I stretch out in the recliner, pillow on tummy, book on pillow, intending to read a few minutes until I drift off. The Cat settles in across the living room on the cat perch, her favorite place to be when I'm not in sight of her other favorite place to be. The words of Anya Seton's Katherine fade and begin to dance like fireflies, and I'm out like a light. (Note to self: next time, select book that will not break your nose if it fails to fall onto pillow.)
11:25 AM - I am awakened by the sound of a Lear jet blasting through the living room. RRREEEEEOOOOOWWWWwwwww..ww.ww. Screeching tires. The book goes flying as I bring the recliner to its full upright position in preparation for takeoff back to Wide-Awake-Land.
From the corner of my eye, I see a black blur with a white blaze zip through the air and land on the cat perch. The blur takes off again and goes whizzing by at eye level, touches down briefly, and spirals back up, landing once again, accompanied by even louder jet sounds
The Cat catches her breath, turns 90 degrees on the perch and evaluates her next path. It is only then that I hear the roar of the crowd, as she wiggles herself into a crouch and takes her position. It is only then that I realize that she was just warming up for the Main Event.
"Welcome to the 2007 Feline Summer Olympics, ladies and gentlemen, " A squawk of feedback shatters the air then the voice returns, echoing across the wide valley floor. " It's a very warm sunny day here in Southern California's high desert Mojave Stadium, where this year's contenders are getting in position for the 25-Foot Long/High/Broad Jump event, brought to you by our friends at Fern's.
"Bob, I'm told we can expect air temperatures to reach around 105 today. Any chance we'll have a repeat of our last summer Olympics in this location? Thundershowers and power failure?"
"I hope not, Jack. In fact, I remember it quite well. The whole first week of road events had to be postponed until the outage could be resolved. Let's just hope the grid holds up this time out!"
"Yes, indeed, Bob. All right. Our first event, and our first Olympian is in position, It looks like she's just about ready. Folks, here representing the United States and wearing the colors of California's elite Tuxedo Team... Chatterbox," the announcer's voice booms through the hot summer air.
"Now in her sixth year of competition, Chatterbox is defending a hard won gold medal from that spectacular performance in the 2004 Tokyo standing long jump, in addition to her silver from the Winter 2002 luge event at Lake Tahoe." The crowd goes wild as the banners wave in the slight desert breeze near the starting line.
The Cat takes her mark, muscles tensed, waiting for the gun.
k-BOOM ::: she's OFF!
"Chatterbox easily clears the antique silk shantung chair obstacle (1) and sails to the top of the first landing (2)," the announcer intones, as the crowd hushes in anticipation. "Watch your maps, folks. The Cat coils those famous well-trained muscles and measures her next hurdle, a downward angle turn-twist combination leap that takes her close to the knitting basket trap (3) -
"And she's clear, Jack. Well on her way to the inverse vertical slide (4) at the base of the crate cliff. She's taking the hard way down, under the coffee table and around the HO-scale train tracks (5), and -"
The Cat pauses briefly, brow furrowed, as she evaluates the challenge before her.
"Steady, girl - you know, Bob, this is where we have lost so many of our first-time contenders. Right there in that hidden section between turns five and six then through that long stretch leading to seven. Remember when Growler first ran this course back in 1997?"
"I do indeed, Jack. A solid performance by a third-year veteran, and one we'll be talking about for years.
"But it looks like - Yes. The Cat has chosen to -tackle- the knitting basket trap (6) instead of taking the way around! She pauses - she measures -"
"- she made it!" The crowd goes wild as the scoreboard reflects a two-point increase as she sails past the difficult trap and out of sight into the corner hidden by the afghan (7) draped over the lower part of the antique wingback chair. The judges bend their heads and make a few rapid notes.
"Now for the most challenging stretch of this event. Ladies and gentlemen, this is where so many of our younger contenders lose points or just outright fail. Chatterbox is about to prove why she has held onto that gold medal for so many years against a groundswell of challengers as -" the crowd falls silent, waiting.
"Chatterbox eyes the distance... and... " the announcer whispers into the microphone.
"She's over the top of the knitting basket trap, barely touches that coffee table landing position and - "
"A PERFECT FINISH!" The crowd goes crazy as The Cat unfurls herself from the final crouch and turns to stand, stately and composed.
The Cat flourishes a dignified bow in the direction of the judges, then curls up atop the crate tower and takes a victory nap.
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