Memes

I decided to take part in the sixth picture meme. My sixth folder only had three pictures in it, so I chose the best one. I took this picture in January of 2007. This icicle reached from the roof to the ground. It forms off one side of the gutter over the front door, which is supposed to keep the water melting off the roof from forming ice on the front steps.

If you want to take part in this meme, the rules are simple. Go to your sixth folder of pictures and post the sixth picture in that folder. Tell the story behind the picture. Tag anyone you want. I picked up this meme from several open tags, so I will just encourage anyone who wants to do this meme to go for it.

In his birthday post, Vampy Victor encouraged everyone to post a story about love. I thought about it and decided to tell the story of how I got my first cat. I have always loved cats, but I was allergic to them as a child and my mother is extremely allergic to them. At one point while I was in college, I moved into a student co-op which allowed pets. The place was full of cats and dogs. I was determined not to get a cat, because it wouldn't be fair to the cat. I would take care of the cat for a few months, then have to find it another home. I managed very well for several months. One day a good friend of mine, who had two cats of her own, came up to me in the living room of the co-op and said, "Here, will you hold this cat for a minute?" Of course, I took the cat. She immediately hooked her claws into my shirt and looked up at me with pleading eyes. She was terrified and trembling, so I cooed at her and held her close. My friend said, "This cat is sick. Her owners are having her put to sleep in a couple of hours because they say they don't have enough money to take care of a sick cat." I was horrified. She was a beautiful tabby with yellow-green eyes and even I could tell that she was quite young. What did I say? "Let's go to the vet."

My friend said, "Great! Let's go! Oh, I think her name is Louise. Doesn't she look like a Louise to you?" I agreed and off we went to the vet. I found out that her owners had put a flea collar on her and never checked it. Louise had an adverse reaction to the flea collar and had developed and abcess under it. I got quite a lecture from the vet, but never mentioned that I had only adopted the cat a few minutes ago. I was that glad that she was going to be fine. Louise was the cat that liked to sleep on my chest. She also liked to make biscuits on my "pillows" and we had some serious discussions about the use of claws. Everything worked out fine. I did have to find Louise a new home several months later, but I found her a good one and knew that I had saved her life. We loved each other very much.