she gets a kick out of waking me up when she sees fit to do so, usually around 3a.m. To the dismay of my other cats, Bosh Bosh has become the queen of the castle. She is a part of the household, albeit still an unpredictable terror. She learned to trust me – although she still can’t stand the sight or smell of “my” cats. So now, I admit I will not part with her willingly. I look forward to her bundle of fur rumbling towards me in the yard when she greets me upon my return home in the evening. I look forward to being woken up by the machine-gun purring on my pillow (as long as it’s after 7am). I put out my hand from the under the bedcovers and she instinctively licks between my fingers, gradually moving up to my wrist, towards my elbow until I pull my arm away. Of course she attempts to scratch me for doing that, for not being compliant during her affections! After her breakfast when I groom her the adoring stare she gives me as I brush her is full of…Boshiness. That’s only half the story. I now must confess to jealousy, as she has an even more ardent admirer than myself in the house! The moment S. gets out of bed in the morning he first sees to Bosh Bosh’s breakfast, all the while murmuring sweet nothings to her. Bosh Bosh, Boshie, Boshaki, Boshinio… As he brushes his teeth he steps out of the bathroom into the hallway, making silly gurgling noises to get Boshie’s attention. Bosh Bosh, Boshie, Boshaki, Boshinio… It’s light years past the situation when I first moved in, when S. resented any cat that entered the house, period. He was not keen on welcoming the pets that came along with our cohabitation. Yet here he is, years later, taking a fancy to this wild beast. Bosh Bosh, Boshie, Boshaki, Boshinio… I don’t know how it happened. There’s this unspoken competition between us now, on whose side of the bed Boshie will choose to sleep. To top it all, S. now gives me pointers on what to do, how to take better care of Bosh Bosh. I confronted him on this. He says I’m exaggerating, that he has always been affectionate and caring towards all of my cats. But someplace inside me I know it’s not just that he seems to prefer Boshie to Junior or to Fujo or to Zorro. He behaves as if he prefers Boshie to me. Insecurity on my part? Pussy envy? I don’t know. But there are times when it has crossed my mind to move out of the bedroom and leave them to their dyadic harmony, since he’s so infatuated with her. Bosh Bosh, Boshie, Boshaki, Boshinio… Added July 6 2007-- She went missing two months ago. Bosh Bosh, Boshie, Boshaki, Boshinio… |
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Ήρθε σήμερα μαζί με δέκα φυλλάδια Symposium Voice (ένας οδηγός καλοπέρασης και όχι μόνο, που είχαν φτιάξει τα παιδιά για το 2ο συνέδριο bookcrossing που έγινε από 13 έως 15 Απριλίου στην Αθήνα ). Θα προσπαθήσω να το διαβάσω αύριο στην Παλαιόχωρα (κωμόπολη νότια του νομού Χανιών) όπου θα κάνω Πρωτομαγιά με την βοήθεια του WorkaholicGR που κάτι παραπάνω αγγλικά ξέρει από μένα. Ευχαριστώ StrangeEmily σμούτς! This little book arrived today from Athens with some brochures from the 2nd Bookcrossing convention (13-15 April 2007 in Athens) I will try to read it .... Thank you StrangeEmily!!!! The cat on page 33 is like my cat Alithia (=truth) :) |
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