The Cat Man

It was raining today so there was no morning walk. The pups had breakfast and then stood by the gate almost in a panic as the storm started through the neighborhood. Ms. Paddy surely does hate thunder. So our walk was only from the house to the yard and back again.

So I will tell another story today.

In the yard of a small house down the first hill towards the park stands a sign - "Estate Sale."

I may have mentioned in some earlier walk posts that we had not seen the cat man for a while.

The cat man was an elderly gentleman with an apparent affection for cats. He fed at least a half dozen cats on his porch and near his garage. We often saw them lounging around in the yard either waiting for him (if we were early) or digesting breakfast (if we arrived late). I seem to remember one tuxedo cat, two tortoise shells (like our Ratso), one calico and a yellow tom. There could have been a grey - it is hard to remember and the cast of characters changed from day to day.

We didn't know which cats were his and which were neighborhood creatures, taking advantage of his generosity.

He did not say much, but would nod and waive when we passed by.

We sometimes saw him firing up his fish fryer outside (you can still see the remains of the frying oil in containers leaning against the corner of the house) so I figured him to be a fisherman.

A few weeks ago we noticed fewer and fewer cats waiting to eat. We no longer saw his garage open. There were no lights on in the house. We wondered if he was traveling or sick.

Then we saw a long dumpster in the driveway. And we wondered more.

Finally, yesterday on our way back from the park we spotted the sign. So I took the dogs home and drove back down the hill.

As I entered the garage I saw the electronic football game like the one I had played with my brothers. Inside the house were the velvet floral and fruit hats we all used to wear to church. And there was a clear glass deviled egg plate among other familiar cooking gear in the kitchen. 

I stopped to talk to the lady running the sale. Our neighbor had died a few weeks ago. I learned more of his family. I knew how old he was and the ages of his children. His possessions, so familiar, told me that.

I already knew that he loved cats - and they loved him.