Beautiful and heartbreaking. And I love how you make the main character such a complete monster in some ways (murderer, crook, etc.), yet so deftly show how even someone like that can have humanity for some things...and especially the way we, as humans, can connect so strongly with animals.
Thank you Gregory. Even while Iām typing this the grey cat whose picture I used for the story is ramming her head against my beard. Small wonder I thought of a story about a cat. Thank you for the feedback. I always appreciate it.
Thank you for this bittersweet story. Many years ago my children and I had a sweet cat also named Smokey; my older daughter found her as a kitten in a drainpipe in a nearby field and brought her home, where she bonded with our other cat and our dog. When her time came, I held her on my chest ā always a place of rest for her ā as she slipped away. Your story took me right back to that moment...
Thank you for reading my story and I hope it didnāt make you feel too sad. My wife keeps bringing home rescue cats from horse barns and our house is a zoo but thatās fine by me. Our crowd of critters is a big part of our life and itās always tough to see them go.
Damn, man - this is an amazing piece and nearly had me in tears. I think this may be one of your best-written pieces: the way you capture Saul's state of mind and his bond with Smokey is superb. There's something really redemptive in the human relationship to the animal world: if even a 'made guy' like Saul can be moved by the pain of a cat, you know there's hope for him. Bittersweet and beautiful, my friend: one of your finest pieces yet!
Thank you very much PVT. I mostly dreamt that story shortly after my wife and I had to put down one of our rescue cats. For some reason the dream must have been influenced from watching the Sopranos many years ago. Thank you again for your kind feedback. I always appreciate it.
Youāre very welcome! Your work is always a delight to read. Sorry to hear you had to have a cat put down though. My wife and I have five cats, all getting on in years, and I dread the day we lose any of them. Such lovely creatures and more loyal than people like to admit.
OMG, this destroyed me. The end was so fragile and real and painful. In addition... the dichotomy in this piece is mind-blowing. Very artful writing. I look forward to reading more of your work!!
Thank you for such generous feedback. I wrote that a little while after one of our cats passed away so that affected what I wrote. Thank you for reading my story and telling me that you liked it. I appreciate it very much.
I'm glad your Smokey is alive, well and butting her head against you. Losing your fur buddy sucks. Your story made me miss some of our old fur buddies all over again.
The name of the cat in the picture is Candy and she terrorizes everyone in the house despite being the smallest cat. We rescue a lot of sick, old cats from barns so weāve said goodbye many times. Thank you for reading my story and hope it didnāt make you feel too sad.
āAlright, but you gotta get over itā (c) Tony Soprano
On the other hand, itās very likely that he would actually be compassionate about this whole situation - itās noted that psychopaths tend to channel their feelings into pets and animals. Even in the show Tony is upset about Pie-o-My and the ducks leaving.
Beautiful and heartbreaking. And I love how you make the main character such a complete monster in some ways (murderer, crook, etc.), yet so deftly show how even someone like that can have humanity for some things...and especially the way we, as humans, can connect so strongly with animals.
Thank you Gregory. Even while Iām typing this the grey cat whose picture I used for the story is ramming her head against my beard. Small wonder I thought of a story about a cat. Thank you for the feedback. I always appreciate it.
Thank you for this bittersweet story. Many years ago my children and I had a sweet cat also named Smokey; my older daughter found her as a kitten in a drainpipe in a nearby field and brought her home, where she bonded with our other cat and our dog. When her time came, I held her on my chest ā always a place of rest for her ā as she slipped away. Your story took me right back to that moment...
Thank you for reading my story and I hope it didnāt make you feel too sad. My wife keeps bringing home rescue cats from horse barns and our house is a zoo but thatās fine by me. Our crowd of critters is a big part of our life and itās always tough to see them go.
Damn, man - this is an amazing piece and nearly had me in tears. I think this may be one of your best-written pieces: the way you capture Saul's state of mind and his bond with Smokey is superb. There's something really redemptive in the human relationship to the animal world: if even a 'made guy' like Saul can be moved by the pain of a cat, you know there's hope for him. Bittersweet and beautiful, my friend: one of your finest pieces yet!
Thank you very much PVT. I mostly dreamt that story shortly after my wife and I had to put down one of our rescue cats. For some reason the dream must have been influenced from watching the Sopranos many years ago. Thank you again for your kind feedback. I always appreciate it.
Youāre very welcome! Your work is always a delight to read. Sorry to hear you had to have a cat put down though. My wife and I have five cats, all getting on in years, and I dread the day we lose any of them. Such lovely creatures and more loyal than people like to admit.
Smoking hot cat!
Thanks Pieter
OMG, this destroyed me. The end was so fragile and real and painful. In addition... the dichotomy in this piece is mind-blowing. Very artful writing. I look forward to reading more of your work!!
Thank you for such generous feedback. I wrote that a little while after one of our cats passed away so that affected what I wrote. Thank you for reading my story and telling me that you liked it. I appreciate it very much.
It was my pleasure - I really enjoyed it!
I'm glad your Smokey is alive, well and butting her head against you. Losing your fur buddy sucks. Your story made me miss some of our old fur buddies all over again.
The name of the cat in the picture is Candy and she terrorizes everyone in the house despite being the smallest cat. We rescue a lot of sick, old cats from barns so weāve said goodbye many times. Thank you for reading my story and hope it didnāt make you feel too sad.
P.S. That's Dante in my avatar. RIP
āAlright, but you gotta get over itā (c) Tony Soprano
On the other hand, itās very likely that he would actually be compassionate about this whole situation - itās noted that psychopaths tend to channel their feelings into pets and animals. Even in the show Tony is upset about Pie-o-My and the ducks leaving.
I was definitely thinking of Tony when I wrote, or dreamed, this one up.
A great story.
Thank you very much Barbara.
As Smokey bears witness to a lot of ball busting and emotive breakdowns in-between.
I think Smokey might have been Saulās therapist.
LOL! Aren't all those fuzzbutts?