Desert Messenger

8 www.DesertMessenger.com March 17, 2021 Local Pickleball players pause to enjoy a birthday celebra� on while on a break from playing at Holiday Palms park. Come try the game. Most days they play at 1 PM and occasionally at 6 PM. Beginners Clinic every Friday at 2 PM. By Jackie Deal I'm cat-sitting. Me, who hasn't owned a cat since I was 8 years old. My best friends, Patt and Toby, have gone south for 3 or 4 days (Yeah, Sure, probably more like a week) and they've chosen not to take their cat with them. Char- lene, the cat, does not like traveling, Charlene does not like new places or new people, Charlene does not like change of any kind. There's not much Charlene does like! So best to leave her home and I'll cat-sit. The heat is turned up. The lights have been left on (Carlene is afraid of the dark ??) The TV is left on, Char- lene won't be so lonesome if there's some noise in the house. Charlene apparently prefers the Weather Channel since it's playing non-stop. So okay, mine is not to reason why, mine is just to cat-sit. Twice a day I'll make sure she has food, water and a bit of companionship. Um, I soon learn that nobody checked this with Charlene. Charlene knows me, I'm not a stranger. I see her usually about every other day and she will climb up on the sofa beside me and Deign (with a capital D) to grant me petting privileges. But she's not a furry-purry friendly cat. Charlene, strange name for a cat? She's a, well, not exactly a replace- ment, but a successor to Charlie, the original CAT. Undoubtedly descended from the original Ming dynasty cats. Charlie was the most beautiful cat I've ever seen. Long silky fur, beautiful eyes, absolute- ly gorgeous. And Charlie was the most nasty, ornery, evil tempered cat ever to grace this earth. If you were sitting and absent-mindedly let your hand dangle down by your chair, Charlie would launch himself thru the air at 69 miles an hour and nail your hand with all 12 claws. But this story is about Charlene, the successor, a totally different cat. Charlene is the original scaredy-cat. She hides in the bedroom at every noise. She hides from strangers and considers only two people, her servants, Patt and Toby, worthy of consideration. Patt and Toby left and the next morning I went to visit Charlene. She peered out from her favorite place, a nice soft rug under a coffee table in front of the heating vent, and glared at me. I sat on the sofa and cooed and coaxed and fi nally she crawled out of her royal trap- pings. She luxuriously stretched one front leg, glared at me, and stretched the other leg. Looking down her nose at me, she stretched the back two legs and then strolled leisurely over to the sofa. I was al- lowed to stroke her from head clear down her tail the way she likes it ex- actly 3 times. Then she turned her head and hissed at me with all her might like a small volcano. Having put me I my place, she sauntered away and I wiped the cat spit off my face and decided that petting was over for the day. Now, it was treat time. Charlene loves her treats, she knows the word and knows the sound of the can of treats being rattled. I rattled the can and she stopped, glared, and fi - nally deigned to stroll over to me. I dispensed the treats one at a time, counting to 12; I thinks she knows how to count that far. She accepted the treats graciously and then re- turned to her lair. Patt and Toby may be south longer than they anticipated. This means I may have to empty Charlene's litter box! Oh, Horrors! I've never done that; when I had a cat, back in the dark ages, it was an outdoor cat and litter boxes probably didn't even ex- ist. This may require another epi- sode of the cat-sitter's epic. See you next time. Cat sitting much Charlene does like! So best to leave her home and I'll cat-sit. The heat is turned up. The lights have been left on (Carlene is afraid of the dark ??) The TV is left on, Char- lene won't be so lonesome if there's some noise in the house. Charlene apparently prefers the Weather Channel since it's playing non-stop. So okay, mine is not to reason why, mine is just to cat-sit. Twice a day I'll make sure she has food, water and a bit of companionship. Um, I soon learn that nobody checked this with Charlene. Charlene knows me, I'm not a stranger. I see her usually about every other day and she will morning I went to visit Charlene. She peered out from her favorite place, a nice soft rug under a coffee table in front of the heating vent, and glared at me. I sat on the sofa and cooed and coaxed and fi nally she crawled out of her royal trap- pings. She luxuriously stretched one front leg, glared at me, and stretched the other leg. Looking down her nose at me, she stretched the back two legs and then strolled leisurely over to the sofa. I was al- lowed to stroke her from head clear down her tail the way she likes it ex- actly 3 times. Then she turned her head and hissed at me with all her might like a small volcano. Having Ellie's Boutique PALM PLAZA - 225 N CENTRAL BLVD. - QUARTZSITE (Formerly Located at Rice Ranch) 360-907-9997 NOW OPEN YEAR ROUND! We are the Exclusive Outlet for Painted Sky Apparel in Quartzsite! Desert Messenger ONLINE DesertMessengerOnline.com

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