Every Song That Driver Knew

Dad's wife Darla offers exciting news.

Against all expectations, we have adopted another cat. I had been resisting the idea because I couldn't bear to feel as though I were trying to replace Squidge. But this was a special circumstance.

Someone posted to our local freecycle list about a cat that was going to be put down if it wasn't adopted. I held off for two days, then emailed, just to ask whether the cat had found a home. I was hoping he had, of course, but as luck would have it, he hadn't, and the poster was desperate to find a good home for him.

I have a big red S on my forehead, which all cats can instantly identify, and which stands for Sucker When It Comes To Cats. I talked to Dominic and Dara and once they said they didn't mind, the deal was done.

I picked him up from a small town about 80 miles away last Friday. His name (he was already named) is Atticus, and he's about 10 years old. He's a golden-yellow longhair (see pictures) and possibly the most friendly and mellow cat I've ever met. Bobcat was incredibly friendly, but this cat not only approaches any person with a rub and a purr, he doesn't fuss when stuffed into a cat carrier, and he sits and looks bored when other cats hiss at him.

Which our other cats have, of course. We kept Atticus in the spare room for the first few days (I slept in there with him for company), then started letting him wander around the house. He's explored everywhere and encountered each of the other three cats, all of whom have hissed, growled and called Atticus dirty names. He just looked at them as though he didn't speak their dialect. Nobody tried to hit anybody else, so I'm hopeful that peace will eventually reign.

Atticus isn't Squidge, but he doesn't have to be. I still miss her every day, but he's a darling cat and I feel good that we could save him.

The loss of Squidge was traumatic for Darla, so this is a felicitous turn of events, made even more interesting by the timing of Georg's comment on the previous entry.

Have you heard of freecycle?

Last week, I read something connected to something connected to something else, then I had a customer in the family store and forgot everything less pressing than "in with the good air, out with the bad..." So wait, wait! This good news comes with more good news. Freecycle! There are rules for my local group:

The Six Big'uns:
1. EVERYTHING must be completely free. Remember to keep it relevant to the group - use http://newjersey.craigslist.org or a similar service if you're not providing a good or other object free of charge to the first taker. PLEASE DO NOT REQUEST SERVICES!! Use Craigslist!! We do, however, allow the request of material objects. One of the purposes of Freecycle is to reduce excessive consumerism - please keep it that way.

2. No living animals, guns, booze, p0rn0graphy, tobacco, pharmaceuticals, anything involving U.S. currency, etc, etc. People have tried to do cat exchanges, but this is NOT allowed. Please use the SPCA for that.

3. Yes furniture bikes plants tools weights lawnchairs grills etc etc.

4. No spam. Do I really have to say it? This means that you cannot be sending links to free coupons or home refinancing or some such - you will be biggity-banned!

5. Multiple requests - Please consolidate your multiple emails into one so that your fellow Freecylers' Inboxes aren't flooded. Sometimes people send multiple requests in one day or for the same item, or request really absurd things like items that cost hundreds of dollars new that almost nobody would give away (i.e. an Xbox, flat-panel LCDs that work, camera phones). Don't be offended if your message gets deleted because it falls in this category...just wait until somebody posts a free Xbox.

6. New users generally have a 2-week grace period on posting ability. This means a moderator has to clear your messages from the day you join until 14 days later. That being said, if you post a desirable item then you may get inundated with emails before your "Taken" post is made public. FYI.

I joined, so I've already had plenty of time to forget any passwords. That's always thrilling. Anyway, the rules may differ from place to place or Darla's in trouble. No living animals, it says. Oooooooooooooooooh!

Anwyay, though I have few real material needs, I shall never run out of reading material. Well, except for booze-soaked, gun-related p0rn0graphy. I still have to shop around for that.

Crossposted at Running Scared.