FOR A SIMMERING SPELL IN AUGUST, A FESTIVE DOG WRITES ABOUT A CAT

GREETINGS, DEAR READERS: Perhaps you recognize me.
I am the festive dog Porche Noel, Personal Companion of the knucklehead who general provides the weekly feature Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap at readlarrypowelldotcom.
So, because I have a canine’s humble ego — I’m no preening cat! — I will offer this simple byline:
By Porche Noel
Rescued Dog Who Admires Other Dogs and Most Cats*

*(Kidding about “most” — I’ve never met a cat I didn’t like. Eventually.)
And now, our report:
Normally, the Ol’ Complaining Lad -- "It's hot!" "I need more money!" "Quit licking my ice cream!" --  writes this feature, but he’s “in a mood” as the weekend approaches. We’re cutting him some slack. I picked up that term — “cutting him some slack” — when I was in astronaut training for a role in a French adventure film titled “Royal Dog In Space” — that’s Chien Royal Dans L’espace.
[FYI: I learn to parlez-vous français when I was a pup — I knew a French Poodle who was authentically French. Oui!]
Back to the movie? Financing fell through — the money guy became a politician. Briefly. Moving along.
For this weekend, I’ve decided to highlight my friend, Stevie Ray Treeboy, the Junior Office Cat at Readlarrypowelldotcom.
Yes, he is a CNC — Certified Napping Cat, as per the regulations of the “Total Catness Society of America.”
Stevie Ray is a rescued kitten from the Polk at Love Freeway area where Southern Oak Cliff blends into Red Bird. He was found clinging to flimsy branch on a mimosa tree. Periodically, he re-enacts that “clinging routine” by going
to sleep on the arm of the couch and waiting to be pried off of it by a human.
In that photo with the computer, Stevie Ray has just completed the essay portion of his application to become Junior Office Cat at readlarrypowell.com
He succeeded on his first try and that is a photo of Senior Office Cat William Powell explaining to young Stevie Ray that he must spend a certain amount of time each day staring out the office window and preparing a weather report. “Just write ‘Forecast: Hot and Dry’ from mid-April until

the Christmas decorations appear in local stores.”
He tweaks it every now and then.
When he grows weary of the weather, Stevie Ray avoids the window and returns to the couch where he flops under
the framed print of Scottish artist Jack Vettriano’s famed painting “The Singing Butler.”
For purposes of this edition, I interviewed Stevie Ray and asked him, “Why under that picture?”
He told me, “It gives me hope for clouds and rain and a temperature that encourages relief for the household air-conditioning system — bless it’s heart and keep it healthy. ‘Cool cat’ is one of my favorite summertime phrases.”
Thank you for reading,
Porche Noel,
Canine Storyteller
Certified in Texas

[Dear Readers: Please send photos of your sleeping dogs and napping cats to [email protected] and tell us why you love them and how you got them. We’ll feature these adorable dogs and cats and other critters in our long-running weekend feature, Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap. Thanks. Sincerely, Porche Noel, Household Canine.]