opin.menu.members.jpgopin.menu.forumfaq.jpgopin.menu.search.jpgopin.menu.home.jpgview our wiki

Go Back  The Tool Page: Opinion » Creativity » Poetry & Prose
User Name
Password
Reply
Old 11-01-2016, 08:58 AM   #1
Level 12 - Scurrilous
 
gonzo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: the Bunker
Posts: 4,018
Bincount™: 1841
A CAT'S TALE

or HOW MUSIC KEPT MY MIND FROM UNRAVELING...

Part 1

It was just another normal night. October 6th, 2016. I remember during an assembly earlier in the day singing 'The Cat Came Back,' and saying something to someone beside me like, "that looks like Bubs, eh."

I was at home listening to tunes. Bubsy was in and out all evening. My wife was in Toronto with her sister from Australia. My daughter was in Mexico. My son in Montreal.

I was home alone, and I felt fragmented, but still, I had the 'Bubs.'

This is the night he disappeared.

And my world collapsed in on itself.

Part 2

I woke up the next day, in my head singing, the cat came back... but it didn't.
I could not get that fucking song out of my head.
But I told myself that I would not cry.
Chin up, take it like a man.
Stare into the emptiness and remain stoic.
Be logical.
And silent as a stone.

Part 3

Over the weekend I was a silent monk.
A zombie. I was here but not here.
What the fuck do I have to give thanks for?
My wife cried. The Australian children asked, 'Where's the Bubs?'
My own kids were here and there.
I felt alone.
But once a day I listened to music and sang.
There was this one song by Nirvana that went something like:
"I miss you I'm not gonna cry, I love you I'm not gonna cry..."
And that became my mantra.

Part 4

I have to tell you. The Bubs was infamous in the neighbourhood. He greeted hundreds of children to and from school everday for four years. My school. So, yeah, people asked me shit.
They'd say, "Where's the Bubs?" "Are you keeping him indoors?" Etc.
In my head I sang, "I miss you I'm not gonna cry..."
Out loud I said, "I can't talk about that." But I was really thinking, "SHUT UP!"
This went on for 23 days.

Part 5

At some point my daughter in Mexico found out that the cat she had brought home and had me adopt by default, and fall in love with by proxy, had gone missing.
At the time she was in a house with 15 cats.
So, naturally, on her last weekend in Mexico, she decided to adopt a cat and transport it to Canada.

Part 6

Most of my life I've been a dog person.
I started thinking, 'what the fuck has happened to me?'
I used to like Scooby Doo. I liked mysteries.
But it all came down on me at once.
What happened to that cat?
Is Mexico safe?
Is my son happy?
Does my wife blame me?
Why can I only listen to Nirvana?
Should we still book that trip to Australia?
Will TOOL put out an album soon?
Jebus, just WTF is going on man?

Part 7

My daughter did indeed try to adopt a(n) Mexican cat.
With what was left of her money she got the Mexican paperwork for a transfer of a local cat to travel to Montreal.
Until she got to Atlanta, Georgia.
Customs said, "No fucking way."
Customs said, " And until you get somebody to get this cat you're not going to Montreal."
Customs said, " You owe us 400 American dollars."
Customs said, " Good luck."

Part 8

I'm at home singing, ' I miss you I'm not gonna cry. I love you, I'm not gonna cry.'

Part 9

What did she do? She cried. She cried and cried and cried, until Atlanta Custom Officers put her on a plane for Montreal.
The Australians flew home.
The boy in Montreal had to deal with the distraught girl.
Nobody wanted to really talk to us because, seriously, the only thing we could do was cry. And how much fun is that?

Part 10

It is what it is.
I believe in hope.
I believe in ghosts and dreams.
I believe in people.
I believe in tears.
I believe in music.
I believe...

Part 11

It was 11:11 this morning and I was laying on the bed petting the Bubs. Teh fackn' luck o t'Irish.
Last Saturday I purchased a Nirvana togue.
Because I'd given up. Let it go.
But Sunday.
Sunday happened.
2 girls got a cat to follow them home.
They thought it was the neighbourhood cat gone missing.
The dad said no, but... I may have seen that orange cat on social media...
And he called me wife.
And now I'm relaxing at home, listening to whatever the fuck I want, and looking at an orange cat named Bubs, thinking I'll take this as it comes.
I'm thinking, I believe.
For meow.
__________________
Time is still the infinite jest.
OFFLINE |   Reply With Quote
Old 11-01-2016, 10:27 AM   #2
1364
 
J A G's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Further NE of lotus.
Posts: 2,964
Bincount™: 7676
Re: A CAT'S TALE

Good story. I bet the cat has an even better story to tell from those 24 days.
OFFLINE |   Reply With Quote
Old 11-01-2016, 12:48 PM   #3
Level 12 - Scurrilous
 
gonzo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: the Bunker
Posts: 4,018
Bincount™: 1841
Re: A CAT'S TALE

He does, mate.
For now though, he's not talking.
He's catching up on a few lost meals.

After which, we'll both just stare wonderingly into the western sky
And purr.
__________________
Time is still the infinite jest.
OFFLINE |   Reply With Quote
Old 11-02-2016, 03:19 AM   #4
Level 12 - Scurrilous
 
gonzo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: the Bunker
Posts: 4,018
Bincount™: 1841
Re: A CAT'S TALE

Listen.
I'll keep this short, 'cause I don't like to think about it.
It was just a normal night.
I wandered off a little too far.
I'm cute and friendly and so
One minute I'm getting petted
And then I'm in some car
Next I'm in some home
But it's not my home
And eventually I escape
I hang on the streets for some time
I search
I'm looking
I just want to go home
One day I follow some girls
They feed me
I eat and eat and eat
Until the lady shows up
She drives me
Home
I'm so excited, I puke
But I'm happy
Tired but happy
And I curl up
With the music man
And purr

the end
__________________
Time is still the infinite jest.
OFFLINE |   Reply With Quote
Old 11-02-2016, 03:55 AM   #5
1364
 
J A G's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Further NE of lotus.
Posts: 2,964
Bincount™: 7676
Re: A CAT'S TALE

:)
OFFLINE |   Reply With Quote
Old 11-03-2016, 05:49 PM   #6
Level 7 - Loquacious
 
wisefool's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: 901
Posts: 430
Bincount™: 0
Re: A CAT'S TALE

life is great fellas, thanks for this fucking awesomeness. That's some surreal shit. Cat's are aliens anyways. Sounds like your in harmony with something right Gonz, go with the flow has always been my motto as well.
__________________
Say hello to my frontal lobe.
OFFLINE |   Reply With Quote
Old 11-04-2016, 04:12 AM   #7
Level 12 - Scurrilous
 
gonzo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: the Bunker
Posts: 4,018
Bincount™: 1841
Re: A CAT'S TALE

He says it's all about freedom.
He being my husband.
He's up in the shower now, and he left this page up, so I'd thought I'd weigh in.
Do you know what the dumbfuck did as soon as the cat got home, he let the cat out, again. AGAIN! Oh, he mumbled something about freedom and spirit and trust. Then he did a shot of rum and giggled.
He said that freedom and choice were the exact things we loved about the cat most.
And maybe he's got a point.
But I still have the right to call him out, the stupid shit.
Ah, but he's my stupid shit.
And I guess it's alright with me.

Carry on.
__________________
Time is still the infinite jest.
OFFLINE |   Reply With Quote


Reply

Rate This Thread
You have already rated this thread
« Previous Thread | Next Thread »

Quick Reply
Your Reply:
Forum Jump

all posts © their respective authors. the tool page is not responsible for any of their thoughts, brilliant or otherwise.