CATS WITH TALES AND DOG WITH CHALLENGES; PLUS SOME POP-CULTURE IN SPACE....

EDITION OF WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2021 [PetPowellPress] As I was writing this on May the 4th Be With You Day, my surely-from-another-planet office cat William Powell grew weary of looking out the window and walked across the short bookcase, jumped onto my desk, stepped onto my keyboard and typed this: 烆†††. I have no idea what it means; I do not speak intergalactic cat. That’s handsome William with the eyes that resemble the twin moons of the planet Cattica at dusk.) Speaking of cats, read on — this is our May the 5th be with you edition, though, of course, we prefer “Cinco de Mayo” -- the holiday commemorating the Mexican Army’s 1862 victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla. It’s in all the history books. Surely you've read about it.
WHERE WERE YOU WHEN
THE STORM BLEW THROUGH?
Our pal, the animal advocate and rescuer Della Wallace, labeled this photograph “Pussycat hiding from the storm.”
 Della and hubby David are rescuers and this cat is one of the rescued animals who has claimed their house as a home north of Dallas.
Pussycat’s pose was struck Monday night when broadcast and some cable TV stations were presenting live and scary weather reports and forecasts. I’m not sure if it was the storm or the TV that sent Pussycat looking for shelter.

Della says, “She was a feral cat who has become very friendly. She lives in the garage. We got her spayed, etc. We would like her to come in the house but the dogs won’t allow that. The picture is of her on the tire of David’s van. She spent a few hours Monday investigating the attic. We left the pull-down steps down and she went up them in a flash. Fortunately she came back down without one of us having to go up there to look for her. She likes to get in David’s van, too, so we have to be careful she is not in there before he leaves. She is a very loving little girl.”

The minute I saw that cat's name I told Della, “I imagine you walking out every day with a can of cat food and singing, ‘What's new, Pussycat? Whoa oh ohhhhh’.”
And she confessed, “I do — but Tom Jones does it better!”
FOLLOWING THE CHALLENGE
FACED BY BUZZ AND BELLE
We cited the desperate need of a safe home for Buzz and Belle in Monday’s edition. And, thanks to veteran rescuer Kimberly Jones, we got more info on Tuesday about this desperate situation.
Here’s the new part about the two dogs taken in by a woman after they were, basically, dumped by someone who had custody of them.
The note from Kimberly reads, “These 2 dogs had to leave the elderly lady’s home today. It was discovered she is a cat hoarder and the dogs were staying in filth. Not only that but she was threatening to have them killed almost daily... They are now at a vet clinic being bathed (they smelled like cat urine), vaccinated and heartworm tested...
“They also have minimum $250 each towards a rescue group that can take one. If a group can take both they will be donated $500. ... They are BEYOND URGENT with nowhere at all to go.”
Buzz is the Pittie mix — about 9 years old. Belle is the 4-year-old possible Cattle Dog mix. They don’t have to go to the same home. But they sure do need a home that’ll save their lives and give them a chance at “recovery” from poor stewardship by humans. Email [email protected] to help.
THINGS THAT HAPPEN
TO HELP THE ANIMALS
How’s that for a title that basically means “This stuff is scheduled to help animals and the people who help them!”
We love golf and we love Straydog Inc. So, here’s the latest reminder that Straydog’s 11th Annual Golf
Tournament is scheduled for May 14 and the deadline is approaching to sign up to play. Here’s the LINK  for signing up to play the best golf you’ll ever play in your life on behalf of dogs that need some help! Yeah, I heard everybody who plays actually hits long drives, never misses with the irons and one-putts every hole they don’t score an ace on. That’s what I heard. And, heck, see that dog? He’s a Straydog dog and his name is — I’m not kidding — Ace. Yep, it’s a sign.
See the dogs at straydog.org.
IN THE CATEGORY OF RETURNING TO NORMAL: In our May 3 edition we noted that things are moving toward normal for DFW Lab Rescue. The organization has a monthly Sunday agreement to do fundraising at Lazy Dog Restaurants. (Saw it on the DFW Lab Rescue Facebook page). Then on Tuesday, we got a note of more normal activity returning for Operation Kindness. The no-kill shelter is teaming with Pet Supplies Plus (14902 Preston Road in Dallas) to host OK’s “first off-site dog adoption event of the year.” OK hasn’t done once since March of last year — thank you pandemic. The Pet Supplies Plus dog adoption is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 8. See OK’s animals by clicking on operationkindness.org.
AND THERE’S THIS ‘BUSINESS AS USUAL’ clinic — the Friends of the Animals will host one of their traditional vaccinations, etc., clinics from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Friends Spay/Neuter Clinic in Gun Barrel City. The Friends, as you may know, operate the world’s most successful spay/neuter clinic at Gun Barrel City, Texas. This Saturday’s clinic focuses on “affordable vaccinations, microchipping, heartworm testing, other non-surgical services,” according to our reliable Friends tipster Sydney Busch. For answers to clinic questions, call 903-451-4701 or email [email protected]. [LARRY ASIDE: Gun Barrel City is southeast of the Metrosprawl, but the roads are paved — yes, in case you’re new to Texas, roads in the area are paved. If you’ve driven in Dallas, you can drive in East Texas. Honest. Maybe. Not all Dallas drivers can handle country highways -- too smooth, not enough jarring bumps.]
CONTEMPLATIONS
SINCERELY IDLE THOUGHTS....
Bitterness about restaurants: These thoughts usually surface when I’m dieting and have no access to foods I crave. But I’m still sore that the developers bulldozed the El Fenix on Colorado Boulevard across the Trinity from downtown Dallas — I was emotionally attached. It was a standard lunch and dinner place when I was a nightshift editor and a daytime columnist. Oh, yeah, Martha and I would go there on dates -- big spender, you know. And I’m still ticked the below street-level Italian Inn Ridglea on Camp Bowie in Fort Worth closed and there are no longer dating booths and singing waiters and a piano player any place where we eat Italian food. Where is the romance in this world??? …
I noticed during storm coverage that only a couple of local TV weather people/anchors know how to pronounce the Johnson County town of Rio Vista. When I first went to work at The Fort Worth Press in the early ‘70s, the old-timers at the Tarrant County Courthouse explained to me that it’s not Ree-oh Vista, it’s Rye-oh Vista. I think it adds to the charm of Texas’ pronunciations — just ask anyone from Muh hay uh, i.e., Mexia….
Let’s go into space. On the morning of May the 4th Be With You Day, my son Bart told me to google Star Wars. I did. And my computer screen exploded with Star Wars celebrations. (Surely I don’t have to explain that “May the 4th be with you” joke.) Anyway, as I told Bart, I love the Star Wars films, even the lousy ones. I also love Star Trek —the First Contact film may be my favorite. And I love the first version of The Day the Earth Stood Still and enjoy the second. But, holy smokin’ scary movie, I adore the first version of Not of This Earth (that’s Paul Birch in the title role). Don’t get me started on the social value of Invasion of the Saucermen. And, oh, my, what about the first Invasion of the Body Snatchers. And E.T.? War of the Worlds first version and second version. … Close Encounters of the Third Kind... And what about Charlotte’s Web -- it turns out the spider is from Mars, was in David Bowie’s band and came to earth in search of a criminal pig named Wilbur....I have GOT to re-read that book!!!! I may not be remembering it correctly. Space travel will do that to you.
—- Offer sci-fi tips by clicking on comment or by emailing [email protected] and put I Was a Teenage Werewolf in the subject line. —