The lady across the street recently acquired a new cat. It had been dropped of at a local elementary school and basically, she rescued it. It's important to note here that she has another cat named Clyde. Clyde has been with her for 11 years. Clyde is the ruler of all things human. He is the boss. The supreme ruler, and lord help you if you do not live up to his standards.

He also steals meatloaf meant to lure the neighbor’s dog into the garage while there is a thunderstorm going on. I almost had the dog in the garage when Clyde hopped off the work bench and snatched the meatloaf out of my fingers. So the dog proceeded to take off towards the back woods. Where it is dark. And there are all sorts of things living there. And I didn't have a flashlight. Oh wait, I'm getting sidetracked.

So Clyde the cat was really miffed at my neighbor for getting a new cat, because "people, you have ME, so what more could you want and I don't want to share my space."

So Clyde disappeared one morning, and hadn't returned by that night. Or the next. Or even then next. You would hear my neighbor calling him during all parts of the day, but with no success.

Meelie was helping search one late afternoon and took her job seriously because she came home to get the rain boots so they could go "DEEP INTO THE WOODS." Um, ok, maybe not really deep but to them, a couple of feet means it's time to light the fire and roast marshmallows. Did anyone think to bring the tent?

So after about an hour of searching, and calling, and taking a break for a snack, and searching some more, she came home to tell me:

"Well, we didn't find him. I told Mrs. M that the raccoons probably got a hold of him and did him in."

I do want to report that Clyde was not done in. He reported home early this morning, a little thinner than when he left and a whole lot more hungry.