Dear Rocky Fan,
Oh, gosh—it’s JULY. Half the year is gone, what happened?
In any event, warmest (very warm-est) greetings to you! Hopefully, the rip-roaring temperatures—if you’ve been in an area subjected to them—have been kind to you. Upside: pools get naturally warmer, water squirting toys are a relief more than a nuisance, and the staunch practice of standing next to a blazing grill to cook summery picnic feasts seems natural. Downside: anguish when the electric bill arrives, mosquitoes, and generally feeling as if one has been temporarily relocated to the surface of the sun.
For HRH Rocky, Soaker of Sunlight and Basker of Blazes, there are only upsides. He and Zelda have been competing for the cat bed placed on the corner of my desk beneath the window; the fiercely tight competition consists primarily of one cat getting to the spot first and the losing cat taking time to stare contemplatively at the winner. (Scroll to the end for a snapshot of one such competition.)
It’s goosebump-level thrill. Trust me. (It also means a cat standing between me and the laptop screen, which is a daily effort that I am pretty sure they’ve coordinated to ensure my productivity is aided by their presence. By aided, I mean impeded.)
Now, time for a secret: Rocky is going to get a check-up soon. While he may harumph with the indignance of being carted off for a visit to the nucleus from which all of Tabby’s Place’s efforts exude, it’s a necessity to keep an eye on him and his kidneys—even when things are going swimmingly. (And they are! His weight is still stable, his coat is full and supple, his overall manner is bright; the hallmarks of health are all happily present.)
In this scenario, I must be some sort of flagellum. You, I propose, are part of the mitochondria that keep the entire operation running; with your generosity, these necessities fall into place.
Check-ups are a necessity. In Rocky’s world, they are to be avoided at all costs; unfortunately for him, his opinion isn’t quite taken into consideration when the time comes to carry out said check-up.
Just don’t tell him it’s coming. If he stares into your eyes, he can read your thoughts—and he’ll know darn well that THE BOX is going to come out of the closet to gobble him up.
Until then, the other news I have to share is that we received a gift recently from our lovely neighbors: it’s something of a cardboard donut with a jingle ball in it. “Our cats don’t know what to do with it,” they told us, “Maybe yours will.”
Intrigue! The cardboard-accordion (cardbaccordion?) was set up. Zelda? The horsepower of her train of thought is several hoofs short of an actual horse. Rocky, though? The star of the show?
Yes. VERY yes.
Not only did he take to it, but he took to it with such interest he nearly rolled off the bed while playing with it! (Naturally, when it rolled into a different shape, it spooked him – but just for a moment.)
Another snapshot in the life of the Lanky Boi—I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Until next month, thank you for your love and generosity for Rocky. Stay cool and enjoy the best of summery fun!
Your correspondent,
Carrie
PS – Last month, I made a joke about summer officially starting and my expectation to see “Back To School” in no time. I officially saw a BTS advertisement on July 2nd. It was a joke, it wasn’t supposed to really happen!
