Sunday, October 31, 2010

The Halloween Obsession





The prelude to our story is here:



With anticipation, Charlie, Mike and Nick started to knock on the door….

Hold on, hold on—wait a minute….there’s more back-story to be told.


Twitch had been working on a project, and was very eager to show it off. She ran to the sliding door at the house next door and batted on the screen until Banana and Cheese, who were stretched out on the floor soaking in the sunbeam, woke up and raised their heads.


“Now what, Twitch?” yawned Banana. “I’ve only been asleep for 83 minutes. Leave me alone.”


“Listen, you two! I have a very special ‘project’…I call her Ms. Whisp…to show you, and I want you to leave your house and come to my house [the empty house at 311 Walnut] and see it! It’s important, and can you come tomorrow night (that’s when it will be all dry), and have some mouse bits with me and some others I’ve invited? I think it’s a party? Pleeeeeeease?” Twitch was talking so fast and was so excited, she fell backwards and knocked right into the Jack-o-Lantern on the bottom step.


“Oh! Pardon me, Mr. Orange!” Twitch was a very polite cat after all.


“Well,” Cheese stretched and yawned, “I think we can make it. Our people are having a party too, and it will be really noisy here.” Before Cheese could finish asking, “Do you know what the other cats will be wearing to your…,” Twitch was running off, shouting over her shoulder, “Great! Gotta go! I’ve got tons more cats to invite!”


“Well,” Banana noted, “Twitch seems a little more bizarre than usual. Do you think she even realizes that tomorrow is Halloween? Oh, never mind…..now, how are we going to sneak through the fence, AND, more importantly, what are we going to wear?”


The next night, as the streetlights came on, Twitch was adding the final touches to her creation. Her nana, a beautiful all-white cat named Switch, was perched on top of the dress form, “supervising”. “Twitch, give this contraption another push around the room! That will help it dry faster!” Switch neglected to add that, when Twitch would give her that “ride” back and forth a

cross the room, she loved feeling the breeze blowing through her own fur, and the great view out the window of 311 Walnut St. One more push across the room, and Switch jumped down.


“Twitch, I’m impressed by your masterpiece.” Switch squinted. “You know, it almost reminds me of some human, wearing a dress!”


“Oh, don’t be silly, Nana!” Twitch scoffed, but secretly was pleased. Her creation, made of white plastic shopping bags, and her special “glue” of: axel grease from that auto repair place down the street, tuna fish oil, and cat spit, was holding together nicely. She didn’t have time to completely admire her artwork, because the other cats had begun to arrive through the broken back door. But, why were they all dressed so funny?


In they came: Banana had been practicing being the scary vampire—and she was! Cheese had rolled in…cheese (he was terrible at being original!).





Zippy, Sadie, and Speedy were dressed as those famous monkeys: See No Evil, Speak No Evil, and Hear No Evil.

Zippy, Sadie and Speedy's Blog






Freya and Teego’s people had dressed them as Catman and Robin (not the bird).

Freya and Teego's Blog





Little Tabbouleh snuck in wearing a baby bonnet. Charlie the cat had a long, grey beard.

Charlie's Blog








The honorable Admiral wore a few of his medals and ribbons.

Admiral Hestorb's Blog









Angel came as a ghost with a pumpkin head and Kirby came as Frankenstein.

Angel and Kirby's Blog






Cokie came as a witch.

Cokie's Blog









Hanna sported a frightful costume-dog mask and ears! Lucy wore a Charlie Chaplin moustache stuck to his whiskers.

Hanna and Lucy"s Blog






And Miss Kitty? She photographed it all!

Miss Kitty's Blog




Unfortunately, Amy’s cats couldn’t make it; they had told Twitch they were having a party of their own.


“Happy Halloween!” the other cats yelled. Twitch was so pleased with all of her company, she neglected to properly admire every costume.


“Great!” Twitch exclaimed. “Now I’ll be able to start work on Ms. Whisp’s ‘dance’ partner!”


Just then, there was a knock on the door, and then the doorbell rang. The doorbell? It had never rung before, and Twitch looked bewildered, because she didn’t even know what it was. Banana pushed her to the door; “It’s the thing that makes Cheese run from our living room! Go open that door and see which friend is behind it!”


Twitch was a curious cat, and was interested to see who was behind that door. She jumped up and grabbed the doorknob. The door swung open, and there stood three little people. They were dressed funny too, and each one was holding a bag. Twitch looked at their faces; their eyes were opened wide, and their mouths were hanging open. Before she could invite them in, the little people turned and ran away…


The boys ran all the way back to Charlie’s house. “Crazy cats!” “White, plastic bags!” “Old, white cat!” “Smell!” Until they could fully catch their collective breath and wits, those were the only words they could choke out.


Minutes passed, and then Charlie whispered, “Did you two see what I saw back there?”


“I saw a bunch of cats!” Nick began, with some confidence. “They were…were…wearing bits of cloth, twigs, leaves,…a medal?” he sounded less sure now. “One had…was wearing cheese? One was wearing a vampire cape? OK—two were wearing those costumes that people sometimes put on their pets! They were Batman and Robin!” He hurriedly finished his part of the story, “Did you guys notice they were all carrying trick-or-treat bags too?”


“I saw…I saw…a white cat sitting like the head of a mannequin, and the mannequin-thing was wearing a dress…made of plastic bags?” Mike shook his head, not really sure that that was what he saw. “Could that be? Naw…” Mike shook his head, refusing to believe the “old woman of 311 Walnut” was really a bunch of bags stuck together.


“I’m not sure I believe all that I saw back there, but I sure know what I smelled,” Charlie started.


“TUNAFISH?” The three boys whispered.


“TUNAFISH!” They giggled.


And they never again went to the door of 311 Walnut again. Especially not when they started seeing TWO figures moving in the window!







Friday, October 29, 2010

Halloween Edition with Guest Spooks!


Halloween Sunday.

Yes, that is the day. Screeching and howling-quite grueling I'd say!

If you have the courage, take it from me. Stop
by our blog, spooktacular fun it will be!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

“The Wind in My Fur…Er…Hair”


Banana and Cheese were in the backyard, enjoying the early autumn weather.


“Oof,” exclaimed Cheese, as he reached…way…up…the tree. “I’ve almost got…that…BZZZZZ…bug…rats!” He flopped down.


“Stop it, Cheese,” scolded Banana, “you’re disturbing my nap…er…bird watching!”


Just then, the quiet was interrupted by a “Vroom, vroom,” and the purr of an engine; it was faint at first, and then grew louder.


“CD!!!” Both cats jumped up and ran with great delight through the house and to the front door, which was opened just for their viewing pleasure.


A final “Vroom”, and then the motorcycle was silent. CD, pulling off her helmet, strode up to the door.


“Hey Cats!” CD bent down and scritched each head. The cats, who loved getting some of that CD attention, begged for more scritches. CD patiently patted and scratched ears some more….and some more.


“So Cats, I’m off on a great adventure tomorrow! I’m going to ride my motorcycle as far west as I can!”


The cats, who didn’t know directions or distance, but could sense that CD was excited about something, looked up at her. They were fascinated by her words, but at the same time, were distracted by her cool boots; they smelled so good. Sniff…sniff…was CD seeing another cat?!


“Aw…you two don’t even look like you’ll miss me.” CD was hurt, but at the same time was pleased that the cats were showing an interest in her black boots. “Well, I’ll miss you guys!”


“Hey, Banana, you ready for one more ride?” CD strapped on her helmet, then reached up on the shelf for Banana’s “helmet”, which looked more like a metal funnel with a strap—probably because that’s what it was [editor’s note: I’m sure they make real helmets for cats, but you’ve got to admit that the funnel is more visually funny!]


Banana, who heard the word “ride” and saw her helmet being lifted from the shelf, twirled in circles. She LOVED riding with CD!


“Whoa! Stop so I can strap this on, Banana! “ CD laughed. “Ok, let’s go, girl!” She picked up Banana, and carried her out to the motorcycle. "Hold on tight, Banana!"


“Vroom, vroom.” CD started the noise machine (as Cheese lovingly called it), and the two buddies were off for one more ride around the block.


“Wow!” Banana shouted when they returned 5 minutes later. “That was fun! Cheese, you should take a ride too!”


“No thank you,” snorted Cheese, trying to act like he didn’t care when really his legs were shaking at the thought of sitting on that machine. “That helmet would mess my fur.”


“But it’s a great way to catch bugs---see!” Banana smiled and Cheese looked with envy at the gnat on Banana’s front tooth.


“Well Cats, I’ve got to go.” CD looked and sounded sad. “I am off on my adventure, but I’ll be back in a couple of months. Don’t worry—I will write to you…I mean draw to you…all the time.”


Karen and Gale hugged CD, and watched and waved as she rode her shiny red motorcycle down the street and out of sight.


One month later, a postcard arrived. The cats smelled CD on the paper, so they pushed in for a look.


“It says here that CD has found some new friends to ride with!” Gale glanced up from her reading. “Isn’t that great, Banana?”


Banana just looked horrified. CD…found…a…new…cat?