Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: The Family Pet (05/15/08)
-
TITLE: "The Old Gumbie Cat" | Previous Challenge Entry
By Nancy Welsh
05/19/08 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
In the two years we lived there, before the house was sold, one incident still makes me laugh out loud. One night "Sister Max" crept up the back stairs to tell me there was an animal in her closet. My heart plummeted as I envisioned some rabid raccoon. "When animals of the wild move in, I move out!" I thought. Back in Max's room, I stood on her bed, she on a chair near the closet, as she removed the crates in front of the door one by one. As the door swung open out came "her nibs," Miss Gumby. After a disdainful glance in our direction, she ambled out of the room, as if to say: "Really, sisters, what IS your problem?" Thoroughly unnerved, we collapsed on the bed in a fit of laughter.
When it came time to move, Sr. Helen and I decided to take Gumby with us. She wasn't around the day we moved; we didn't retrieve her 'til three weeks later. She must have been thoroughly frightened, fending for herself; from that day she became an indoor cat, the third member of our household. One of Gumby's favorite perches was Sr. Helen's bed, curled up near her pillows. Whether the bed covers were to be pulled up or down, Gumby stayed right where she was, rolling accordingly. She was like a sentinel at my bedroom door at night. As soon as I retired, she curled up beside me, so I'd have the "privilege" of falling asleep petting her. My housemate and I were thoroughly hooked.
The years went by, we moved a few more time, always with Gumby in tow. She settled quickly into her "new digs" as long as we were there, too! As she grew older, with her long, black silky fur and her, now wise old eyes, I couldn't help thinking of T. S. Eliot's poem "The Old Gumbie Cat." "...she sits and sits and sits all day and that's why she's a Gumbie Cat." That surely described our beloved feline. Eliot's poem says every cat has a secret name, known only to itself; hers was "Jenny-any-dots." How I loved to call her by her "secret name!"
Gumby lived to be nineteen years old, due, in large part, I feel, to the T. L.C. she received from her loving "family." She spent her last days, snuggled in either Sr. Helen's or my lap with a soft baby blanket around her for comfort. A few days before she died, her head was on my shoulder, she turned and pressed it into my neck with all the strength she had left in her. I can still feel that dear hug.
After she was gone, we were lonesome beyond measure; every night when I went to bed, I smelled her "Gumby scent" as I lay there. Finally we brought home a little stray to love and care for. From the day we brought "Josie" home, the "Gumby scent" disappeared; she knew I'd be ok now.
The story doesn't end there. Gumby, healthy and happy, frolicking with her new-found friends at Rainbow Bridge, awaits our arrival. Then,I firmly believe, we'll all cross over together. How could it be otherwise!
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be right now. CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
Laury
I wonder if you might have over-used the quotation marks. Unless you're quoting direct speech, quotation marks usually indicate that you're using irony or sarcasm, and they detract from the meaning of your sentence. Almost all of yours can be eliminated, making your piece both stronger and less cluttered.
I hope that was helpful for future entries!