From the Melville Cat:
I slept on the roof last night.
I can’t tell you why. I was just scared to come down. Heather keeps asking me if there is another cat around here who is making me scared. (She thinks that maybe another cat broke my tail.) I won’t answer her. I guess I’m a little embarrassed.
This is me a few days ago, sitting on Heather’s desk chair in front of the space heater. This photo has nothing to do with the story – I just like it.
It was cold on the roof. I didn’t have any food and I had to go to the bathroom. But I stayed up there anyway. No one knew where I was.
This afternoon, I saw Lucky down below and meowed at him. He climbed up a ladder and found me there. Then he called to Heather and she climbed up too. “What are you doing up here, kitty?” she asked. She looked very worried. I couldn’t answer. I just meowed and rubbed against her leg.
Heather and Lucky forced me into a horrible plastic box. I howled. Then Lucky carried me down the ladder.
Heather took me into the house and let me out of the box. I ate two big bowls of food – I was starving! While I was eating, I heard Heather on the phone with Ms. M. I guess Ms. M. was worried about me too.
Then I tried to go outside because I needed to, ahem…relieve myself. Bad. But Heather wouldn’t let me out. She and Lucky set up a box with some sandy stuff in the bottom and I had to do my business in there, with everyone watching me. Ew.
I waited by the window for a while but Heather won’t let me out.
I’m very tired now. I must say that I’m glad to be curled up on a warm sofa and not on the roof. Heather says it’s a good thing, too, because I’m not going out for a while.
I don’t like the idea of being locked in the house against my will. But at least I am safe. I’m glad Lucky found me. I think Heather is, too.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
A few hours ago, I was feeling resentful of Smokey because I thought he had deserted me to live with another family. Turns out he was right above my head all the time. I feel terrible thinking about him being trapped up on the roof all night. He’s on indefinite house arrest until we figure out what’s happening. The good news is that he seems to feel fine now (just tired) and his tail seems to be mending well.
How have I never blogged about 44 Stanley Avenue, the coolest shopping and dining complex in Joburg, which is only five minutes from my house?
I guess it’s wrong to say I’ve never blogged about 44 Stanley; I’ve mentioned it countless times over the years (see here and here) when writing about specific restaurants or shops that are there. But I’ve never written a dedicated post about 44 Stanley as a destination and it’s about time I did – especially now, with the holidays upon us.
I’ve been dreadfully uninspired lately, struggling to think of anything I want to blog about despite having a long list of great ideas (many of which you, my readers, provided in September). I’m finding it hard to feel positive about life at the moment. But on Saturday Thorsten and I got the chance to visit Indwe Park, an indigenous garden and sculpture park in Braamfontein, and I knew I had my topic for today.
In 2020, I published a blog post with tips for Americans living in South Africa who wanted to vote in the U.S. presidential election. I thought about simply resharing that post this year. But then I realized: 1) I want to write a U.S. election post that will be fun and informative for everyone, not just other Americans; and 2) Believe it or not, the U.S. presidential election stakes are even higher in 2024 than they were in 2020. So I’m introducing you to some really cool Americans in Joburg – one who I’ve known forever and two who I just met – and tell you a bit about who they are, why they live here, and why they vote.
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It makes me smile, when I see it.