I turned the corner in our hallway around noon Friday and looked toward the kitchen. There I saw my Rottie boy, Texas Earl The Cheeseman.
He and I were separated by about 30 feet and a napping cat known as The Senator.
I could tell from the look on Earl’s face that the question was this: “Are you coming into the kitchen or is it safe enough for me to walk past this cat to meet you halfway?”
Well, of course, we’re all safe around The Senator whether he’s awake or napping. The peaceful rascal is the spotlight feline for this weekend’s edition of Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap.
You see here how The Senator is napping atop a 2 1/2-foot tall cardboard box that contains a floor lamp I was supposed to assemble the day after Christmas. Things have gotten in the way and, for some reason, we put the box in the corner of the front foyer. We don't have a back foyer. [LARRY NOTE: I thought that was a funny foyer line. I could be wrong.]
In the mornings, sun comes through the window of the front door and gently warms the box and anything snoozing on it.
My theory is that napping on the box in that corner reminds The Senator of his days of negotiating the nation’s future in The Senate Cloakroom. But he has not spoken to me about that — there are indications that he is negotiating a handsome contract for his memoirs with another writer who has a Hollywood agent.
So, The Napping Senator enjoyed the rest of his morning and, as you can see from the final dog photo of this edition, Earl trotted down the hall and greeted me as I held out a treat for him.
Earl did not serve in The Senate. He’s more of a Dog of the House.
Frankly, I’m thinking about renting a booth at the State Fair of Texas this year and selling coupons for “Hugs With Earl.” Proceeds would go to The Senator’s favorite movement, The Campaign To Improve The World and Humans, Too. Still waiting on non-profit designation. "Non-profit" is the household theme.
In the final foto, that’s The Senator who had returned to the box to nap during the afternoon. I love his face so I took more pictures.
We’d buy him a small corner table for his special spot but that’s an example of futility — He feels as if he’s “broken in’ the box and if we replaced it with a high dollar designer table, he’d bitterly go find another box to break in. The new table would gather dust but not cats.
Cats — when they’re happy, don’t dare change anything. Anything. Not even where you left your socks the night before and especially don't move any storage boxes.
[Send us -- please! please! -- photos of your napping cat or sleeping dog and we’ll post the photos and bios onreadlarrypowell.com in Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap and sell t-shirts. I’m kidding about the t-shirts. But we do love to show people how they can have a trusting dog or cat snoozing in their home. And, we also hope to inspire insomniacs to believe that they, too, can get some sleep if they can just find the right unopened cardboard box for the afternoon nap.]
—- Offer opinions or outlandish ideas by clicking on ‘comments’ or by emailing dallrp@aol.com. —-
